This week, the University of Twente presents the fifth CIM event and the 25th Technology Management Summer School: two events that are linked to the academic journal Creativity and Innovation Management, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Prof De Weerd-Nederhof, PhD MSc, and Mr Klaasjan Visscher, PhD MSc, have been at the helm of this magazine for many years and are now handing over their tasks to others. “The journal grew up in Twente.”
De Weerd-Nederhof has been active as editor of the journal for 12,5 years; Visscher performed this task for 7,5 years. During this period, the journal developed from a niche journal with a relatively small basis into a much appreciated academic journal with a much broader group of followers. De Weerd-Nederhof: “One could say that Creativity and Innovation Management has matured. It grew up in Twente. Everyone in our field of study has published in it.”
Inclusion in Web of Science in in 2012 crowned all the work, enabling the journal to attract a larger academic audience. The journal is much appreciated, as is evident from its impact factor of over 1. In such a short period of time that is a unique achievement, says De Weerd-Nederhof.
Expanding the community
The most important achievement in the period during which De Weerd-Nederhof and Visscher were at the helm of the journal, was the expansion of the ‘community’ behind the journal. Whereas, before they took up their duties, the journal was led by two editors who collected input especially from their direct networks, De Weerd-Nederhof and Visscher succeeded - together with their colleague Olaf Fisscher, who was a co-editor until 2012 - in significantly expanding the group of followers. Visscher: “In the beginning, we had a hard task collecting suitable articles. You could almost say that we had to beg for input. By now, the number of submissions has tripled, to three hundred each year.” Instead of publishing more articles, this magazine offers the opportunity to make an even stronger selection on quality, resulting in an enormous quality boost.
In a video message, which is shown during the CIM event, Teresa Amabile (professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and one of the biggest names in the field) praises the efforts of De Weerd-Nederhof and Visscher. According to Amabile, Creativity and Innovation Management has grown into an important platform, enabling her research and that of many others to create an impact that had not been possible in any other way.
Stop at the top
This week, De Weerd-Nederhof (who also celebrates her 25th anniversary in academia) and Visscher bid farewell and hand over the journal to two new editors. De Weerd-Nederhof: “The landscape has changed. Therefore, it is now time to make room for a new generation. We are leaving the journal to them in a good state.” Visscher adds that they have achieved what they intended to achieve. “We stop at the top.”
Here you can find more information on the CIM Event and here on the European doctoral Summer School on Technology Management.
