You Got an R&R, Now What? The 33 Percent Rule for Dealing with Editor and Reviewer Comments

Research Interest
Abstract: The purpose of the essay is to provide authors with a foundational framework—the 33 percent rule— for dealing with editor and review comments in revise and resubmits at management journals. It specifically suggests a balanced discipline in terms of how they react to (1st 33%), how they act about (2nd 33%), and how they enact a decision letter (3rd 33%). And while authors cannot control what reviewers and editors might say or imply about their work, how they react to, act about, and enact a decision letter is largely under their control. The 33 % rule applies particularly to R&R cases, but it also provides helpful reminders for the other scenarios in a review process.

Bio: Zeki Simsek is a Professor of Management and Gressette Chair of Business Strategy and Planning at College of Business, Clemson University. Prior to this appointment he held the Eversource Scholar of Technological Entrepreneurship and Ackerman Scholar at the University of Connecticut. Zeki’s research focuses on strategic leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship. His papers have appeared in the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, and others. The New England Journal of Entrepreneurship (NEJE) in 2016 recognized Zeki as one of the top most influential authors globally in entrepreneurship research in the 21st century, as a result of his research output in top-tier management journals from 2000 to 2015. He has served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Discoveries, Journal of Management Studies, Organizational Research Methods, Strategic Organization, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. He is currently Associate Editor of the Academy of Management Journal, and on the editorial boards of Strategic management Journal and Academy of Management Discoveries. An award winning teacher, Zeki teaches executives, masters, undergraduates, and Ph.D students. His courses include; Strategic Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and New Ventures—Ph.D.; Executive Project—Executive MBA; Venturing and Value Creation in a Simulated Marketplace—MBA; Strategic Management; Venture Planning, Management, & Growth, and Venture Consulting, and Business in Italy: An International and Entrepreneurial Perspective—Undergraduate. Zeki’s tenure at UConn transcended traditional academic roles. He held numerous university-level committee and faculty council positions, and served on the board of trustees’ academic affairs committee. In part as recognition of these efforts across the spectrum from the school and university to community levels, and in part for his scholarly achievements, Zeki received the Research Excellence and Distinguished Service awards.