Content, Process, and the Matthew Effect Among Management Academics

Abstract

This article concerns the sociology of management as a science. Different types of cosmopolitan activities are examined: content (direct contribution to content of scholarly knowledge), process (indirect contribution to scholarly knowledge) and mixed activities. The nature and consequences of the "Matthew Effect" (advantage leads to advantage) are detailed as it affects the perceptions by others of an individual academic's activities. Archetypes of management academics are developed and include the Involved Scholar, the Distant Scholar, the Association Loyalist and the Local (or Marginal Cosmopolitan). A model of the consequences of content, process and mixed content/process is presented. Professional implications to thefield of management are examined and extensions of the analyses suggested. Making the model operational is touched upon.