Overall Format

All manuscripts submitted to Research & Reviews or Essays & Dialogues should be double-spaced, with 12-point font and 1-inch margins. The cover page should be uploaded as a separate document; it should include the title, the name and contact information (i.e., address, telephone, and e-mail) of all authors, and any acknowledgments. This page will not be part of the manuscript sent out for blind review. The first page should include the title and an abstract of 200 words or less. All manuscripts should reflect the comments and specifications below.

Writing Style

AMLE seeks well-argued, well-written manuscripts that our audience will want to read and remember.  Toward that end, we recommend the approach to writing presented in George D. Gopen and Judith A. Swan's, "The Science of Scientific Writing" (American Scientist,  1990, 78: 550-558) and Joseph M. Williams', Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 6th ed. (2000, New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.).

Following this approach, we strongly endorse the use of first person when it accurately describes agency.  Thus if you did something, "I" would be appropriate; similarly, if your team did something, "we" would be appropriate.  And if you are the sole agent, there is no need to disguise your contribution with a royal "we."  So, in situations where the first person accurately describes the agency, "I" and "we" are not only appropriate, they are preferred. (Speaking of pronouns, use the pronoun "he" only in reference to individuals known to be men.  Please do not use the generic "he," and refrain from using "he/she" or its variations. Vary pronouns as appropriate.)

Headings

Headings make a manuscript's structure more visible, which helps the reader understand its organization and flow.  All headings should begin flush against the left margin:

THIS IS A FIRST-LEVEL HEAD

This Is a Second-Level Head

This Is a Third-Level Head

This Is a Fourth-Level Head. (Text should follow on the same line)

Please remember that a heading structure is really just a traditional outline without the Roman numerals, capital letters, and so forth, so within any section, if any headings at the next lower heading level are used, at least two such headings must be used.

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures can enhance both the reader's understanding of information and the efficiency of its presentation.  But just as too many overhead slides can ruin an oral presentation, too many figures and tables can detract from the overall narrative.  Thus we encourage the judicious use of tables and figures and we discourage their overuse.  The proper construction of tables and figures is a detailed craft, so in preparing them for your manuscript, please follow the detailed instructions presented in the styles guides of the Academy of Management Journal and Academy of Management Review, both of which are published in the first issue each year.

Guidelines for submitting figures/images: 

• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork. 
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text. 
• Submit each figure as a separate file. Do NOT embed art files into a Word or PDF document.
• Line illustrations should be submitted at 900 dpi. 
• Halftones and color should be submitted at a minimum of 300 dpi.
• Save as either TIF or EPS files. 
• Color art must be saved as CMYK - not RGB.
• Black and White art must be submitted as grayscale - not RGB.
• PowerPoint or Excel files should NOT be submitted.

Color Reproduction: The Academy of Management encourages the use of color in the online version of the article. Authors have the option to produce the artwork in color in the online version and in black and white for the print edition. The default option is to produce all tables, figures, and photos in black and white in the print version and color (if required) in the online version. 

If you have any style questions regarding color reproductions, please contact Stacey Victor (svictor@aom.org).

References

As with AMJ and AMR, AMLE follows the referencing format and practices of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. closely, although there are minor differences.  So in the text, cite the author, year of publication, and if appropriate, the page numbers within parentheses.   For example: (Gopen & Swan, 1990: 552).

An important detail when citing a reference is whether to give the exact page numbers.   We ask that authors always give the exact page number(s) when they quote another source verbatim.  This is also good practice when citing a specific finding.  Page numbers are not always necessary, of course, and many times it will simply be a matter for your own judgment.  However, we ask that you put yourself in the place of a reader who would like to check the cited finding or idea.  Would your citation allow the reader to easily locate the cited material once the source was obtained?  Or would the reader have to read all of a 500-page book to track it down?

The reference list itself should be located at the end of the text before any tables or figures that accompany the manuscript.  References should be listed in alphabetical order, and if more than one reference from the same source is listed, list them in chronological order beginning with the oldest source first.  Many types of sources can be listed, of course, and we refer you to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed., for advice on almost any type of source you would like to cite.  However, we present models of the most common types of sources below:

Articles

A key distinction for articles is whether they are part of a page-numbering sequence that runs through the entire volume or begins anew with each issue of the periodical.  An example of each type is given below, with the form for the volume-length numbering illustrated first, followed by the form for the numbered-by-issue method.

Pfeffer, J., & Fong, C. T.  2002.  The end of business schools?  Less success than meets the eye. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 1: 78-95.

Hays, R. H., & Abernathy, W. J.  1980. Managing our way to economic decline.  Harvard Business Review, 58(4):  67-77.