Theory & Mechanism Development (jmr-theory-development)

When to trigger

• Hypotheses are descriptive ("A relates to B") with no underlying process
• A structural/econometric model lacks stated primitives, assumptions, or identifying logic
• Reviewers will ask "what is the mechanism?" or "why this functional form?"
• The conceptual section reads as a managerial story rather than a research argument

JMR judges theory by genre

JMR welcomes a wide variety of approaches, so "theory development" means different things for its two dominant genres. Build the one that matches your paper.

Behavioral papers — mechanism, not just prediction

• State the psychological process that produces the effect (e.g., a specific inference, motivation, or processing mode), not only the directional prediction.
• Derive hypotheses a priori; specify the mediator that carries the effect and the moderator that bounds it, with theoretical reasons each is the right one.
• Plan the process evidence: measured or manipulated mediation, moderation-of-process, or a process-by-moderation design — JMR reviewers expect the mechanism to be tested, not asserted.
• Identify the consumer/marketing phenomenon the mechanism explains; keep it a research contribution, not a list of managerial tips.