How Are Editorial Boards Comprised for Marketing Journals?

Becoming a member of an editorial board  can be a paramount step in the life of an academic. Scholars are able to explore new ideas in their field while increasing their notoriety. But just how are editorial boards of marketing journals constituted? That’s what authors Yue Pan and Jason Q. Zhang set out to research in their article titled “The Composition of the Editorial Boards of General Marketing Journals” from Journal of Marketing Education.

The abstract:

Unlike the diversity issues in corporate governance, the diversity in top academic positions (e.g., editorial boards of academic journals in business) is rather under researched. The editorial boards of academic marketing journals are important gatekeepers and trendsetters in the creation and dissemination of marketing knowledge. Membership on journal editorial boards usually signals scholarly stature and professional advancement. This study examines the composition of editorial boards of general marketing journals, and compares it with what it was like 15 years ago. The study also investigates the impact of the composition of editorial boards on journal quality. We find that women’s participation in editorial boards generally corresponds to their presence in the profession. We also find an overall small representation of board members affiliated with nonacademic institutions. While the presence of women, practitioners, or international members does not have any relationship with journal quality, the presence of scholars affiliated with doctoral programs seems to correlate with journal quality. The number of female and international members on the boards increased, whereas practitioners’ representation dropped from 1997 to 2012.