Pre-Submission Preflight (amr-submission)
AMR is theory-only. There is no dataset, code, or replication package to deposit. The preflight centers on the theory paper's format, anonymization, and AOM ethics — not on empirical materials.
When to trigger
- "I'm about to submit to AMR"
- Final check before clicking submit in ScholarOne
- Unsure which files the portal expects for a conceptual paper
Pre-submission checklist
Scope & fit
- The paper builds new theory (constructs / process model / reconceptualization), not an empirical study
- It enters and "challenges and extends" a specific theoretical conversation
- There is no data, no measures, no statistical test anywhere in the manuscript
- Fit confirmed against the current AMR aims & scope (verify on the official page)
Format (verify exact current requirements on the AOM author page)
- Manuscript double-spaced, standard margins and 12-pt font
- Title page separate from the manuscript body (for anonymous review)
- Abstract present and within the journal's word limit (verify current limit)
- Within the journal's overall length expectation (verify; AMR articles are full-length)
- Figures meet AOM resolution/format specs; each is a conceptual model/typology, not a data plot
- Propositions numbered consistently and matched to the figure
Anonymization for double-anonymous review
- No author-identifying content in the manuscript body
- Self-citations phrased neutrally ("prior work (Author, 2020)"), not "in our earlier paper"
- Acknowledgments removed from the body (added after acceptance)
- Funding/grant identifiers kept out of the body
- Document file properties scrubbed of author name/affiliation
- File names contain no author or institution name
References & citations
- APA-style author–date in-text citations; full reference list per the AOM (APA-derived) Style Guide (APA edition UNVERIFIED — confirm; see source map)
- Every in-text citation appears in the reference list and vice versa
- The recent, live conversation in the target stream is cited, not only seminal works
- All references are real and accurately quoted (no fabricated or mis-cited sources)
Ethics & originality (AOM Code of Ethics)
- Manuscript is original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere
- Authorship reflects genuine intellectual contribution; order agreed by all authors
- Any prior conference/working-paper version is disclosed as required
- Similarity check run (institutional tool); overlap acceptable and self-overlap disclosed
Portal files (ScholarOne)
- Anonymized main manuscript (body + figures + references), required format
- Separate title page with author info and corresponding author
- Cover note / response to editor if requested
- Any author-agreement or conflict-of-interest forms the system requires
Desk-reject triggers to preempt
- It's an empirical study (reports data, tests hypotheses) — the defining AMR desk reject.
- Incremental theory — a minor extension with no new construct or mechanism.
- A literature review with no original theoretical move (AMR is not a review journal).
- Construct proliferation — relabeling existing ideas (cf. Suddaby, AMR 2010, DOI 10.5465/amr.2010.0419).
- Untestable-in-principle or tautological propositions (AMR's scope demands "testable knowledge-based claims").
- Poor fit/scope or anonymization/formatting failures.
ScholarOne operation notes
- AMR uses ScholarOne Manuscripts (Manuscript Central); register and submit through the AMR portal linked from journals.aom.org/journal/amr (exact URL — confirm; see source map).
- Enter author metadata only in the system, never in the anonymized manuscript.
- Suggested/opposed reviewers: provide only if the system asks and per its limits.
- Choose the correct submission/article type (theoretical/conceptual article).
- Submission fee: none — the Academy of Management does not charge submission fees (verified at aom.org, 2026-05). AOM membership to submit: confirm on the AOM author guidelines (not assumed).
- Keep within the file-size and file-type limits the portal states.
Anti-patterns
- Submitting a paper that is really an empirical study or a literature review
- Author identity leaking through "our prior study," acknowledgments, or file properties
- Reference list missing the recent conversation reviewers belong to
- Figures that are data plots (impossible at AMR) or undefined boxes-and-arrows
- Forgetting to scrub document metadata after a final edit
- Over-length manuscript that ignores the current limit (verify before submitting)
Output format
【Scope】builds new theory, no data: yes / fix 【Format】double-spaced / abstract within limit / figures conceptual: pass / fix 【Anonymization】body + properties + filenames clean: yes / fix 【References】AOM style; recent conversation cited; all real: yes / fix 【Ethics】original, not under review, authorship correct: yes / fix 【Portal files】anonymized MS + title page + forms: complete / missing [...] 【Next step】await decision → amr-review-process; R&R → amr-rebuttal
Related resources
templates/manuscript_template.md— Standard AMR conceptual-article skeleton (puzzle intro, theory development, propositions, conceptual model, discussion)templates/checklist.md— 8-section pre-submission self-check (scope / format / anonymization / abstract / theory / figures / references / ethics & portal)../../resources/external_tools.md— Theory-building tools (citation mapping, reference managers, conceptual-diagram software, argument-logic aids)
