Hello all,
I am pleased to inform you that the Management History division will sponsor our PDW proposal, "A Historical Perspective on Publishing in Sport Management's Top Journals: Outlets and Expectations." Please join us for the 86th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management taking place 31 July through 4 August 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Below are the abstract for the PDW and planned workshop format (120 minutes).
Abstract: The growth of organized sport as a commercial attraction noticeably prompted the development of sport management as a standalone academic field that presently features professional societies, academic associations, and journals embraced by many colleges of business. In this professional development workshop (PDW), a diverse set of sport management (SM) scholars will lead roundtable discussions focused on providing a historical review of sport management as a developing multi-interdisciplinary field. Next, we will canvass the field's leading journals, including subdisciplines, and provide a historical perspective on their development. This PDW will also relay information about working examples on how to 'best' position sport-based and historical research toward SM journals and likely reviewer orientations to help non-SM scholars (including history) increase their potential for publication success, access to historical sport data, organizations, and practical impact. A secondary goal for this PDW is to help non-SM scholars (including history) find possible collaborators, highlight how the field's top journals feature sport to test, enhance, and invigorate the development of management theory, teaching, and advance industry performance. Importantly, this PDW serves to connect this DIG and others to AOM's new Sport and Management Group, established in 2025 and continues relationship building amongst other AOM divisions.
Workshop Format: 120 minutes
The format of the PDW will follow other sessions previously offered at AOM. This PDW will engage the group of attendees with the roundtable leaders in an interactive discussion on:
1. Brief introduction of co-organizers, sport management as an academic field, and overview of the goals of this PDW (20 minutes)- Seifried and Agyemang
· Historical overview of the development of Sport Management as an academic field? What major academic journals, societies, and communities exist in SM across the world and when did they emerge? Recognize how history influenced the development of SM.
2. Introduction of Participants/Roundtable Leaders (10 minutes)
3. Moderated Discussion (30 minutes)
· What are the leading journals in sport management [broadly interpreted] and the various subdisciplines? How do these journals complement each other and contribute to SM?
· What expectations should scholars (including history) have when submitting manuscripts to SM journals from a reviewer or editor's view? How should introductions be oriented? What type of literature and sources should be reviewed? How important is context to sport scholars? Viewpoints on data collection techniques, sample recruitment, and analysis. Discussion- How much should be focused on the sport industry vs. the broader applications? What opportunities exist with SM researchers for collaborative research?
4. Pick your own adventure (Two rotations 25-30 minutes)
Roundtables will generate conversations and respond to publication questions on: a) Balancing Theory and Practical Contributions in SM; b) Historical Studies in SM; c) Qualitative Studies in SM; d) Quantitative Studies in SM; e) Matching research ideas to SM publication outlets.
------------------------------
Chad Seifried, PhD, RAA
Professor
Louisiana State University
------------------------------