Special Issues as Vertical Integration: A Rejoinder to Priem and Mowday

In this rejoinder to Priem and Mowday, the author amplifies and critiques some of their ideas on the proliferation of special issues in management journals. The author interprets special issues as vertical integration moves by journal editors operating in a context of perceived resource scarcity. He also argues that the proliferation of special issues is contributing to the fragmentation of the organization studies discipline, thus contradicting Priem's notion of a command economy of ideas via special issue and Mowday's sanguine view of special issues. The author offers suggestions for future research on the causes and consequences of the proliferation of special issues in management journals.