Transforming Academia [2009-current]
Research program 7: Adressing academic inequities and transforming academia into a place that values quality over quantity, inclusive and open research processes, diverse careers, societal impact, and interactions based on kindness, dialogue, and collegiality.
After more than 30 years in academia, I have published all the academic articles and fulfilled all the academic leadership roles I could ever want. I have taught thousands of students and marked millions of words. I have also played a considerable role in external engagement, providing service to the wider academic community, including through the Publish or Perish software, significant ;public speaking, and the use new technologies for outreach.
I have also been blessed with more awards than I had ever imagined possible. In addition to dozens of awards for my papers, I was elected by Women of the Future as one of 50 Leading Lights for my work with CYGNA and Middlesex University. This work, combined with my own research in IB, also led to my election as Woman of the Year by Women in the Academy of International Business, and as Distinguished International Scholarby the Irish Academy of Management. Finally, I am also one of only 24 awardees – selected from 11,688 nominations – of the Inaugural Positive Leadership Award.
Therefore, in the last 5-10 years of my academic career, I have focused squarely on giving back by helping individuals, institutions, and the Higher Education sector as a whole through mentorship, public speaking engagements, increased provison of resources on my website, my blog - which now counts nearly 500 entries - and my YouTube channel: Harzing Academic Resources - which includes over 200 videos and nearly 40 playlists.
Over the years this endeavour also became increasingly central to my research and writing activities, especially after Christa Sathish initiated a more systematic endeavour to change academia entitled Positive Academia in 2022. Hence, I have now collated my work in this area in the last 20 years as my latest new research program, provocatively entitled Transforming Academia.
Early "activist" research on editorial board diversity
In the mid-2000s I became interested in critically assessing the role of editors and editorial boards in the publishing process. Hence, with Isabel Metz, I studied determinants of editorial board diversity. Based on data for 60 journals, covering 16,000 editorial board members and nearly 10,000 articles, a paper on gender diversity in editorial boards was published in the Academy of Management Learning and Education, whilst an update with 2009 data analyses the development of female editorial board memberships over time for five management fields, journals of four different ranks, and two geographic regions.
Two papers on geographic diversity were published in Management International Review (2013) and European Journal of International Management (2012). A final paper on the impact of editorial standing on gender diversity was published in British Journal of Management (2016). A related paper in the Dutch professional magazine Economisch Statistische Berichten summarizes the research on gender bias and meritocracy and asks Why are there so few female Economics professors?
Early blogposts
In September 2017 I introduced a new Positive Academia category for my blog with a first post on: Return to Meaning: A Social Science with Something to Say. Since then I have been posting regularly on this topic with posts such as:
- This little girl: message to my younger self
- How my career trajectory led to a focus on inclusion
- On proactiveness in academia
- How to create positive climates, capital, motivation, and direction
- On academic life: collaborations and active engagement
- Creating a supportive, collaborative & inclusive research culture
- Leading with Kindness: one of 50 Leading Lights in UK
- Using LinkedIn recommendations to support others
- How to create a sustainable academic career
- Be proactive, resilient & realistic!
- Impactful Research: from words to action, from outcome to process
- CYGNA: Co-creating academic well-being
- Changing academic culture: one email at a time...
- The ABC of research across career stages - Early career
- The ABC of research across career stages - Mid career
- The ABC of research across career stages - Late career
- On kindness and gratitude in academia
- Where are you from? Not "just" a conversation starter
Honouring our senior colleagues
A large part of transforming academia is finding new ways of working more suited to new generations of academics. However, for me it also involves acknowledging the significant contributions pioneers in our field have made. Hence, in 2022, I readily took on the role as AIB Fellows Bibliometrician, in which I write bibliographic analyses of our departed Fellows. See also: Writing laudations or obituaries?
- Bibliographic analysis of the scholarly writings of Jean J. Boddewyn
- Bibliographic analysis of the scholarly writings of Stephen Kobrin
- Bibliographic analysis of the scholarly writings of José de la Torre
- Bibliographic analysis of the scholarly writings of John Daniels
- A brief bibliographic analysis of the scholarly writings of Jan Johanson
- Bibliographic analysis of the scholarly writings of Raj Aggarwal
The role of impact
Also in 2022 – after being invited by SAGE Publications to write up a blogpost on impact for their blog Social Science Space – I extended this to a white paper Research Impact 101. In it I draw on terminology familiar to academics to build a bridge between the Science of Science and the “academic in the street”.
I show how to define and operationalize research impact, distinguish it from related concepts, avoid strawman arguments, test empirically rather than rely on anecdata, avoid the ecological fallacy by carefully considering levels of analysis, and understand that the research process is as important as the research outcome.
Crafting your career in academia
In August 2022 I launched my latest initiative: a new book series Crafting your career in academia. This series is a collection of books dealing with various aspects of crafting your career in academia. It is based on my popular website Harzing.com and contains edited and curated collections of my white papers, blogposts, and presentations, as well as newly written texts. Five books are currently available.
- Writing effective promotion applications
- Publishing in academic journals
- Creating social media profiles
- Measuring and improving research impact
- Using the Publish or Perish software
Aug 2022: Only £5.95... |
Nov 2022: Only £5.95... |
Feb 2023: Only £5.95... |
May 2023: Only £5.95... |
August 2023: Only £9.99... |
Moreover, a paper with Heejin Kim shows how a model initiated created for subsidiary capability building and subsidiary evolution over time can be applied to the context of academia by demonstrating how it can help understanding academic capability development and knowledge creation.
White papers on Transforming academia
Since 2023 I took up writing white papers in earnest and wrote a range of white papers that all relate to transforming academia in one way or another. I also launched a spirited defence of Business School research.
- Reflections on staff development
- The art of academic writing
- The individual annualised h-index: an ecologically rational heuristic?
- Open Syllabus: a treasure-trove for research and teaching
- SAGEPolicyProfiles: a treasure-trove for discovering policy impact
- Sustaining motivation in change processes: Reframe your mindsets & actions
- Academic etiquette & service in the age of GenAI
- GenAI - Use it to Generate Inspiration (if you must), not Automation
- The ABC of research across career stages
- In defence of the Business School: One myth and four truths
- Value for money in the UK REF: Why invest in post-92 Business Schools and sector-wide collaboration?
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Positive Academia
I am using my early retirement to help developing a new initiative called Positive Academia, spearheaded by Christa Sathish. We are building both a strong research foundation and a wide range of practical tools. For more information see the Positive Academia website, maintained by Christa Sathish.
At present this includes our PACT (Positive Academia Collective Transformation) manifesto and a self-published booklet with daily actions. However, we have a range of papers in progress dealing with the change process towards a more Positive Academia. They combine a rigourous conceptual analysis with practical day-to-day practices. Finally, with Ina Aust we are co-editing a book - to be published by Edward Elgar in 2027- on How to Cultivate Academic Heterotopias.
Publications
Online papers - Full list of publications
- Harzing, A.W. (2025) Value for money in the UK REF: Why invest in post-92 Business Schools and sector-wide collaboration?, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Sathish, C.; Harzing, A.W. (2025) Let’s form a Positive Academia Collective Transformation: Re-imagining our academic values and interactions, Management Learning, in press. Available online... - Publisher's version (free access) - Related blog post
- Sathish C. and Harzing A.W. (2025)
- Harzing, A.W. (2025) In defence of the Business School: One myth and four truths, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2025) The ABC of research across career stages, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2025) Academic etiquette & service in the age of GenAI, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2025) GenAI - Use it to Generate Inspiration (if you must), not Automation, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2024) Sustaining motivation in change processes: Reframe your mindsets & actions, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2024) SAGEPolicyProfiles: a treasure-trove for discovering policy impact, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2024) Open Syllabus: a treasure-trove for research and teaching, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2024) The individual annualised h-index: an ecologically rational heuristic?, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Kim, H.; Harzing, A.W. (2024) Applying IB knowledge to IB researchers: The academic capability building and knowledge creation process, AIB Insights, vol. 24, no. 1, Available online... - Publisher's version (free access) - Related blog post
- Harzing, A.W. (2023) The art of academic writing, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2023) Reflections on staff development, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W. (2023) Using the Publish or Perish software: Crafting your career in academia, Published by Tarma Software Research Ltd, London, United Kingdom. More about this book...
- Harzing, A.W. (2023) Measuring and Improving Research Impact: Crafting your career in academia, Published by Tarma Software Research Ltd, London, United Kingdom. More about this book...
- Harzing, A.W. (2023) Creating social media profiles: Crafting your career in academia, Published by Tarma Software Research Ltd, London, United Kingdom. More about this book...
- Harzing, A.W. (2022) Publishing in academic journals: Crafting your career in academia, Published by Tarma Software Research Ltd, London, United Kingdom. More about this book...
- Harzing, A.W. (2022) Writing effective promotion applications: Crafting your career in academia, Published by Tarma Software Research Ltd, London, United Kingdom. More about this book...
- Harzing, A.W. (2022) Research Impact 101, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Harzing, A.W.; Vinkenburg, C.; van Engen, M. (2018): How to make career advancement in Economics more inclusive, Economisch Statistische Berichten, vol. 103, issue 4767s, 1 November, pp. 42-48. Publisher's version (free access) - Related blog post.
- Metz, I.; Harzing, A.W.; Zyphur, M. (2016) Of journal editors and editorial boards: Who are the trailblazers in increasing editorial board gender equality?, British Journal of Management, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 712-726. [Also incorporated into a virtual issue on Gender in Management Research] Available online... - Publisher's version
- Harzing, A.W. (2016) Why replication studies are essential: learning from failure and success, Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 563-568. Available online... - Publisher's version
- Harzing, A.W.; Metz, I. (2013) Practicing what we preach: The geographic diversity of editorial boards, Management International Review, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 169-187. Available online... - Publisher's version (read for free)
- Harzing, A.W.; Metz, I. (2012) Explaining geographic diversity of editorial boards: the role of conference participation and English language skills, European Journal of International Management, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 697-715. Available online...
- Metz, I.; Harzing, A.W. (2012) An update of gender diversity in editorial boards: A longitudinal study of management journals, Personnel Review, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 283-300. Available online...
- Harzing, A.W.; Metz, I. (2011) Gender and geographical diversity in the editorial board of the Journal of International Business Studies, AIB Insights, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 3-7.
- Harzing, A.W.; Metz, I. (2011) Gender and geographical diversity in the editorial board of the Journal of International Business Studies, www.harzing.com white paper.
- Metz, I.; Harzing, A.W. (2009) Gender diversity in editorial boards of management journals, The Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 540-557. Available online...
Copyright © 2025 Anne-Wil Harzing. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Mon 15 Sep 2025 10:33
Anne-Wil Harzing is Emerita Professor of International Management at Middlesex University, London. She is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, a select group of distinguished AIB members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the scholarly development of the field of international business. In addition to her academic duties, she also maintains the Journal Quality List and is the driving force behind the popular Publish or Perish software program.
