From regional roots to global reach: A 30-year bibliometric analysis of the Journal of Management & Organization

This study provides the large-scale bibliometric assessment of the Journal of Management & Organization (JMO), offering insights into its intellectual trajectory and positioning within the management field. Covering 1,083 documents published between 1995 and 2024, indexed in Web of Science and Scopus, the analysis applies performance metrics, citation structures, and science mapping using VOSviewer and Bibliometrix. The study is further grounded in institutional and field-theoretic perspectives, interpreting JMO’s evolution as a process of legitimacy-building and scientific capital accumulation within a global knowledge field. The results show that JMO’s growth has been marked by cyclical expansion, with a sharp increase in productivity since the mid-2000s but uneven citation impact, heavily reliant on a small set of landmark articles. Co-citation and bibliographic coupling analyses reveal intellectual roots in organizational behavior, psychology, and strategy, while keyword and thematic mapping highlight enduring strengths in leadership, human resource management, and job satisfaction. At the same time, new research frontiers have emerged in governance, innovation, sustainability, and work-life balance, reflecting JMO’s responsiveness to global challenges such as COVID-19 and digital transformation. Collaboration networks confirm the journal’s Australasian anchoring, yet also demonstrate growing integration into international research systems, particularly through linkages with the United States, China, and Europe. This study contributes to understanding JMO’s evolving role within management and organizational scholarship, identifying both its achievements and challenges. The findings offer insights for scholars, institutions, and editors on how JMO can consolidate high-impact niches, diversify its author base, and strengthen its influence in shaping global management debates.