Using the MBR Templates

Submissions to the Muma Business Review must be made using one of the MBR templates, accessible on the Authors page. The videos and instructions that follow may assist you if you are not used to using MS-Word templates.

The specific instructions by template are provided in the table that follows.

Article Type Description Video
Relevant theory article Article proposing or explaining a theory that would be relevant to managers; similar in structure to traditional academic articles but lighter on the literature review and written for clarity. HBR prints many articles of this type. https://youtu.be/ijXzP6q702Q
Empirical findings article Article describing interesting empirical findings. Written in a form that is similar to chapters in business books, such as those by Dan Ariely, that emphasize intriguing or counter-intuitive research findings without a heavy emphasis on theory. https://youtu.be/fr2Af5zNZhU
Research case studies Case studies that emphasize a complete story (as opposed to discussion case studies, which emphasize presenting the context of a decision) and frame in terms of theory. Unlike academic research case studies, much more attention would be given to the story itself rather than to the methodology of data gathering and the literature review. https://youtu.be/RslPoLFiTo4
Example case studies Case studies that present an intrinsically interesting story without extensive analysis in terms of existing or novel theories. https://youtu.be/tq5Wrj7-2AM
Novel idea papers Articles that seek to introduce a new idea for readers to think about, without necessarily providing extensive empirical or theoretical support. Such papers would be very hard to publish in existing academic outlets, but could be useful in identifying areas for future research. https://youtu.be/kt9lUeAmgBs
Research debates Articles that summarize debates that exist between researchers (e.g., “Is too much goal setting a bad thing?”) or between the research literature and practicing managers (e.g., “Would you rather have highly intelligent or highly conscientious employees?”). Normally, the goal of such articles would be to clarify the perspectives of both sides, rather than to select a winner. https://youtu.be/5yfjlvCYrbg
Research question reviews A question that appears relevant to practice is advanced and the article summarizes what findings and conclusions are available in the existing academic literature. Denise Rousseau, A well-known researcher in management had recently started seeking out this type of systematic review contribution as part of her Center for Evidence-Based Management (http://www.cebma.org/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-a-systematic-review/). https://youtu.be/t00dj-7OraA
Opinion pieces Position papers that argue for a particular perspective on a particular managerially-relevant issue.  N/A
Industry analyses Articles specifically devoted to providing a concise analysis, supported by data (often publicly available), of globally, nationally or locally-relevant industries. This idea was inspired by the type of research that initially dominated the efforts of early business schools, such as Harvard. https://youtu.be/d8YEr9qkga4
Research summaries for practice Short (1-3 page) summaries of the important takeaways from a recent research project. For example, DBA participants might be required to write such a summary for their dissertation work, and USF faculty might be encouraged to do the same for their recently published articles.  N/A
Interviews Interviews and biographical sketches of important members of the business and academic communities. https://youtu.be/ul4jy89xvKo
Research method reviews Accessible descriptions of a particular approach to research, emphasizing developing executive-level understanding of where the method might be applied to practice, along with its strengths and weaknesses. https://youtu.be/wRxetiKN_so