Journal of Marketing Research: Change in Editorial Structure

During the course of the next few months, the Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) will be transitioning to a new editorial structure with an editor-in-chief (EIC), three co-editors, a team of associate editors, and an editorial review board. Effective July 1, 2014, Bob Meyer, who is currently serving as Editor of JMR, will serve as Editor-in-Chief of JMR. Editor appointments for AMA journals are typically for a three-year term. However, to facilitate a smooth transition to the new editorial structure, at the request of AMA’s current VP for Publications (Bob Lusch) and VP for Publications Designate (Rajan Varadarajan), Bob Meyer has agreed to serve the journal in a leadership role for an additional year, until June 30, 2016.

Several considerations led us to believe that the long-term interests of the discipline would be better served with the adoption of the new editorial structure. These factors include the breadth of substantive issues that are addressed in articles submitted to JMR for review, the diversity of methodological approaches employed in them, and the steady growth in the number of submissions that JMR receives each year. For instance, during 2013, JMR received more than 600 submissions, and during the first four months of 2014 alone, the journal received more than 250 submissions. With the EIC and co-editors sharing the tasks and responsibilities associated with processing manuscripts (e.g., selection of associate editor and reviewers, making decisions relating to disposition of the manuscript, communicating with the authors), we envision that the new editorial structure will enable the journal to attract a larger cadre of leading scholars in our field to volunteer to share their expertise and serve as the EIC or a co-editor. In addition, the new editorial structure will allow the EIC to devote time to other important initiatives such as special issues, outreach (e.g., advocating and promoting the journal to various stakeholder groups), and working closely with AMA International Headquarters Publications Group in publicizing JMR articles and promoting the journal. Thank you.

Robert F. Lusch
VP Publications, AMA Journals

Rajan Varadarajan
VP Publications Designate, AMA Journals