The superstar phenomenon in the knowledge management and intellectual capital academic discipline

[Eugene Garfield]

The superstar phenomenon in the knowledge management and intellectual 
capital academic discipline

Author(s): Serenko, A (Serenko, Alexander); Cox, RAK (Cox, Raymond A. K.); 
Bontis, N (Bontis, Nick); Booker, LD (Booker, Lorne D.)

Source: JOURNAL OF INFORMETRICS  Volume: 5  Issue: 3  Pages: 333-345  
DOI: 10.1016/j.joi.2011.01.005  Published: JUL 2011  

Abstract: This paper reports on the first documented attempt to investigate 
the presence of the superstar (or Matthew) effect in the knowledge 
management and intellectual capital (KM/IC) scholarly discipline. The Yule-
Simon model and Lotka's square law were applied to the publication data 
obtained from 2175 articles from 11 KM/IC journals. Based on the findings, it 
was concluded that the KM/IC discipline represents a very young, attractive 
academic field that welcomes contributions from a variety of academics and 
practitioners. In their paper acceptance decisions, KM/IC journal editors are not 
biased towards a small group of highly productive researchers, which is a 
positive sign that the field has been progressing in the right direction. The 
discipline is driven more by academics than by practitioners, and the 
distribution of articles is more concentrated among a few academic but not 
practitioner institutions. It was also observed that the Yule-Simon model and 
Lotka's square law may produce different distributions with respect to 
institutions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Language: English
Document Type: Article

Author Keywords: Superstar effect; Matthew effect; Yule-Simon model; Lotka's 
square law; Editor bias
KeyWords Plus: RESEARCH OUTPUT; CUMULATIVE ADVANTAGE; BIBLIOMETRIC 
DISTRIBUTIONS; SCIENTOMETRIC ANALYSIS; YULE DISTRIBUTION; 
ECONOMICS; SCIENCE; PRODUCTIVITY; PATTERNS; SCIENTISTS

Addresses: [Serenko, A] Lakehead Univ, Fac Business Adm, Thunder Bay, ON 
P7B 5E1, Canada
[Cox, RAK] Univ No British Columbia, Sch Business, Prince George, BC V2L 5P2, 
Canada
[Bontis, N; Booker, LD] McMaster Univ, DeGroote Sch Business, Hamilton, ON 
L8S 4L8, Canada
Reprint Address: Serenko, A (reprint author), Lakehead Univ, Fac Business Adm, 
955 Oliver Rd, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada

E-mail Address: aserenko at lakeheadu.ca, rcox at unbc.ca, nbontis at mcmaster.ca, 
bookerld at mcmaster.ca
ISSN: 1751-1577
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175115771100006X