The Circulation of Ideas Across Academic Communities: When Locals Re-Import Exported Ideas
Organization Studies, Vol. 31, Nol. 6, pp. 695-713, 2010
20 Pages Posted: 24 Dec 2011 Last revised: 15 Dec 2013
Date Written: June 23, 2010
Abstract
The circulation of ideas across academic communities is central to academic pursuits and has attracted much past scholarly attention. As North American-based scholars with European ties, we decided to examine the impact of Organization Studies in North American academia with the objective of understanding what, if anything, makes some Organization Studies articles more likely to have impact in North America than others. To set the stage for better understanding the role of Organization Studies in this academic community, we first present the key characteristics of North American academia. Secondly, relying on archival data spanning the first 29 years of Organization Studies (1980 to 2008, inclusive), we identify an apparent dynamic of select re-importation of exported ideas. Put otherwise, top North American journals tend to re-import ideas authored (and exported) by select North American scholars in Organizations Studies. Thirdly, we discuss the implications of this process on the field of organization studies and on the circulation of ideas across academic communities.
Keywords: circulation of ideas, academic communities, Europe, North America
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