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Journal Impact as a Diffusion Process: A Conceptualization and the Case of the Journal of Management Studies
Author(s) -
Simsek Zeki,
Heavey Ciaran,
Jansen Justin J. P.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1111/joms.12007
Subject(s) - conceptualization , extant taxon , citation impact , foundation (evidence) , citation , sociology , positive economics , epistemology , political science , computer science , economics , law , philosophy , evolutionary biology , artificial intelligence , biology
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 the Journal of Management Studies over a 40‐year period.