A citation analysis of the technology innovation management journals

Abstract

This paper is the first citation-analysis-based follow up to the subjective survey conducted in 1993 by the Technology Innovation Management Division (TIMD) of the Academy of Management (see J. Liker, TIM Newslett., vol.7, no.2, p.5-8, 1993). That survey established a hierarchical rating of journals publishing articles in the field of technology innovation management (TIM). For each of the 1204 journals cited in the five highest ranked journals in the TIM specialty group of Liker's study (called the base journals) during the (base) period 1990-1993, a citation score is computed using three different methods: the overall score, the normalized score, and the weighted-score method. Rankings of the journals based on each of these three methods are discussed and compared one with the other. Moreover, rankings of the top journals identified by the three methods (modified to adjust for differences in sample size) were compared with Liker's survey results ranking. The key finding of the study is that, under all scoring methods, the top six spots were held by the same journals, The variation in ranks, however, became progressively greater at lower ranks. Researchers, metaresearchers, academic administrators, journal editors, and others may find the citation-based trends, ranks, and other results developed in this study helpful in stimulating further scholarly discourse in the field of TIM as it relates to the effectiveness of the journals.