Journal Impact as a Diffusion Process: A Conceptualization and the Case of theJournal of Management Studies
Zeki Simsek, Ciaran Heavey, Justin J. P. Jansen
Journal of Management Studies · 2013 · Volume 50 · Issue 8
Abstract
While the question of what makes a journal impactful continues to draw scholarly attention and debate, the lack of conceptual foundation as to what journal impact represents, and how it manifests itself, has impeded efforts to establish a richer understanding. Drawing from the theory of innovation diffusion, we propose journal impact as a multidimensional concept manifested most prominently in the magnitude, prestige, breadth, dispersion, and duration dynamics of citations accruing to a journal. In doing so, we complement extant representations of journal impact as a unidimensional concept with insights into the pattern and profile of a journal impact across space and time. We illustrate the multidimensionality of journal impact as a diffusion process in a longitudinal analysis of citation patterns at theJournal of Management Studiesover a 40-year period.
Keywords
citations, diffusion, journal impact, multidimensional conceptualization
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