Some aspects of the editorial policy of L'Avenir from 16 October 1830 to 15 November 1831

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Brief reflections

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to explicitly recognise the first issue of EJM completely made up of submissions received under the new editorial team of Lee and Greenley, operating since January 2008. The authors also seek to make some broader points about academic review, and journal ranking. Design/methodology/approach – The authors provide some conceptual thinking regarding journal review, and academic ranking of journals. Findings – The authors propose that it is potentially dangerous to restrict the perception of top quality work to only that published in a limited selection of journals, and that research needs to be judged on its own merits. Research limitations/implications – These thoughts are preliminary and intended to spark thinking and debate, not to represent editorial policy. Owing to space constraints, the coverage of many issues is necessarily brief. Practical Implications – Marketing researchers should find these thoughts at the very least stimulating, and may wish to investigate these issues further. Originality/value – The editorial should provide some interesting food for thought for marketing researchers.

The primacy of data?

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to stimulate debate and discussion amongst marketing scholarship regarding the implications for scientific research of increasingly large amounts of data and sophisticated data analytic techniques. Design/methodology/approach – The authors respond to a recent editorial in WIRED magazine which heralds the demise of the scientific method in the face of the vast data sets now available. Findings – The authors propose that more data makes theory more important, not less. They differentiate between raw prediction and scientific knowledge – which is aimed at explanation. Research limitations/implications – These thoughts are preliminary and intended to spark thinking and debate, not represent editorial policy. Due to space constraints, the coverage of many issues is necessarily brief. Practical implications – Marketing researchers should find these thoughts at the very least stimulating, and may wish to investigate these issues further. Originality/value – This piece should provide some interesting food for thought for marketing researchers.

Editorial

This special issue covers the significant activities and outputs of the European Commission funded Bioenergy Network of Excellence that has recently completed its six year programme of work. Networks of Excellence (NoE) were intended to address fragmentation of R&D in the European Research Area by integrating resources and expertise needed to enhance Europe’s global competitiveness in key areas. The Bioenergy NoE consortium consists of eight key bioenergy R&D institutes in Europe and covered the entire field of bioenergy. Within the project, the overall strategy to achieve integration followed a well defined process of firstly identifying barriers, then evaluating RTD goals for their removal, followed by a detailed examination of how integration could be realistically achieved and implemented in the longer term. This is described in the first paper by Sipilä and Wilén. The rest of the contents of this special issue are devoted to collaborative outputs of the various joint research activities undertaken during the project that cover biomass, conversion technology, and finally policy and education. Progress was influenced by a number of additional EU instruments launched during the project including the European Industrial Technology Platforms and ERA-NET Bioenergy. These led to the EIBI (European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative) and particularly EERA Bioenergy (European Energy Research Alliance – Bioenergy), which is very effectively continuing the work of Bioenergy NoE by establishing a framework for continued cooperation and collaboration. The project resulted in a high level of interaction and collaboration in European R&D which is being further developed and expanded within EERA Bioenergy. The value of Bioenergy NoE can thus be clearly seen in the exciting programme of research activities being developed in EERA Bioenergy. During the past six years Bioenergy NoE partners have produced over 1000 publications including reports, papers and poster communications. This special issue of Biomass and Bioenergy includes results from a selection of outputs from Bioenergy NoE.