JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT
SPECIAL ISSUE CALL FOR PROPOSALS
“Resource-Based Theory: Twenty Years of Accomplishments and Future
Challenges”
Guest Editors: Jay Barney, Dave Ketchen and Mike Wright
In 1991, the Journal of Management published a special theory forum on
the resource-based view of the firm which contained what have become
some of the most cited papers in strategic management. In his article in
the special forum, Barney argued that sustained competitive advantage
derives from the resources and capabilities a firm controls that are
valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and not substitutable. These
resources and capabilities can be viewed as bundles of tangible and
intangible assets, including a firm’s management skills, its
organizational processes and routines, and the information and knowledge
it controls. Conner’s seminal article considered whether the
resource-based view constituted a new theory of the firm. The other
articles in the forum made important contributions to the resource-based
view’s development as well.
In the intervening years, the diffusion of resource-based theory (RBT)
in strategic management and related disciplines has been both dramatic
and controversial, and has involved considerable theoretical development
and empirical testing. As we approach 2011 – the 20th anniversary of the
1991 issue – it is timely to organize a new special issue that attempts
to assess the past contributions of RBT as well as presenting
forward-looking extensions. The editors of this special issue are Jay
Barney (The Ohio State University), Dave Ketchen (Auburn University),
and Mike Wright (University of Nottingham).
To assess the impact of RBT since 1991, we are adopting a dual approach.
First, a small set of scholars who have made landmark contributions to
RBT have been invited to provide commentary-length presentations of
their thoughts on RBT’s past, present, and future. These scholars
include Birger Wernerfelt, Jay Barney, Margaret Peteraf, Russ Coff, Rich
Makadok, Nicolai Foss, and Stu Hart.
Second, we are soliciting proposals from the academic community to
provide article-length discussions of RBT’s accomplishments, its
challenges, and directions for future theory development and empirical
testing. The proposal process is adapted from that used by the Journal
of Management to assemble its annual review issue. Proposals should
contain no more than seven pages of text and should be double-spaced.
References, tables, and appendices do not count against the
aforementioned page limit, but they should be used only as needed.
Proposals will vetted by the special issue editors. Authors of accepted
proposals will be asked to provide full papers. Papers will undergo
double-blind, developmental review, and the final acceptance of approved
papers will be contingent on incorporating reviewers’ feedback to the
satisfaction of the editors.
The timeline for the special issue is as follows:
• March 1 - April 1, 2009: Proposals should be submitted at
http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jom . Proposals will be accepted between
March 1 and April 1 only. Proposals submitted before March 1 or after
April 1 will be returned to the authors.
• September 1, 2009: Decisions on proposals provided to authors
• March 1, 2010: First draft of full papers due
• June 1, 2010: Feedback to authors on first draft
• October 1, 2010: Final papers submitted
• July, 2011: Special issue appears in Journal of Management