Diversity and stratification of international authorship and knowledge production in published management and business research

Scholarly publishing of research on management and business topics is organized in a stratified organizational field, where limited access to authorship and homogenized research practices are institutionalized in a metricized system of quality assessment that amplifies inequality. The system privileges authors from core regions of a knowledge network and favors Western norms of knowledge production. This article explores diversity and stratification in 16 management research journals grouped into four different tiers, comparing subscription print journals and Open Access publishing across two grades of quality status. Analysis of authorship location and the use of normative Western research practices provides evidence that inequality is pervasive in the field. It is suggested that management scholars, journal editors, and universities can counteract inequality by initiating global research collaborations that engage deeply with the context of diverse forms of scholarship and knowledge and aim to disseminate in diversified publication outlets.