Establishing a contribution: calibration, contextualization, construction and creation

When we commissioned this editorial symposium we had two principal aims. The first was to provide guidance for authors who are new to the journal and those with more experience who are seeking to develop impactful contributions to our field. The second aim was to showcase the experience and insights of the team of associate editors at the British Journal of Management (BJM): all of the team are pivotal in the journal's mission and work hard to help authors make the most of their research. With our twin aims in mind, we gave the team a broad remit. They were free to approach the task of offering guidance from their own standpoint and with their own choice of focus within BJM’s field. We also encouraged our colleagues to work in the way that they found most productive: independently, with other BJM associate editors or with colleagues from within their own networks. While other commitments and the heavy burdens of academic life meant that some of our colleagues could not participate in this symposium (but will hopefully be able to take part in further editorials), eight of the team took part, along with some collaborators. They covered a wide range of themes from BJM’s broad and inclusive take on the field of business, management and organization studies: a perspective on upper echelon decision-making and digital transformation (Arndt, Chang and Aharonson); a balanced view of artificial intelligence (Chowdhury and Budhwar); a standard-setting survey of trends in organizational behaviour (Costa and Daniels); a generative ‘take’ on religion in the workplace (Cullen); emerging directions in research on fintech and digital finance (Momtaz and Vismara); opportunities for new research in the management, knowledge and education space (Rigg); and a wayfinding view of equality, diversity and inclusivity research and practice (Śliwa). If you are developing your research in any of those areas, you will find the advice invaluable.