For decades, publishing in top business journals often seemed reserved for a small circle of elite universities. A new study suggests that circle is widening.
Research co-authored by Tina Yang and Steve M. Miller, both associate professors at the University of South Florida, found that scholarly influence in leading business journals is becoming less concentrated among a handful of institutions. The study appears in the Academy of Management Learning and Education.
The researchers analyzed 45,300 articles published between 1990 and 2022 in 24 elite journals identified by the University of Texas at Dallas. Across seven disciplines — accounting, finance, information systems, management, marketing, operations management, and organizational studies — they tracked which institutions were represented and how dominant they were.
Affiliation concentration decreased by an average of 29% over 33 years. In practical terms, more universities are publishing in elite outlets, and fewer schools are controlling the scholarly conversation.
The shift reflects broader changes in academia: expanded collaboration networks, greater faculty mobility, and technological advances that lower barriers to participation. While top schools still enjoy resource advantages, the pathway to high-impact publication appears more open than it once was.
Authors: Ravi S. Ramani, Morgan State University; Tina Yang and Steve M. Miller, University of South Florida; Huijian Dong, Montclair State University; Xiaomin Guo, City University of New York.