Doing Good and Doing Well: On the Multiple Contributions of Journal Editors

We investigate four facets of the post-editorship research performance of journal editors (i.e., number of articles in refereed journals, books, book chapters, and presentations at professional conferences) and their relationship with nonresearch performance at the university (i.e., department, school/college, university) and professional (i.e., professional organizations, journal editorial boards) levels. Our sample included 31 of the 32 journal editors from the mid-1950s to the mid-2000s of Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, and Personnel Psychology who have not retired or passed away studied by Aguinis, de Bruin, Cunningham, Hall, Culpepper, and Gottfredson (2010). Results based on robust regression analysis indicate that post editorship productivity does not involve a simplistic dichotomy and mutually exclusive choice between research performance versus other types of contributions. Results show that past editors can do well—be productive researchers—and also do good—make meaningful nonresearch contributions to their universities as well as their professions in general.