Contemporary Global Environment and Future Directions for KODISA

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the contemporary global environment to suggest and develop appropriate strategies for KODISA and its journals. Research design, data, and methodology - This is an analytical case study that examines KODISA and its journals and the contemporary environment to demonstrate the importance of developing the future goals. Results - The analysis indicates that KODISA and its journals must decide whether to follow same footsteps of many reputable and big academic associations and journals or to start focusing more on the welfare of the public as an academic institution. Researches and scholarly works should be shared with everyone, and practicality and relevancy of researches should be valued and applied for the general welfare. Conclusions - Based on the progress and current success of KODISA and its journals, their goals should not be limited to just becoming a world renown academic association or journals. Promoting the welfare of the public through researches and scholarly activities should be their ultimate goal as an academic institution and journals. Attracting more practitioners and producing more researches that are practical and applicable to the public would be the first step while maintaining the quality and rigor of their academic and scholarly activities, which include publication practices.

1. Introduction

Korea Distribution Science Association (KODISA) and its journals have been placing a great emphasis on promoting publication ethics and diversity of editorial board and general membership over the years. Annual evaluation of publication ethics and practices, reviewing and revising publication ethics, and publishing and sharing the outcomes of the evaluation of annual publication has made KODISA and its journals both ethically and academically sound research association and journals (Hwang, Lee, Kim, Shin, Kim, Kim, Lee, Kim & Youn, 2017; Hwang, Kim, Youn, Kim, Lee, Kim, Lee, Kim, Shin, & Lee, 2017; Hwang, Lee, Lee, Kim, Yang, Youn, & Kim, 2015; Youn, Lee, Kim, Yang, Hwang, Kim, & Lee, 2015; Youn, Kim, Lee, Lee, & Hwang, 2014). Early 2018, the Korean Research Foundation awarded KODISA a grant to research and share ethics and practices, and the lead researcher presented his research and findings in December 2018.

The number and diversity of membership of KODISA have drastically increased in recent years. Although most of the membership comes from Asian countries, such as Korea, China, and India, the geographic makeup of authors and editorial board members covers all over the world, including Europe, North and South America, Russia, Middle East, and Africa, among others.

Continuously improving quality and reputation of KODISA journals and reaching out to research and academic institutions in different countries for collaboration and cooperation greatly helped KODISA to increase its membership and diversity. For instance, both Journal of Distribution Science (JDS) and Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business are recently indexed in SCOPUS, and East Asian Journal of Business Management (EAJBM) and International Journal of Industrial Distribution and Business (IJIDB) are currently being evaluated by SCOPUS. Based on the progress of these journals, one of these journals will most likely be indexed in SSCI in the near future, and the rest will follow as well.

2. Contemporary Global Environment: Targeting Public Welfare

Although the previous and current strategies of KODISA and its journals produced a great success and their continues improvement in ethical and scholastic practices could bring further success, there is no specific end goal for both association and its journals. That is, what would be the ultimate goal of this association and its journals? Is it becoming a biggest research or academic association, e.g., American Psychological Association, American Marketing Association, Academy of Management, etc.? Or, is it indexed in the reputable databases, such as SCI, SSCI, SCOPUS, etc.? Observing and analyzing the current state of global environment would help KODISA to respond to those questions and develop their future strategies accordingly.

Until a few years ago, no one ever and seriously thought about the collapse of globalization or deglobalization. The wave of globalization over the last decades was so great that stopping or slowing it down was unimaginable or unrealistic to everyone. However, the recent phenomena of Brexit (Posta & Rehman, 2017) and Trumpism (Blinder, 2016) taught many to expect the unexpected, and the resurgence of ‘nationalism’ and ‘popularism’ is dominating the world economy and global environment today. It took nearly five decades to progress globalization but only took a few years to collapse them.

The globalization was absolutely necessary for many countries and companies to maximize their comparative advantages and realize business and economic growth, but there was no government, organization, or person to makes sure the majority receives the fair share of business and economic growth. Many research outcomes and data show the rise of income inequality during the globalization (Bourguignon, 2015). Many poor and uneducated people felt that globalization left them behind; consequently, they became disillusioned by modernization, economic growth, and industrialization through globalization. Furthermore, people throughout the world indicate that they don’t have confidence in their governments, politicians, and political parties, and they don’t care about other countries and other people. The worst phenomenon caused by the anti-globalization is that once a fully democratic country, the United States of America, is on the verge of becoming a flawed democracy or even a hybrid regime (Daniels, Radebaugh, & Sullivan, 2018, p. 69).

The missing puzzle of the contemporary anti-globalization, and pro-nationalism and popularism environment is the state or behavior of academia. Doesn’t academia exist to research and scholarship to promote fairness, justice, equality, and democracy, e.g., income inequality and high unemployment? Or does the scholarship turn blind eye to bias, injustice, inequality, and flawed democracy? Have any scholastic associations or scholars ever tried to correct the unexpected consequences of globalization, e. g., income inequality and high unemployment? The simple answers to these questions should be, “yes, they have,” because there are many existing research data concerning income inequality, globalization, problems of globalization, etc. But they have not shared their researches with anyone except their own academia, and people outside their research and scholarship communities don’t understand their researches and scholarly work. Is this what scholars, researchers, and educators want to do -- just live and die in academia, or share their researches and scholarly work with everyone and educate the uneducated ones? Academic associations should play the role of distributor to connect practical knowledge and the insights of their journals with the general public.

3. KODISA: Future Directions

KODISA is definitely not one of the world’s renown academic or research associations and will not be for a while. However, KODISA has been setting good examples for academic associations, scholars, and researchers in terms of publication ethics, practices, and scholastic collaboration. The association and its journals have been successful, and they will more likely continue to thrive in the future. In addition to their current strategies and practices, they need to start thinking about how their researches and scholarly activities would promote not only the welfare of academia and scholars but also the welfare of the public and the average people. KODISA and its journals need to think about how to recognize researches and scholarly works from practitioners that do not include typical quantitative research methodologies. For instance, there are many qualitative studies that are academically and practically sound, but there are many studies that are academically sound but practically inconsiderable. KODISA and its journals must decide whether they will follow in the same footsteps of many reputable and big academic associations and journals or start focusing more on the welfare of the public as an academic institution. Researches and scholarly works should be shared with everyone, and practicality and relevancy of researches should be valued and applied for the general welfare.

4. Conclusions

History suggests that academia and intellectuals were among those who were corrupted and sided with the rich, the monarchs, and the authoritarians whenever the great countries and monarchies collapsed. The contemporary global environment shows the same symptoms in which the academia is only minding its own business and totally excluded from this global turbulence. Based on the progress of KODISA and its journals, their goals should not be just limited to become a world renown academic association or journals. Promoting the welfare of the public through researches and scholarly activities should be their ultimate goal as an academic institution and journals. Attracting more practitioners and producing more researches that are practical and applicable to the public would be the first step while maintaining the quality and rigor of their academic and scholarly activities, including publication practices.