...expected from MISQ articles while at the same time increasing the acceptance rate, which is approximately 13 percent.

Now no editor would admit to wanting to lower the quality of the journal which he or she has been charged to guide. And it certainly isn't easy to maintain a journal's quality while increasing the percentage of papers that are accepted. But, I think there is a way to do this that requires the help of reviewers, editors, and authors. It also requires a change in mindset about how to write good reviews. I think as a discipline we are too hard on ourselves. Too few articles are successfully navigating their way through the reviewing process into published form. Too many good ideas are not being developed and disseminated.

As academicians, we are taught to be critical and to consider the many facets of an issue. As educators, we often hone in on what is wrong with our students' work in the hope of assisting them in perfecting their analytical, research, and communication skills. Consequently, when we wear our reviewer's hat, we often focus on what is wrong with the manuscripts that we review. Our challenge is to find the "fatal flaws" that are hidden in these manuscripts. And for the most part we do a great job of keeping problematic papers from being published. That is, as reviewers we tend to be wonderful gatekeepers.

As editor-in-chief of MISQ, I would like to encourage another role for reviewers, one that supplements the role of gatekeeper. Having just returned from a delightful sabbatical in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, the analogy of diamond cutters comes to mind. In the diamond cutter's role, reviewers (and the editorial team) work with authors in polishing manuscripts so that the gem can surface and shine. Although expert diamond cutters can camouflage some errors in the diamond, fatal flaws are impossible to conceal. Like diamonds, some manuscripts have fatal flaws which preclude their publication in MISQ. Discerning these fatal flaws calls for reviewers who are good gatekeepers. However, I would argue that many of the fatal flaws that have been found in the past are really not fatal in the hands of an expert diamond cutter. I would like to expand MISQ's reviewer base of diamond cutters who are willing to work with rough manuscripts and help transform them into brilliant gems. To accomplish this, MISQ needs to expand its reviewer base, as well as change the mindset of many of its reviewers and authors.

Expanding the Reviewer Base

I am frequently impressed with the high quality of the reviews I receive. However, I am aware that often...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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