Getting a head start: turn-of-the-month submission effect for accepted papers in management journals

Liang Meng, Haifeng Wang () and Pengfei Han
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Liang Meng: Shanghai International Studies University
Haifeng Wang: Shanghai International Studies University
Pengfei Han: Nanjing University of Finance and Economics

Scientometrics, 2020, vol. 124, issue 3, No 37, 2577-2595

Abstract: Abstract Intriguing unforced regularities in human behaviors have been reported in varied research domains, including scientometrics. In this study we examine the manuscript submission behavior of researchers, with a focus on its monthly pattern. With a large and reliable dataset which records the submission history of articles published on 10 multidisciplinary journals and 10 management journals over a five-year period (2013–2017), we observe a prominent turn-of-the-month submission effect for accepted papers in management journals but not multidisciplinary journals. This effect gets more pronounced in submissions to top-tier journals and when the first day of a month happens to be a Saturday or Sunday. Sense of ceremony is proposed as a likely explanation of this effect, since the first day of a month is a fundamental temporal landmark which has a ‘fresh start effect’ on researchers. To conclude, an original and interesting day-of-the-month effect in the academia is reported in this study, which calls for more research attention.

Keywords: Turn-of-the-month (ToM); Temporal landmark; Submission date; Manuscript submission; Unforced regularity; Management journal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-020-03556-9

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