Do you have an R&R in a sustainability-related topic? Join the next GRONEN Reading Group meeting (Friday, March 1)

Dear colleagues,

If you have an R&R in a sustainability-related topic, we invite you to participate in the next online meeting of the GRONEN Reading Group (GROReG). GROReG is the platform of the GRONEN network to discuss sustainability-related papers at the ‘revise & resubmit’ stage (preferably with a journal that is at least ranked 3 in the ABS list).

The meeting will happen on Friday, 1st of March 2024, between 12.30-16.30 GMT (13.30-17.30 CET, 7.30-11.30am ET).

Spots are allocated on a first come, first served basis to those papers that meet the criteria above. To participate, we ask you to share your original submission (not the revised paper) and decision letter with the group (on a confidential basis). Each paper receives a 1-hour slot. On the day of the meeting, we ask you to present your approach to the review during 10-15 minutes. The next 45-50 minutes are then dedicated to a discussion on how to best deal with reviewer and editorial comments.

GROReG sessions are characterized by a non-competitive, constructive working atmosphere with the aim to help each other with the development and publication of papers on sustainability-related topics in high quality journals. The next meeting will be our 29th session.

GROReG sessions are facilitated by a group of the following core members:

  • Elisa Alt, King’s College London
  • Grace Augustine, University of Bath
  • Luca Berchicci, Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Aoife Brophy, University of Oxford
  • Simone Carmine, IESEG School of Management
  • Fred Dahlmann, University of Warwick
  • Nicole Darnall, Arizona State University
  • Valentina De Marchi, ESADE
  • Frank Figge, ESCP Paris
  • Panikos Georgallis, University of Amsterdam
  • Tobias Hahn, ESADE
  • Katrin Heucher, University of Groningen
  • Jörn Hoppmann, University of Oldenburg
  • Tanusree Jain, Copenhagen Business School
  • Gorgi Krlev, ESCP Paris
  • Franziska Lauenstein, University of Southern Denmark
  • Johannes Meuer, Kühne Logistics University
  • Lucrezia Nava, City University of London
  • Kerstin Neumann, University of Innsbruck
  • Desirée Pacheco, IESE
  • Jonatan Pinkse, King’s College London
  • Garima Sharma, American University
  • Sara Soderstrom, University of Michigan
  • Amanda Williams, IMD Business School

If you are interested, please contact the reading group coordinator Elisa Alt (elisa.alt@kcl.ac.uk) by February 9. Please send your paper as well as the decision letter including the reviewer reports. All submissions are treated confidentially and are shared only with the participants of the session/track. Please feel free to pass on this invitation to colleagues who might be interested in participating.

With best wishes,

Elisa

GRONEN Reading Group

The GRONEN Reading Group (GROReG) is a  platform of the GRONEN network to discuss papers that are at advanced stages in the revision process.

The goal is to help scholars from the field to publish their work on sustainability-related topics in high quality academic journals. GROReG sessions are held 3 times per year as a half-day event and each session hosts 3 papers (face-to-face) or up to 6 papers (online).
Papers to be discussed should be at the “revise & resubmit” stage of a journal that is at least ranked 3* in the CABS list. The focus of the discussion is on how to deal with reviewer and editorial comments to improve the papers and increase their likelihood of acceptance. GROReG sessions are characterized by a non-competitive, constructive working atmosphere.

Format

We expect that sessions will have around 10-15 participants. Each of the papers to be discussed will be assigned to a one-hour time slot. After a brief presentation (15 minutes) of the main challenges regarding the revision process of the paper by author(s), a discussant gives her/his view before the general discussion is opened. Participants receive the papers as well as the review reports and the editorial letter before each session and are expected to have read these documents beforehand, committing to confidentiality. When held in person (maximum once a year), GROReG sessions are associated to a joint lunch or dinner and hosted at changing locations, preferably in places with good travel connections or online.

Participation

We encourage scholars who have papers at the R&R stage to present their work in a  GROReG session. Scholars who are interested to discuss their paper at the GROReG should contact the reading group coordinator Elisa Alt (elisa.alt@kcl.ac.uk) and send their paper as well as the decision letter including the reviewer reports.

To learn about the next GROReG session, sign up to the GRONEN newsletter.

GROReG in numbers

  • 99 papers discussed to date
  • 50% of papers published to date (50 papers); 43% in the original journal (43 papers)

Past sessions were held at the following dates and locations:

  • 14 November 2014, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
  • 6 February 2015, Kedge Business School Marseille, France.
  • 24 April 2015, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
  • 25 September 2015, Kedge Business School Paris, France.
  • 29 January 2016, Bocconi University Milan, Italy.
  • 17 June 2016, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
  • 28 October 2016, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
  • 10 February 2017, University of Manchester, UK.
  • 23 June 2017, University of Warwick, UK.
  • 20 October 2017, University of Hamburg, Germany.
  • 8 February 2018, University of Edinburgh, UK.
  • 4 May 2018, ESADE Business School Barcelona, Spain.
  • 16 November 2018, Amsterdam Business School, The Netherlands.
  • 15 February 2019, Hertie School of Governance Berlin, Germany.
  • 20 June 2019, IESE Barcelona, Spain.
  • 11 October 2019, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
  • 14 February 2020, University of Bath, UK.
  • 10 July 2020, online.
  • 9 November 2020, online.
  • 26 February 2021, online.
  • 28 May 2021, online.
  • 29 October 2021, online.
  • 22 February 2022, online.
  • 31 May 2022, Amsterdam Business School, The Netherlands.
  • 17 October 2022, online.
  • 26 February 2023, online.

Core members

GROReG sessions are facilitated by a group of the following core members:

  • Elisa Alt
    King’s College London, UK
  • Grace Augustine
    University of Bath, UK
  • Luca Berchicci
    Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • Aoife Brophy
    University of Oxford, UK
  • Simone Carmine

University of Padova, Italy

  • Frederik Dahlmann
    University of Warwick, UK
  • Valentina De Marchi
    ESADE Barcelona, Spain
  • Frank Figge
    ESCP Business School, Paris, France
  • Panikos Georgallis
    University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Tobias Hahn
    ESADE Barcelona, Spain
  • Katrin Heucher
    University of Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Jörn Hoppmann
    University of Oldenburg, Germany
  • Tanusree Jain
    Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
  • Gorgi Krlev
  • ESCP Business School, Paris, France
  • Franziska Lauenstein
    University of Southern Denmark
  • Johannes Meuer
    Kühne Logistics University
  • Lucrezia Nava

City University, UK

  • Kerstin Neumann
    University of Innsbruck, Austria
  • Desirée Pacheco
    IESE, Spain
  • Jonatan Pinkse
    University of Manchester, UK
  • Garima Sharma
    American University, USA
  • Sara Soderstrom
    University of Michigan, USA
  • Amanda Williams
    IMD, Switzerland

TESTIMONIALS

GRONEN Reading Group Testimonials

“These GRONEN Reading Group meetings are one-of-a-kind. It´s a highly collegial, intimate and thrustful atmosphere that the organizers create and it truly gives authors a chance to discuss all the questions they have about their paper in progress they would probably not get answers for elsewhere. I can only strongly recommend anyone with a relevant paper and an R&R in one of those high-pain-high-gain journals to participate in one of their meetings.”Christopher Wickert, Associate Professor in Ethics & Sustainability, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

“The experience in the GRONEN reading group was fundamental to move my paper forward – and to be invited to the second round of revision. Especially in my case, having received my first (and much desired) R&R, I would not have known how to address and respond to many of the reviewers’ comments myself. The group was very helpful in interpreting the reviewers’ comments and suggesting ways to address them correctly, in a developmental and positive atmosphere. I was very impressed by the selfless willingness of many well established senior scholars in the field to help new generations of researchers. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity and would love to attend the next events.”Lucrezia Nava, Postdoctoral Researcher, Cambridge Judge Business School

“Participating in the GRONEN Reading Group and presenting my work was very helpful in the long and winding road to publication. As a young scholar (and solo author in that paper) it is sometimes difficult to really understand what the reviewers want and how to effectively address their concerns, including where to do major changes and how to justify your decisions. Hearing from the colleagues in the reading group in a friendly but constructive environment was very important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of my paper, as well as its potential to contribute to the conversation around management and sustainability.”Guillermo Casasnovas, Postdoctoral Fellow, ESADE

“The GRONEN Reading Group provides a very friendly atmosphere and, at the same time, a highly productive environment when you reach your limits when revising an article or need a team of highly qualified researchers to test your revision strategy. Thanks to this group, I have successfully mastered many revision processes.”David Risi, Research Professor for Responsible Management, Bern University of Applied Sciences

“I found the GRONEN reading group a huge help in deciding my revision strategy. Having a discussion focused on the reviewers’ comments helped my work through how to approach conflicting recommendations, to weigh what concerns were most crucial and how to remedy them, and to talk through the finer points of theoretical concepts in my paper with experts who could point out any potential theoretical difficulties and opportunities. Plus everyone was incredibly supportive and friendly. The GRONEN Reading Group approach really is a model of how academics should approach any R&R.”Greg Molecke, Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy, University of Exeter

“The GRONEN Reading Group meetings are an excellent opportunity to learn from a community of scholars who support each other to strengthen their sustainability research.  They help authors to navigate the review process and advance their work towards publication.  I would strongly recommend joining these meetings!”Natalie Slawinski, Professor of Strategic Management, Memorial University of Newfoundland

The GRONEN Reading Group has a developmental and supportive atmosphere, which facilitates a constructive discussion among senior and junior scholars. During the session, I was guided through a process of understanding what my reviewers were asking for and how I should go about addressing their comments. The group not only gave their suggestions on ways to take my paper forward, they also sought to understand where I was coming from as the author of the paper. This was very beneficial in helping to bridge any gaps between the author’s and reviewer’s perspective. I am very grateful to my colleagues in the group for dedicating their time and being so developmental in their conversations with one another. I would strongly encourage other junior scholars to seize the opportunity to attend the upcoming reading group meetings.”
Eunice Ng, Senior Research Fellow, St.Gallen Institute of Management in Asia.

I highly recommend the GRONEN reading group workshop. Of all the workshops I took, it was by far the most useful. Great academicians were sitting there who already had invested their valuable time on my paper. The discussion gave me some real perspective on my paper, which I had overlooked. It helped me improve and fine-tune my research question, and it helped me refocus on the paper with fresh new lenses. Of course, the feedback can be a bit too much to process at that instance, but on a deeper reflection later, I found the experience very useful in pointing me in the correct direction. Again, it is beneficial, and I very much recommend anyone to submit their paper for a session in the GRONEN reading group.
Bhavesh Sarna, PhD student, University of Jyväskylä

We often think of presenting our findings and work in progress when they are in their best shape, either when articles are approved for publication, or right before submission to a journal. The GRONEN reading group brings a different perspective, which, in my view, is much more valuable. We get the chance to present our papers when we are desperate and confused with so many comments from reviewers. Especially for junior scholars like me, having a senior external colleague to guide me and suggest possible ways to address reviewers’ comments is fantastic. I was impressed with the well-thought analysis that I received about my paper. Together with the other many constructive comments from the group, I was able to produce a much more robust and coherent article. I could not be more enthusiastic about the group!
Lucas Lauriano, PhD student, King’s College London

I very much enjoyed the GRONEN reading group meetings. This is a great scholarly community which provides candid and relevant feedback in a cooperative atmosphere. It’s a great opportunity for authors to navigate the revision process and boost publication of sustainability research.
Helen Etchanchu, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Montpellier Business School

I enjoyed participating in the GRONEN Reading Group very much. The atmosphere is super friendly and collegial, and the comments by the discussants and the audience were spot on, developmental, and very helpful in addressing some of the rather tricky reviewer questions I was facing. In a nutshell, as a lucky author with an R&R, this is the type of meeting you want to attend when facing tricky reviewer demands.
Georg Wernicke, Assistant Professor in Strategic Management, HEC Paris 

GRONEN combines first-class and spot-on feedback with a friendly and supportive environment: warmly recommended.
Maja Tampe, Assistant Professor, ESADE

The GRONEN Reading Group provided me substantive comments that improved my manuscript. It was especially helpful to hear feedback from members with a variety of experience in the publication process, from editors to first-time submitters. For an early-career researcher like me, feedback from experienced scholars can be difficult to get, and it greatly improves my work. The GRONEN Reading Group was an excellent opportunity for me to get focused attention on my manuscript to help move it toward publication.
Nicholas Poggioli, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise

“I took part in the GRONEN Reading group not really knowing what to expect. I had never met any of the presenters or faculty, and I wasn’t sure how they would respond to my research. As with most presentations, I was able to move my work forward in preparing for the session. 

When I arrived, I immediately felt welcome. The atmosphere was both comfortable and productive from the start. Although my paper was from a different subject area than the other presenters, I received insightful feedback and comments that helped me restructure my revisions and were instrumental in getting my paper published.”Matthew Sorola, TBS

On behalf of my co-authors, I wanted to send a note of sincere thanks for organizing such as supportive and insightful event. We feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to discuss our revision at such a critical stage. Luca was a fantastic discussant and together with the other participants we’ve come away with quite a clear direction for our revision. As a first time attendee, I must say that you’ve built a brilliant community and I hope to be able to participate in the future.Kevin Chuah, PhD Candidate, London Business School