Citing failure

. P. Carey Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship Luis Gomez-Mejia has enjoyed a lot of success: He’s an ASU Regents Professor and a member of the Academy of Management’s Hall of Fame, and has again been named a highly cited researcher by Web of Science — a recognition he has now received for eight straight years.

With its designation, Web of Science honors the world’s most influential researchers who have produced multiple highly cited papers over the previous decade — those that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year.

As 2019 concluded, Gomez-Mejia had accumulated about 36,000 citations to his research, a feat that few members of the Academy of Management (the main academic association of the field of management) have been able to match. Yet when asked about these impressive accolades, Gomez-Mejia is quick to point out the failures that led to such success: He estimates that of his 260 published journal articles, there have probably been 600 rejections. One paper was turned down 10 times before it was accepted. Yet Gomez-Mejia pushed on. “You have to believe in what you’re doing, even when others might not see the value yet. And then you balance that belief by engaging with the rejection and asking yourself, ‘How can I make this research better?’ Then, you try again.”

Academics is known for having a high rate of failure; a 90% rejection rate is the norm at most top journals. Gomez-Mejia relates this to business students as a lesson in entrepreneurship. “Being a researcher has a lot of similar lessons as being a small business owner,” he explains. “You have to be enthusiastic about what you are doing, and you have to be willing to fail. Successful researchers and entrepreneurs are both examples of resilience.”

Part of Gomez-Mejia’s resilience is a healthy way to respond to rejection. He shares his tried-and-true path forward: “Vent with your team and release your frustration, then let yourself be sad for a bit. Put the research away for a week and let yourself take a break from it. That way, you can come back to it feeling refreshed and give it another shot.” He also emphasizes being picky about whom you work with. “You need smart people you work well with who energize you and complement your strengths,” Gomez-Mejia says, while crediting his co-authors over the years.

“Failure is, at its core, a sign that you tried,” Gomez-Mejia sums up. It is a given for anyone who eventually finds success, and he credits failure as the ultimate opportunity. “There is no doubt that rejection has made me a stronger researcher.”