Academics at play : Why the “publication game” is more than a metaphor
(2020) In Management Learning 51(4). p.414-430- Abstract
It is increasingly common to describe academic research as a “publication game,” a metaphor that connotes instrumental strategies for publishing in highly rated journals. However, we suggest that the use of this metaphor is problematic. In particular, the metaphor allows scholars to make a convenient, but ultimately misleading, distinction between figurative game-playing on one hand (i.e. pursuing external career goals through instrumental publishing) and proper research on the other hand (i.e. producing intrinsically meaningful research). In other words, the “publication game” implies that while academic researchers may behave just like players, they are not really playing a game. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, we show that... (More)
It is increasingly common to describe academic research as a “publication game,” a metaphor that connotes instrumental strategies for publishing in highly rated journals. However, we suggest that the use of this metaphor is problematic. In particular, the metaphor allows scholars to make a convenient, but ultimately misleading, distinction between figurative game-playing on one hand (i.e. pursuing external career goals through instrumental publishing) and proper research on the other hand (i.e. producing intrinsically meaningful research). In other words, the “publication game” implies that while academic researchers may behave just like players, they are not really playing a game. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, we show that this metaphor prevents us, ironically, from fully grasping the lusory attitude, or play-mentality, that characterizes academic work among critical management researchers. Ultimately, we seek to stimulate reflection about how our choice of metaphor can have performative effects in the university and influence our behavior in unforeseen and potentially undesirable ways.
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- author
- Butler, Nick LU and Spoelstra, Sverre LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020-09-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Academic labor, metaphors, publication game, research assessment exercises
- in
- Management Learning
- volume
- 51
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 17 pages
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85085034419
- ISSN
- 1350-5076
- DOI
- 10.1177/1350507620917257
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 2cbc3ebf-4990-4d37-948c-0252ad4e4050
- date added to LUP
- 2020-06-26 17:24:54
- date last changed
- 2022-04-18 23:09:59
@article{2cbc3ebf-4990-4d37-948c-0252ad4e4050,
abstract = {{<p>It is increasingly common to describe academic research as a “publication game,” a metaphor that connotes instrumental strategies for publishing in highly rated journals. However, we suggest that the use of this metaphor is problematic. In particular, the metaphor allows scholars to make a convenient, but ultimately misleading, distinction between figurative game-playing on one hand (i.e. pursuing external career goals through instrumental publishing) and proper research on the other hand (i.e. producing intrinsically meaningful research). In other words, the “publication game” implies that while academic researchers may behave just like players, they are not really playing a game. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, we show that this metaphor prevents us, ironically, from fully grasping the lusory attitude, or play-mentality, that characterizes academic work among critical management researchers. Ultimately, we seek to stimulate reflection about how our choice of metaphor can have performative effects in the university and influence our behavior in unforeseen and potentially undesirable ways.</p>}},
author = {{Butler, Nick and Spoelstra, Sverre}},
issn = {{1350-5076}},
keywords = {{Academic labor; metaphors; publication game; research assessment exercises}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{414--430}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Management Learning}},
title = {{Academics at play : Why the “publication game” is more than a metaphor}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1350507620917257}},
doi = {{10.1177/1350507620917257}},
volume = {{51}},
year = {{2020}},
}