This issue includes articles that attest Global Economics and Management Review's strategic search for multidisciplinary topics and methodological pluralism. Together with Laurie Paarlberg, who has co-edited this issue, we hope to provide you an interesting set of articles that touch upon several topics. These include diverse themes such as: Mergers and Acquisitions, where the authors revisit the strategic management research on the field; Interorganizational Networks, where the authors explore the reasons that lead companies to withdraw from them; Behavioral Strategy and dynamic capabilities, where the author uses psychodynamic concepts to better deal with uncertainty and paradoxical choices in strategic management; International Careers, where the authors develop a qualitative study to explore career aspirations of Flexpatriates; and finally, Social Impact Bonds, where the authors take stock of this new phenomenon.
This is the last issue of GEMRev published by Elsevier. As we embarked on this journey of re-inventing an academic journal we believed that there was a room for a “new” journal that would provide a locus for those who did not find in other mainstream journals the place for their research. We still believe this and we are loyal to our guiding editorial philosophy (Bento, Nikolaeva, Simaens, Berg, & Lengler, 2014). We knew that it would be a bumpy road and we are proud that we were able to attract a good number of excellent collaborators for the ride. Unfortunately, the biggest bump we encountered came from a place we did not expect – the relationship with our publisher. In essence, it brought us to a halt. Thus, it is our regret to inform you that we will not be publishing with Elsevier any more. At this moment, there will be a pause for GEMRev to reorganize and reconsider the next steps.
We came to realize that institutional demands from around the globe make it increasingly unrewarding for authors to trust and experiment with new journals. Nevertheless, we still believe that the academic world needs journals with the vision of GEMRev. Namely, we still believe that intellectual honesty and not methodological dogma should be the driving force of research. A recent issue of Human Resource Management Review (in press) sets a good example of inviting scholars to more open use of inductive and abductive research rather than hiding it in the iron cage of the hypothetico-deductive approach (Woo, O’Boyle, & Spector, 2016). We still believe that there is need of more dialog across the between the management and economics disciplines. We still believe that there is more need of replication research in management which would not only contribute to greater validity of results, but also to exposure of research dishonesty (Babin, Griffin, & Hair, 2016). And we still believe that academia and practice need to engage in a more open and substantive dialog.
Sometimes, it just takes longer time and more effort and resources to realize the vision. While we are re-evaluating the options ahead of us, we want to assure you that our goal is to come up with a better and more attractive product for both our authors and our readers. Now, it is time to express our gratitude to the various stakeholders that have made this journey with us. A special note to the Editorial Board members for their time and commitment, to the Editors and fellow colleagues that have worked with us in the mission of improving the journal's quality and impact, to the reviewers who have kindly contributed their time and expertise to make the reviewing process happen, to the authors who have considered GEMRev as a possible outlet for their work, to the publisher Elsevier, and to the home institution INDEG – ISCTE for its unconditional support to the journal. Last, but not the least, to all the readers that give a sense to all the work done.
At this moment, there will be a pause for GEMRev to reorganize and reconsider the next steps. We hope to be back soon invigorated.
