Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2023
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

How Important Is Editorial Gatekeeping? Evidence from Top Biomedical Journals

By: Joshua L. Krieger, Kyle R. Myers and Ariel D. Stern
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:45
ShareBar

Abstract

We examine editors’ influence on the scientific content of academic journals by unpacking the role of three major forces: journals’ stated missions, the aggregate supply of and demand for specific topics, and scientific homophily via editorial gatekeeping. In a sample of top biomedical journals, we find the first two forces explain the vast majority of variation in published content. The upper bound of the homophily effect is statistically significant but practically much less important. Marginal changes to the composition of editorial boards do not meaningfully impact journals’ content in the short run. However, we cannot rule out persistent or pervasive frictions in the publication process.

Keywords

Jobs and Positions; Operations; Information Publishing; Analysis

Citation

Krieger, Joshua L., Kyle R. Myers, and Ariel D. Stern. "How Important Is Editorial Gatekeeping? Evidence from Top Biomedical Journals." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-011, September 2021. (Revised January 2023. Accepted at Review of Economics and Statistics.)
  • SSRN
  • Read Now

About The Authors

Joshua Lev Krieger

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

Kyle R. Myers

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

Ariel D. Stern

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • February 2023
    • Faculty Research

    The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Innovation Hub: Driving Internal Innovation

    By: Ariel Dora Stern, Robert S. Huckman and Sarah Mehta
    • 2023
    • JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association

    Association Between Regulatory Submission Characteristics and Recalls of Medical Devices Receiving 510(k) Clearance

    By: Alexander O. Everhart, Soumya Sen, Ariel D. Stern, Yi Zhu and Pinar Karaca-Mandic
    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Post-market Surveillance of Software Medical Devices: Evidence from Regulatory Data

    By: Alexander O. Everhart and Ariel D. Stern
More from the Authors
  • The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Innovation Hub: Driving Internal Innovation By: Ariel Dora Stern, Robert S. Huckman and Sarah Mehta
  • Association Between Regulatory Submission Characteristics and Recalls of Medical Devices Receiving 510(k) Clearance By: Alexander O. Everhart, Soumya Sen, Ariel D. Stern, Yi Zhu and Pinar Karaca-Mandic
  • Post-market Surveillance of Software Medical Devices: Evidence from Regulatory Data By: Alexander O. Everhart and Ariel D. Stern
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College