Contribution Framing: What Is New, and So What (amr-contribution-framing)

When to trigger

• The theory is built and logic-checked, but the "contribution" is vague
• A reviewer would write "I don't see what's new here"
• Your contribution paragraph restates the propositions instead of differentiating them
• You cannot say, in one sentence, what scholars can now explain that they could not

The AMR contribution bar

AMR seeks "novel, insightful, and carefully crafted conceptual articles that challenge conventional wisdom." Whetten's classic AMR editorial, "What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution?" (1989, DOI 10.5465/amr.1989.4308371), is the rubric: a complete contribution specifies the What (constructs), How (relationships), Why (the underlying logic), and Who/Where/When (boundary conditions). The Why is the centerpiece — it is what separates theory from description. AMR's scope frames the four legitimate contribution paths: develop new theory; significantly challenge or clarify existing theory; synthesize advances into fresh theory; or identify and delineate a novel theoretical problem.