Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

An overemphasis on publishing metrics often shifts attention away from the true purpose of research, that is, advancing knowledge and encouraging discovery. This piece explores the potential for a values-driven approach to academia emphasizing (i) passion, (ii) collaboration, and (iii) decency as foundational principles. Given the growing pressure on early-career researchers to meet publication demands, there is an opportunity to consider how academic environments might better support meaningful contributions over sheer output. We reflect on the importance of nurturing genuine curiosity, embracing open science, and fostering collaborative, diverse teams to address complex global challenges relevant to tourism. By contemplating a shift from metric-driven to values-driven priorities, we discuss how academia might more closely align with its core mission of knowledge creation and dissemination.

Keywords

research culture passion in research collaboration decency open science early-career researchers publish-or-perish

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Agarwal

Mehrotra

Mishra

Rana

N. P.

Nunkoo

Cho

(2024). Four decades of sustainable tourism research: Trends and future research directions. International Journal of Tourism Research, 26(2), e2643. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2643

Baum

Mooney

S. K.

Robinson

R. N.

Solnet

(2020). COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality workforce – new crisis or amplification of the norm? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(9), 2813–2829. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0314

Benjamin

Lee

K. S.

Boluk

(2025). Shit has to change, right? A call for “good trouble” in tourism. Journal of Travel Research, 64, 1016–1024. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875241276542

Bozeman

Boardman

(2014). Research Collaboration and Team Science: A State-of-the-Art review and Agenda. Springer.

Cardon

M. S.

Wincent

Singh

Drnovsek

(2009). The nature and experience of entrepreneurial passion. Academy of Management Review, 34(3), 511–532. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.40633190

Chapman

J. R.

Wiechert

Wang

J. C.

(2022). A loss of decency – And a call for voluntary academic integrity. Global Spine Journal, 12(7), 1319–1320. https://doi.org/10.1177/21925682221115789

Cummings

J. N.

Kiesler

(2007). Coordination costs and project outcomes in multi-university collaborations. Research Policy, 36(10), 1620–1634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2007.09.001

Curran

Hill

A. P.

Appleton

P. R.

Vallerand

R. J.

Standage

(2015). The psychology of passion: A meta-analytical review of a decade of research on intrapersonal outcomes. Motivation and Emotion, 39, 631–655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-015-9503-0

Deci

E. L.

Ryan

R. M.

(2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1104_01

10.

Deer

Adler

S. J.

Datta

Mizik

Sarstedt

(2025). Toward open science in marketing research. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 42, 212–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2024.12.005 Forthcoming.

11.

Dolnicar

(2025). Not enjoying the publish or perish culture? You have two options only: Fuel it or resist it. Which will you choose? Annals of Tourism Research, 110, 103865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2024.103865

12.

Dolnicar

Knezevic Cvelbar

Grün

(2019). A sharing-based approach to enticing tourists to behave more environmentally friendly. Journal of Travel Research, 58(2), 241–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287517746013

13.

Fire

Guestrin

(2019). Over-optimization of academic publishing metrics: Observing Goodhart’s law in action. GigaScience, 8(6), giz053. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giz053

14.

Font

Montano

Coghlan

Woosnam

(2023). The purpose of a sustainable tourism journal. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2119244

15.

Fyall

Garrod

(2005). Tourism marketing: A collaborative approach. Channel View Publications.

16.

Gard-McGehee

(2025). Letter from the Co-Editor: Yes, “Shit’s Got to Change.” but How? A call for a Deep Scholarship Social Movement. Journal of Travel Research, 64, 1025–1028. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875241288510

17.

Haven

Van Grootel

D. L.

(2019). Preregistering qualitative research. Accountability in Research, 26(3), 229–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2019.1580147

18.

Kashdan

T. B.

Silvia

P. J.

(2009). Curiosity and interest: The benefits of thriving on novelty and challenge. In Lopez

S. J.

Snyder

C. R.

(Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 367–374). Oxford University Press.

19.

Kozlov

(2023). Disruptive science has declined - Even as papers proliferate. Nature, 613, 225. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-04577-5

20.

Kwiek

(2021). What large-scale publication and citation data tell us about international research collaboration in Europe: Changing national patterns in global contexts. Studies in Higher Education, 46(12), 2629–2649. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1749254

21.

Lee

K. S.

Benjamin

(2023). The death of tourism scholarship… unless…. Annals of Tourism Research, 98, 103520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2022.103520

22.

Lim

W. M.

(2025). Publish and prosper: Mindfully embracing the middle ground. Annals of Tourism Research, 110, 103885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2024.103885

23.

Martin

B. R.

(2011). The research excellence framework and the ‘impact agenda’: are we creating a frankenstein monster? Research Evaluation, 20(3), 247–254. https://doi.org/10.3152/095820211x13118583635693

24.

Mlitz

van Den Hoogen

Q. L.

(2023). A value based approach to assessing changes in cultural policies. Cultural Trends, 32(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2021.2012424

25.

Moher

Naudet

Cristea

I. A.

Miedema

Ioannidis

J. P. A.

Goodman

S. N.

(2018). Assessing scientists for hiring, promotion, and tenure. PLoS Biology, 16(3), e2004089. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2004089

26.

Moosa

I. A.

(2024). Publish or perish: Perceived benefits versus unintended consequences. Edward Elgar Publishing.

27.

National Science Board (US). (2007). Enhancing support of transformative research at the National Science Foundation. National Science Foundation. https://nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/nsb/documents/2007/tr_report.pdf

28.

Nosek

B. A.

Alter

Banks

G. C.

Borsboom

Bowman

S. D.

Breckler

S. J.

Buck

Chambers

C. D.

Chin

Christensen

Contestabile

Dafoe

Eich

Freese

Glennerster

Goroff

Green

D. P.

Hesse

Humphreys

… Yarkoni

(2015). SCIENTIFIC standards. Promoting an open research culture. Science, 348(6242), 1422–1425. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2374

29.

Okumus

van Niekerk

Koseoglu

M. A.

Bilgihan

(2018). Interdisciplinary research in tourism. Tourism Management, 69, 540–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.05.016

30.

Perdue

R. R.

Meng

Courtney

(2009). Publishing in the journal of travel research: An assessment of manuscript acceptance and rejection. Journal of Travel Research, 47(3), 267–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287508326507

31.

Sarstedt

Adler

S. J.

Rau

Schmitt

(2024). Using large language models to generate silicon samples in consumer and marketing research: Challenges, opportunities, and guidelines. Psychology and Marketing, 41(6), 1254–1270. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21982

32.

SciVal. (2025). Research performance. Available at: https://www.scival.com/landing (Accessed: 01 February 2025).

33.

Scott

Van Niekerk

De Martino

(2017). Knowledge transfer to and within tourism: Academic, industry and government bridges. Emerald Group Publishing.

34.

Trueblood

J. S.

Allison

D. B.

Field

S. M.

Fishbach

Gaillard

S. D.

Gigerenzer

Holmes

W. R.

Lewandowsky

Matzke

Murphy

M. C.

Musslick

Popov

Roskies

A. L.

Ter Schure

Teodorescu

A. R.

(2025). The misalignment of incentives in academic publishing and implications for journal reform. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(5), e2401231121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2401231121

35.

van Dis

E. A. M.

Bollen

Zuidema

van Rooij

Bockting

C. L

. (2023). ChatGPT: Five priorities for research. Nature, 614(7947), 224–226. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00288-7

36.

Viglia

Adler

S. J.

Miltgen

C. L.

Sarstedt

(2024). The use of synthetic data in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 108, 103819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2024.103819

37.

Whittaker

J. A.

Montgomery

B. L.

(2022). Advancing a cultural change agenda in higher education: Issues and values related to reimagining academic leadership. Discover sustainability, 3(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-022-00079-6

38.

Willmott

(2011). Journal list fetishism and the perversion of scholarship: Reactivity and the ABS list. Organization, 18(4), 429–442. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508411403532

39.

Wilsdon

Allen

Belfiore

Campbell

Johnson . (2015). The Metric Tide: Report of the Independent Review of the role of metrics in Research Assessment and Management. Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

40.

Wöber

Fesenmaier

D. R.

Fesenmaier

D. R.

(2008). Representation of the online tourism domain in search engines. Journal of Travel Research, 47(2), 137–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287508321193

41.

Zenker

Kock

(2020). The coronavirus pandemic - A critical discussion of a tourism research agenda. Tourism Management, 81, 104164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104164

Toward a Values-Driven Research Culture: Passion,Collaboration,and Decency

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References