Use when you need to understand or set expectations for the Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) editorial and peer-review process — desk review, the developmental multi-round R&R culture, and reading a decision letter. Explains the process and how to read decisions; it does not draft the response letter (amj-rebuttal).
SkillScore77Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/15/2026
What it changes
Passed 17 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 11 of 22 without it.
Without skill50%
With skill77%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The response uses the header 【Next step】.
The response uses the header 【New work needed】.
The response uses the header 【Fatal vs. fixable】.
and 7 more in the full report
6 fixed11 passed either way5 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+27 pp
Tokens
+15%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-37%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/15/2026v117 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 6 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 6
Prompt
Who is the Editor-in-Chief of the Academy of Management Journal whose team began receiving submissions on July 1, 2025?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The response names Gary A. Ballinger as the Editor-in-Chief.
Missed
Passed
The response identifies University of Virginia as his institution.
Missed
Passed
case-07 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/15/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md64 linessingle file
Understanding the Review Process (amj-review-process)
When to trigger
Before submitting, to calibrate expectations about timeline and decision types
A decision letter arrived and you need to interpret it (R&R vs. reject; major vs. minor)
You are unsure how much weight reviewers vs. the action editor carry
You want to plan a revision strategy before drafting the response (then go to amj-rebuttal)
Editorial structure, named editors, and exact timelines change. Verify the current editorial team, policies, and turnaround on the official AMJ site; the norms below are durable. As of 2026-05-30: AMJ uses blind review, targets constructive developmental feedback to authors within ~60 days, and the incoming Editor-in-Chief is Gary A. Ballinger (University of Virginia), whose team began receiving submissions on 1 July 2025.
How AMJ review works (durable norms)
Submission & routing. The editor (or an associate/action editor) screens the manuscript and routes it to an action editor in the relevant division. Submission is via ScholarOne (mc.manuscriptcentral.com/AMJ) with all author identifiers removed for blind review.
Desk decision. Manuscripts that are off-fit, atheoretical, fatally underpowered, or that miss one of AMJ's three criteria (empirical contribution, theoretical contribution, practical relevance) may be desk-rejected without external review. A clear theoretical contribution and appropriate design are what get a paper past the desk.
External peer review. Typically several (often three) reviewers in the focal conversation evaluate the theoretical contribution, design rigor, and analysis; AMJ aims to return developmental feedback within roughly 60 days.
Action editor synthesis. The action editor weighs the reviews, forms an independent judgment, and writes the decision letter. The editor's letter — not a vote count — drives the outcome.
Decision. Common outcomes: reject; reject with encouragement to resubmit as new; major revision (R&R); minor revision; (rarely) accept. A first-round acceptance is essentially unheard of.
AMJ is developmental and multi-round
AMJ's culture is developmental: an R&R is an invitation to improve the paper over (often) multiple rounds. Reviewers and the action editor push hard on the theoretical contribution and the method — expect requests to deepen theory, add a study, strengthen identification, or address common-method/endogeneity concerns. Treat an R&R as a serious opportunity, not a near-acceptance, and not a rejection.
Reading the decision letter
Find the editor's priorities first. The action editor's letter signals which reviewer points are essential vs. optional. Address the editor's framing above all.
Distinguish "fatal" from "fixable." If a core identification or theory concern is fatal and unaddressable, an honest reframe (or a different paper) beats a doomed revision.
Gauge encouragement. Language like "we see promise" + a major revision signals a real path; "does not fit our developmental model" signals reject.
Count the asks. Map every reviewer point to: theory / method / analysis / framing / writing — this becomes the revision plan that feeds amj-rebuttal.
Planning the revision
Decide whether you can satisfy the theoretical-contribution demands; if not, the revision will not succeed regardless of method fixes.
Scope the new analyses/data the reviewers imply and whether they are feasible in the revision window.
Identify points where reviewers conflict; plan to surface the conflict for the editor rather than silently siding with one.
Checklist
Decision type identified (R&R major/minor, reject-resubmit, reject)
The action editor's priorities extracted and ranked above individual reviewer asks