A COMPARISON OF THE TOP SIX

JOURNALS SELECTED AS TOP

JOURNALS FOR PUBLICATION BY
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
EDUCATORS
Jeanette St. Clair Martin
University of Mississippi

Barbara D. Davis
University of Memphis

Roberta H. Krapels
University of Mississippi

This study compares the top six journals selected in an earlier survey of Association for Business
Communication members as the top journals in which to publish for professional advancement. Those
journals include Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative
Science Quarterly, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Journal of Business
Communication, and Management Communication Quarterly. Using variables found in other
disciplines journal assessment articles, comparisons were made with the following: length of articles
published, disciplines of authors, statistical methodology included, major discipline of article focus,
number of references included, and research methods used with sample size where appropriate. The
analysis indicated significant differences among many of these journals. In selecting where to publish
BMOC (business, management, organizational communication) articles, prospective authors in the
area will find the information on these six journals informative and beneficial.
Keywords:business and management communication journal rankings; journal quality criteria;
citations; promotion and tenure

The majority of educators who teach business and management communication courses do so through business schools, based on Association for
Business Communication (ABC) responses in recent surveys (Cyphert,
Jeanette St. Clair Martin, professor of business communication at the University of Mississippi,
University, MS. Barbara D. Davis, associate professor of business communication at The University
of Memphis, Memphis, TN. Roberta H. Krapels, emeritus associate professor of business
communication at the University of Mississippi, University, MS. Correspondence concerning this
article should be addressed to Jeanette St. Clair Martin, University of Mississippi, PO Box 1848,
University, MS 38677-1848; e-mail: jmartin@bus.olemiss.edu.
Journal of Business Communication, Volume 49, Number 1, January 2012 3-20
DOI: 10.1177/0021943611425239
2012 by the Association for Business Communication

4 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

2009; Rogers, Campbell, Louhiala-Salminen, Rentz, & Suchan, 2007).

More importantly, college and school of business participants constitute
the majority of respondents in the Rogers et al. (2007) and Cyphert (2009)
articles. Furthermore, ABC members in business academic areas tend to
have publication journal quality considered in tenure or promotion decisions more often than members housed in other areas. Department chairs
or tenured faculty in business, according to these sources, more likely
consider journal quality of publications listed on vita of junior faculty up
for tenure or of all faculty on annual reviews, which greatly affects pay
raises and promotion decisions. Many times those same business faculty
perceive our association publications as not comparable to those in other
business disciplines. Therefore, an analysis of articles included in the
journals considered by a majority of the ABC membership to be the top
ones for professional advancement is important. Also, knowing the differences and similarities across the journals will help business, management,
and organizational communication (BMOC) faculty choose appropriate
journals for their articles and be able to explain the differences between
the journals to superiors. The two questions that interested the authors
were what are the differences and similarities among these six journals
and how can educators use this information for publication and tenure
and promotion decisions. In her response to Cypher, Grinois (2010) said,
We must gird ourselves for the battle, which means being aware, and . . .
strategizing how we can remain viable (p. 66). Potential authors in our
field can improve their possibility of acceptance by considering the focus
and characteristics of articles in the journals they wish to target.

Many times those same business

faculty perceive our association
publications as not comparable to
those in other business disciplines.

The different BMOC academic areas include business, English, communication, business education, and other areas considered service or
support units; therefore, superiors and peers of our members most likely
encourage publication in journals from a variety of disciplines. Graham
and Thralls (1998) discuss this question of identity and multidisciplinarity

Richardson / TOP JOURNALS FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS5

that exists, noting that we should give up the notion of business communication as a single discipline or even a unified discipline and admit
that our field (discipline) is multidisciplinary (p. 10). The diversity of the
accepted publications, in many cases, may prompt misunderstanding or
even contempt from members of other disciplines (Cyphert, 2009).
Although the diversity of the discipline often sparks contumacious comments from a member of one home area about a viewpoint espoused by
a member of another home area, this very difference establishes the
need for promulgating a list of top journals within and across the field. As
Shelby (1996) notes, a discipline encompasses an organized body of
knowledge and theoretical propositions in which the academics within a
field or discipline do their research. That basic premise sets the stage for
the need to identify regular publication expectations for such information.
Rentz (2009) reinforces that idea with her discussion of The Journal of
Business Communication (JBC) as a niche journal and of great value to
all members of our profession. For members of BMOC to perceive the
discipline as a legitimate one, they must share a perception of the journals
in the discipline that generate innovative theories and methodologies
(Krapels & Arnold, 1996). Our journals need acceptance rates comparable
to other business disciplines as well as the highest quality articles in our
field, and according to the standards in some departments, inclusion in the
Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) Citation List. Since the highest
percentage of respondents on the two prior surveys worked in colleges or
schools of business, the fact that the top six BMOC journals from those
two surveys included some of the top journals for the management area
reflects business faculty opinion.

The diversity of the accepted

publications, in many cases, may
prompt misunderstanding or even
contempt from members of other
disciplines.

Because article publication constitutes an important factor in determining academic prestige both for schools and for individuals (Bohrer &
Dolphin, 1985; Browne & Becker, 1985; Fry, Walters, & Scheurmann,

6 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

1985; McCullough, Wooten, & Ryan, 1981; Pierce & Garven, 1995; Rogers
et al., 2007), this study provides important knowledge for BMOC academicians. With top journal identification, individuals can offer research-based
data concerning our journals to committees, department chairs, and other
university officials interested in publication outlets that focus on BMOC
topics of interest. Future promotion or reward decisions using publications as a factor can consider the relevance to the field of BMOC, and
members can select publications with greater credibility for their research
and theoretical articles.
Another means of evaluating journals includes counting citations. Journals listed in the SSCI Citation List are included in this process. The SSCI
includes self-citations as well as editorials and other articles in its numbers, and those figures can bias the citation rates. Large numbers of academicians within a discipline can increase the number of citations of
someone publishing within that field. Based on that fact, Russell (1999)
noted that citation counts were not sufficient to correctly identify the
best journals (p. 30). Presently, the only BMOC journal listed in SSCI
is Management Communication Quarterly (MCQ). However, SSCI does
include Academy of Management Journal (AMJ), Academy of Management Review (AMR), and Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ). Journal impact factors rate the influence of articles within the publications by
the number of citations received throughout the discipline and outside of
the discipline. Academic disciplines with a large number of publication
outlets automatically receive higher journal impact scores. Many specialty
journals, such as those favored by BMOC academicians, receive much
lower impact factors or are not included at all. Reinsch and Reinsch
(1996) stated, The SSCI does not cover business communication periodicals but does include them when they are cited by other periodicals; it
thus provides an exterior view of business communication (p. 29); however, recent ABC decisions regarding its publications, Journal of Business
Communication and Business Communication Quarterly, resulted in
the publication board discovering our journals must be cited more
often in articles published in our as well as in other journals included
in the SSCI.
We wanted to discover how these journals compare on content as it
relates to article discipline, number of references, length of articles, disciplines of authors, statistical methods used, research methods used, and
sample sizes. ABC members can use this information in determining
where to publish BMOC articles. BMOC faculty housed in business will
find the information valuable for preparing documents for tenure and

Richardson / TOP JOURNALS FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS7

promotion decisions. Showing similarities and differences creates a new

advantage to JBC readers who are BMOC faculty.
METHOD

Data gathering procedures used to establish baseline information

needed prior to the journal comparisons included two separate surveys
administered to academicians teaching BMOC courses at the collegiate
level in the early 2000s. The results of those surveys were presented at
ABC Conferences. Demographic data of the respondents included their
academic area of employment. In the first survey, respondents selected
from several communication professional memberships checked appropriate publication outlets for career advancement from a list of publications developed after a tally of citations from the previous 5 years of
articles published in Journal of Business Communication, Business Communication Quarterly, Management Communication Quarterly, and Journal
of Business and Technical Communication, the journals that the researchers thought most appropriate for BMOC faculty to publish. Respondents
could also add any journals they perceived as beneficial for professional
advancement. Only ABC members received the second survey, shortened
to include only those journals receiving at least 10 votes in the first survey,
and they identified their perception of the top BMOC journals. See the
appendix for two tables identifying the results of the journals from those
two studies.
The majority of ABC respondents to the second survey identified the
top six journals for career-enhancing publication as Academy of Management Journal (AMJ), Academy of Management Review (AMR), Journal of
Business and Technical Communication (JBTC), Journal of Business
Communication (JBC), Management Communication Quarterly (MCQ),
and Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ). With 153 surveys returned
in the second study, the response rate was 16.9%; however, only 131 questionnaires were usable for a final response rate of 13.4%.
To assist potential authors choose a best fit outlet for an article,
analysis of other disciplines journal assessment publications determined
an author would want to know the disciplines or field discussed in articles
published in the journals, the length of the articles they accepted, the disciplines of the authors they accepted, the number of references that were
used in articles published, and the statistical and research methods as well
as sample sizes used when appropriate. Significant differences resulted

8 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

between some of the pairs of journals. Some of these journals show a

preference for empirical papers, whereas at least one publishes primarily
theory pieces. Yet some journals would accept either. This knowledge
helps an author determine the best outlet for an article and improve author
submission outcomes. A discussion of characteristics of each of the six
journals follows in the analysis section.
The analysis involved each article in the six journals over 11 years of
publication (1996-2007). Two of the authors did their initial article analysis and review work together in the library to insure that both used the
same recording methods. The total number of articles reviewed across
journals was 2,078. A third individual analyzed the data to determine any
discrepancies between coders, rechecked journal articles if a question
arose, and decided the final coding. The intercoder reliability was 95%.
After coding the data, it was entered into an Excel file. The coding followed analysis suggestions from Denzin and Lincolns (2000) Handbook
of Qualitative Research. The coding of the features allowed for the observation of the data across the six journals over an 11-year period. Through
the coding and analysis, we developed a research-based outcome of publication possibility concerning the six journals and their applicability to
the BMOC discipline. This analysis determined the journals most likely
to publish BMOC articles.

ANALYSIS

A number of statistical methods are used to determine significance

including ANOVA, chi-square, GLM, descriptive statistics, and post hoc
tests. All significance reported is at the .05 level.
Article Discipline

Article Discipline describes the area of topic focus such as ethics, impression management, international business, communication, legal environment, intercultural communication, and so on. Article discipline preference
in a journal tells an author whether or not the article is likely to be accepted
for publication based on the subject matter of the article. If a journal publishes very few articles from BMOC, then less likelihood exists for authors
to expect that journal to accept their article.
The results of the chi-square test indicated significance, 2 = (250,
N = 2,077) = 2177.032, p < .000. Crosstabs showed result differences.
AMJ published 41.2% of the management-oriented articles, with AMR

Richardson / TOP JOURNALS FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS9

accounting for 32.9%. Writers of articles with an international business

focus should submit to either AMJ (with 48.8%) or AMR (with 36.9%).
Articles with an intercultural communication focus appeared most frequently in either JBTC (40.7%) or MCQ (44.4%), with AMJ (7.4%) and
JBC (7.4%) having few articles.
In reviewing the article discipline of Communication, which is of interest to BMOC researchers, over the 11 years only 9 communication articles
appeared in AMJ, 17 in AMR, and 2 in ASQ, whereas 108 appeared in
JBTC, 138 in JBC, and 129 in MCQ. Therefore, a researcher has a much
higher probability of submission acceptance with an article having a communication focus when submitting to JBTC, JBC, or MCQ than the other
three journals. The article discipline of Human Resources most often
appeared in AMJ, AMR, ASQ, and MCQ with very few articles having that
focus in the other two journals.
Length of Articles

Chi-square testing the differences in length of articles showed significance, 2 = (25, N = 2,078) = 734.365, p < .000. Crosstab results for page
length and journal found the majority of AMJs (64.2%) and AMRs
(57.0%) articles length of 11 to 20 pages. Other journals showed no
majority for page length but the largest percentage(s) for each included
the following: JBTC, 21 to 30 at 31.9% and 11 to 20 at 31.4%; JBC, 21 to
30 at 39.7% with 11 to 20 at 33.5%; ASQ, 21 to 30 at 44.0% and 31 to 40
at 45.2%; and MCQ, 1 to 10 with 32.8%.
During the period of 1996 to 2007, AMJ and AMR significantly reduced
the length of their articles, overall publishing shorter pieces. Also, AMJ
and AMR generally publish six issues a year versus the four-issue format
that the other journals use. Both authors while reading the articles in AMR
and AMJ noted shorter literature reviews as well as shorter summaries,
conclusions, and recommendations at the end of the articles than those in
the other journals. Articles in AMJ intertwined literature with the analysis
in empirical pieces.
Number of References

Of the 2,078 articles reviewed, the number of references cited in an

article differed significantly. The ANOVA results showed significance,
F(df = 5, df = 2,072) = 113.857, p < .000, with 692 articles in the reference
range of 0 to 10, 458 articles in the range 11 to 50, 191 articles in the range

10 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Table 1. Journals by Author Discipline

Author Discipline

AMJ

AMR

JBTC

JBC

MCQ

ASQ

Total

Business administration
Communication
Management
Organizational behavior
Strategic management

133
2
594
163
147

85
5
308
137
96

0
82
8
11
0

7
150
53
20
0

7
224
33
34
0

6
7
172
63
4

238
470
1,168
428
247

Note: AMJ = Academy of Management Journal; AMR = Academy of Management

Review; JBTC = Journal of Business and Technical Communication; JBC = Journal of
Business Communication; MCQ = Management Communication Quarterly; ASQ =
Administrative Science Quarterly.

51 to 100, 224 articles in the range 101 to 150, 265 articles in the range 151
to 200, and 248 articles with more than 200 references.
The crosstabs showed ASQ (60.5%), AMJ (54.9%), AMR (50%), and
MCQ (35.1%) most likely to contain articles with 51 to 100 references.
Percentages for journals having articles with 11 to 50 references included
JBTC (67.0%), JBC (55.4%), and MCQ (44.2%).
The articles with the most references tended to be theoretical articles.
Overall, AMR, AMJ, and ASQ included significantly more references per
article, especially in the earlier years than JBTC, MCQ, or JBC. When
AMR and AMJ went to the shorter article format, the number of references
per article dropped.
Discipline of Authors and Number of Authors per Article

The data tracked up to eight authors for each article. Only two articles
(both in AMJ) included more than eight authors. A significant difference
existed between the authors discipline and the journal, 2 = (330, N = 2,073) =
2444.571, p < .000.
All articles contained in the studys journals had at least one author
credited (no anonymous articles were published). Furthermore, author to
article comparison indicated two authors listed for 1,432 articles; three
authors for 610 articles; four authors for 171 articles; five authors for
37 articles; six authors for 15 articles; seven authors for 7 articles; and
eight authors for 8 articles.
The largest group of authors published articles in the discipline area of
management with 1,168, in AMJ, AMR, and ASQ. JBTC, JBC, and MCQ
most likely published authors whose discipline was Communication. These
results confirmed the expectations of the authors.

Richardson / TOP JOURNALS FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS11

Table 2. Top 10 Statistical Methods by Journal

Statistical Method

AMJ

AMR

JBTC

JBC

MCQ

ASQ

Total

Descriptive
Correlation
Modeling/theory
Regression
Factor analysis
Chi-square
Content analysis
Discrete time logic analysis
Interactions/post hoc tests
Standard deviation

445
507
133
420
73
97
54
3
68
0

1
0
467
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

39
3
18
0
2
1
22
31
0
0

58
28
0
12
23
7
6
47
0
3

37
23
11
102
20
10
18
0
2
20

170
119
19
20
24
16
11
57
9
49

750
680
646
554
142
131
111
108
75
72

Note: AMJ = Academy of Management Journal; AMR = Academy of Management

Review; JBTC = Journal of Business and Technical Communication; JBC = Journal of
Business Communication; MCQ = Management Communication Quarterly; ASQ =
Administrative Science Quarterly.

Table 1 shows counts of the top five author disciplines by journal.

Although some diversity exists among BMOC authors published in
the management journals of AMJ, AMR, and ASQ, those journals reflect
publications by authors from business academic areas rather than areas
of communication, business education, or other units considered to be
service or support. It is much more likely that authors in communication,
business education, and so on, published in JBC, JBTC, or MCQ. AMJ,
AMR, and ASQ account for only 2.97% of the 470 communication articles published over the 11-year period, with 97.03% of all BMOC articles
published in JBC, JBTC, or MCQ, greatly reducing the likelihood of
acceptance in one of the traditional management area journals.
Statistical Methods Used

The statistical methods used varied significantly across the journals. The results
of the chi-square test showed significance, 2 = (220, N = 2,014) = 2790.652,
p <.000.
Table 2 looks at the top 10 statistical methods the six journals used.
Many research-based articles used more than one statistical method, with
many names given for regression tests. Our final coding lumped all regression types into one category. Asking and answering this question showed
readers the types of statistical methods the six journals used, since a particular journal may expect certain statistics in a research article submitted.
Frequency counts showed that in 2,013, a large majority of the articles
used at least one statistical measurement; 936 articles used two methods;

12 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Table 3. Research Methods Used by Journal

Research Method

AMJ

AMR

JBTC

JBC

MCQ

ASQ

Total

Theory
Questionnaire
Historical analysis
Interview
Database
Observation
Content analysis
Case study
Experiment
Model
Coding
Ethnography

33
317
156
88
169
66
4
29
33
27
32
7

458
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

48
15
69
29
1
30
10
15
21
7
9
6

26
62
52
35
0
17
38
16
15
10
12
6

68
52
38
47
3
24
83
23
10
13
10
3

55
71
84
59
29
28
1
22
11
32
1
18

688
517
400
258
202
165
136
105
90
89
64
40

Note: AMJ = Academy of Management Journal; AMR = Academy of Management

Review; JBTC = Journal of Business and Technical Communication; JBC = Journal of
Business Communication; MCQ = Management Communication Quarterly; ASQ =
Administrative Science Quarterly.

695 articles used three methods; 348 articles used four methods; 121
articles used five methods; 32 articles used six methods; 13 articles used
seven methods; and 6 articles used eight different statistical measurements.
However, AMR showed only modeling/theory as the primary methodology
in 467 of its articles.
Table 2 allows you to see very quickly that AMJ and ASQ researchers
included greater varieties of statistical analysis in their articles. Researchers publishing in AMJ used regression, correlation, and descriptive statistics heavily, whereas only AMJ, JBC, and JBTC included articles with
discrete time logic analysis. BMOC authors need to know journal preference for statistical methods when considering article submissions. If submitting an article to AMJ or ASQ, consider using more than one statistical
method in analysis. Likewise, having written a theory piece, appropriate
journal choices include AMR or JBTC. Possible publication outlets choice
for either quantitative or qualitative communication-oriented articles
include both MCQ and JBC.
Research Methods Used

The chi-square test show significant differences between the journals

on the research methodology, 2 = (75, N = 2,046) = 2136.388, p < .000.
Of the 12 research methods coded, theory became the largest single
research method published. Again, AMR, a theory-based journal, greatly
influenced the results with 458 of 688. ASQ included the largest number

Richardson / TOP JOURNALS FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS13

(18) using ethnography, the least common methodology found in only

40 articles as shown in Table 3.
AMR published no articles with only questionnaire usage, although in
JBC the methodology was used frequently. Performing research with
existing databases most frequently appeared in AMJ and ASQ. Historical
analysis resulted as one of the leading research methods published in JBC.
MCQ published content analysis, theory, questionnaire, and interview
research methods most often. All journals except AMR published case
studies evenly. Depending on the type of research method used in their
analysis, authors can look at this chart to decide where the best opportunity exists for getting their piece accepted for publication. Although we
did not analyze the statistics using editor by research method, the authors
observed some editors seemed to favor certain research methods. A
review of recent publications in a journal provides a writer with knowledge of present editor preferences.
Sample Sizes

Chi-square showed a significant difference between the journals on

sample size, 2 = (60, N = 2,050) = 1412.746, p < .000. AMJ and ASQ
showed similar sample sizes, as did JBC, JBTC, and MCQ. Table 4 shows
the sample size ranges by journal.

Depending on the type of research

method used in their analysis, authors
can look at this chart to decide where
the best opportunity exists for getting
their piece accepted for publication.

With the exception of one piece, AMR articles included no data samples due to its primarily conceptual focus. Although the majority did use
sampling, approximately 42% of the articles did not include a samplebased research method. Data samples tended to be more than 100, with
the majority (67.9%) of the 1,177 samples using 101 or more. Looking at
this table, one can see AMJ tended to have larger data sets; however, all
the journals except AMR accepted articles with data sets of varying sizes.
A significant difference exists between whether the articles published
used qualitative, quantitative, or both, 2 = (15, N = 2,079) = 1627.231,

14 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Table 4. Sample Size Ranges by Journal

Sample Size

AMJ

AMR

JBTC

JBC

MCQ

ASQ

Total

0
1-50
51-100
101-200
201-300
301-400
401-500
501-600
601-1,000
1,001+

32
63
74
155
90
43
31
36
44
117

457
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0

94
45
15
4
1
1
3
0
3
2

90
40
20
28
15
7
13
2
7
2

157
46
17
26
3
6
1
3
4
2

40
36
21
26
18
16
19
7
15
50

870
230
147
239
128
73
66
48
73
173

Note: AMJ = Academy of Management Journal; AMR = Academy of Management

Review; JBTC = Journal of Business and Technical Communication; JBC = Journal of
Business Communication; MCQ = Management Communication Quarterly; ASQ =
Administrative Science Quarterly.

p < .000. Qualitative articles accounted for 906 of the articles; quantitative
articles totaled 212. However, 960 articles included both qualitative and
quantitative analyses.
AMJ published 92.9% of its articles with both types of analyses; AMR
published 98.5% qualitative; JBTC, 77% qualitative and 23% both; JBC,
49.6% qualitative, 19.2% quantitative, and 31.3% both; MCQ, 30.9%
quantitative, 40.4% qualitative, and 28.7% both; and ASQ, 48.4% both,
26.6% qualitative, and 25% quantitative. Although not a lone factor when
selecting a journal for submission of an article, in combination with other
factors such as author discipline and number of pages, knowledge of the
percentages of qualitative or quantitative pieces published does have
some relevance to BMOC members.
Editors

All journals had four to seven regular editors during the period 1996 to
2007, with AMR having seven, MCQ six, AMJ and JBC five, and JBTC
and ASQ four. However, the number of articles editors reviewed and published varied considerably in recent years due to AMJ and AMR going for
the shorter article page length, with more articles per issue as well as
additional special issues each year.
Although journal analyses showed limited publication of BMOC articles historically, under a certain editor they showed a higher probability
of acceptance. A significant difference existed between editors and the
article disciplines that they published. Only one AMJ editor published

Richardson / TOP JOURNALS FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS15

articles focused on communication for his tenure, with 61.3% of his

articles being communication related. Six other AMJ editors ranged from
0% to 26.4% in publishing BMOC articles. AMR offered the lowest publication opportunity, with 0% to 3.4% of all articles over the period published in the area of communication. JBTC published BMOC-related
articles in a range from 14.3% in one issue to 100% of its articles in a
special issue. JBC included 50% to 76% of the articles focused in the
discipline area of communication, with BMOC teaching articles coded as
education articles. MCQ editors published between 39.1% and 100%
(100% was a special issue) of the articles in the area of BMOC. ASQ had
two editors with 0% and the other two had 1% and 1.9% of their total
articles published in the field. Only editors of communication-related
journals tended to have several years with a majority of communicationfocused articles. Therefore, knowledge of the editors preference of
article focus when deciding on journal submission appeared important.
CONCLUSIONS

Pressure does exist on BMOC academicians housed in colleges and

schools of business, particularly in management departments, to publish
in journals considered top ones by management professors, namely, AMJ,
AMR, and ASQ (Cyphert, 2009). However, only JBTC, JBC, and MCQ
appear to be viable always consider targets for BMOC submission
acceptance based on the other three journals publication of so few communication-focused articles. The majority of articles in those management
journals favored management-oriented ones. Some editors prefer certain
article disciplines, since a few of the journals show a significant difference
when comparing their different editors. Given the traditionally low percentage of BMOC articles accepted by AMJ, AMR, and ASQ, these journals create challenges for BMOC faculty focusing on communication in
business topics. Those journals rarely publish communication articles, nor
do they tend to publish authors who have a communication background.
Adding timely management topics to our communication themes may
improve the likelihood of acceptance for publication of our articles in
primarily management journals.
Citing BMOC journals in articles within journals already listed in SSCI
improves their citation rate. Business communication academicians can
collaborate with management professors to develop a communicationoriented piece with management theory including citations from our
BMOC journals. The article, when submitted to one of their journals

16 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

already listed in SSCI, improves the overall perception of our journals.

Always citing previous BMOC journal articles improves journal credibility to outsiders. Members of ABC housed in business are challenged to
produce research with characteristics comparable to those published in
AMJ, AMR, and ASQ. Creating theory development publications for our
BMOC journals, such as JBC, JBTC, and MCQ, can possibly improve
their ratings in Cabells as well as the journals perceived value within the
business academic community. Submitting a theory piece to AMR could
bring communication in business to the attention of its present editor, possibly improving chances of publication and greater recognition of business communication by academicians in the management field.
Given the pressure to publish in the top journals, it is imperative that
BMOC authors work to get JBTC and JBC on the SSCI with MCQ. Most
business schools or colleges use that rating system to determine an academic journals rank within the departmental accepted publications for
faculty. The acceptance rates for all six journals according to Cabell (2004)
are AMR, 6% to 10%; AMJ, 3%; JBC, 12% to 15%; ASQ, 11% to 20%;
MCQ, 13%; and JBTC, 25%. Therefore, to improve the Associations journal ratings, BMOC authors need to cite BMOC journal articles in new
papers submitted for publication in any academic journal listed in SSCI.
The higher citations count is vital to improving ABC journal recognition.
Coe and Weinstock (1984), when discussing publications by faculty in
management journals, made the following statement:
As with the journals of any enduring discipline, the management journals
have developed varying images of quality or prestige. These images influence a variety of behaviors in the university setting. Faculty performance is
assessed, in part, by evaluating their publications in appropriate journals.
Decisions regarding salary, tenure, and rank are heavily influenced by such
evaluations. The content of publications may be less relevant than the
images of the journals in which they appear because decisions are made by
committees and administrators outside of the individuals discipline. Moreover, the intrinsic merits of journal articles may not become apparent until
years after their initial publication. For a full comprehension of university
performance appraisal and reward systems, therefore, one must obtain
insights into the images of the journals in the various disciplines. (p. 660)

Perceptions of journals become very important in evaluating individual

faculty members achievements. As Cyphert (2009) noted, We are generally isolated from our colleagues who value our research, which causes
others to focus on our pedagogy and Our colleagues have no idea what
else we do (p. 270). Improving our success in publishing in top journals

Richardson / TOP JOURNALS FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS17

will provide greater visibility for our discipline as well as change the way
academicians from other disciplines perceive the journals in which their
BMOC colleagues publish. Those two outcomes can also provide a concrete foundation for employment as well as promotion or tenure decisions
made by department chairs or deans.
APPENDIX
Journals Appropriate for BMOC Articles (Study 1)

Journal
Journal of Business Communication
Business Communication Quarterly
Management Communication Quarterly
Journal of Business & Technical Communication
Communication Quarterly
Communication Research
Journal of Technical Writing & Communication
Human Communication Research
Journal of Communication
Organizational Behavior & Decision Processes
Communication Monographs
Communication Theory
Technical Communication Quarterly
Communication Research Reports
International Journal of Conflict Management
Groups and Organization Studies
Western Journal of Communication
Communication Education
Written Communication
International Journal of Intercultural Relations
IEEE Transaction on Professional Communication
Quarterly Journal of Speech
Womens Studies in Communication
Public Relations Review
Speech Communication
Communication
Language and Communication
Educational Technology Research and Development
Journal of Social & Personal Relations
Critical Studies in Mass Communication
Media, Culture, and Society
Journalism Quarterly
Telecommunications Policy
Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media
Academy of Management Journala
Journal of Applied Communication Researcha

Number of
Respondents (N = 163)
144
140
135
131
104
101
100
95
94
94
85
80
77
76
74
73
73
71
71
61
60
53
52
50
50
46
44
40
40
37
35
33
32
29
16
16
(continued)

18 JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

APPENDIX (continued)

Number of
Respondents (N = 163)

Journal
Business Education Foruma
Delta Pi Epsilon Journala
Academy of Management Reviewa
Administrative Science Quarterlya
College Composition and Communicationa
Organization Sciencea
Communication Studies
Journal of Education for Businessa
Journal of International Listening Association
Journal of Technical Communication
College Englisha
Information Systems Researcha
Journal of Marketing Communication
Harvard Business Reviewa
Academy of Management Executivea
Journal of Applied Psychologya
MIS Quarterlya
NABTE Review
Organizationa
Career Development Internationala
Corporate Communication an International Journala
Executive Developmenta
Journal of Contemporary Ethnographya
Journal of Small Group Behaviora
Management Decisiona
Psychological Reportsa
Qualitative Inquirya
Strategic Directiona
Studies in Organization Behaviora
Symbolic Interactiona
Training for Qualitya
Public Opinion Quarterly

15
14
13
12
10
9
7
7
7
7
6
6
5
4
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

a. Journals added by respondents.

Top 16 Journals Perceived as Publications
for Professional Advancement (Survey 2)

Journals (Ordered by Weighted Mean)

a

Academy of Management Journal

Academy of Management Reviewa
Administrative Science Quarterlya
Journal of Business Communication
Management Communication Quarterly
Journal of Business & Technical Communication

Valid Cases

Sum

Weighted Mean

67
61
52
115
64
76

117
109
104
250
141
172

1.7463
1.7869
2.0000
2.1739
2.2031
2.2632
(continued)

Richardson / TOP JOURNALS FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS19

APPENDIX (continued)

Journals (Ordered by Weighted Mean)

a

Communication Monographs
Organizational Behavior & Decision Processesa
Communication Researcha
Delta Pi Epsilon Journala
Communication Theorya
Human Communication Researcha
Journal of Communicationa
Quarterly Journal of Speecha
Technical Communication Quarterly
Business Communication Quarterly

Valid Cases

Sum

Weighted Mean

49
28
43
69
29
38
42
24
35
127

117
68
108
174
74
103
110
64
94
359

2.3878
2.4286
2.5116
2.5217
2.5517
2.7105
2.6190
2.6667
2.6857
2.8268

a. Included in Social Science Citation Index.

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