The favored “logic‐in‐use” research : The referring to concepts in organization studies publications

Purpose – Since research evaluations have made their way into the academic system and the “publish or perish” doctrine pressures researchers to enlarge their publication list, it has become apparent that having a good idea is not enough. The idea must also comply with the favored “logic‐in‐use” research. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the favored “logic‐in‐use” research while investigating the dealing with concept articles in organization studies publications. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology of this paper is based on articles referring to 44 identified concepts published in 39 different business and management journals between 1960 and 2005. Findings – This paper demonstrates the favored “logic‐in‐use” research that is embedded within an empirical quantitative research setting. It also illustrates the growing importance of articles referring to already established concepts in the field of organization studies. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates the consequences of the “publish or perish” principle on the research conducted in the field of organization studies. It shows empirically the trend towards positivism and it contributes to improve the awareness of the role of concepts in the field of organization studies.