amj-theory-development
Use when the theoretical argument and hypotheses are the bottleneck for an Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) manuscript — building a mechanism and deriving testable hypotheses a priori. Constructs the theory; it does not run the analysis (amj-data-analysis) or write the final contribution paragraph (amj-contribution-framing).
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill amj-theory-development --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Theory Development & Hypotheses (amj-theory-development) ## When to trigger - Hypotheses read as bald predictions ("A is positively related to B") with no mechanism - You have results and are tempted to write hypotheses around them (HARKing risk) - The argument leans on one borrowed citation rather than a developed logic - Mediators/moderators are present in the data but not theorized - A reviewer says "the theory is thin," "the logic is underdeveloped," or "why would this be true?" ## The AMJ theory bar AMJ does not publish atheoretical work — its mission is "to publish empirical research that tests, extends, or builds management theory." Every hypothesis must be **derived from an articulated theoretical mechanism**, written *before* the results are known. The argument should make a reader feel they understand *why* the effect occurs and *under what conditions* it strengthens or reverses. For **theory-building** (typically qualitative) papers, AMJ does *not* expect a priori hypotheses; it expects a grounded model with emergent propositions. Eisenhardt and Graebner's AMJ guidance on building theory from cases is the canonical exemplar for how rich data become crisp constructs and
- When to trigger
- The AMJ theory bar
- Building a hypothesis (the mechanism chain)
- Mediation and moderation done right
- Hypothesis hygiene
- Checklist
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
What does the amj-theory-development skill do?
Use when the theoretical argument and hypotheses are the bottleneck for an Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) manuscript — building a mechanism and deriving testable hypotheses a priori. Constructs the theory; it does not run the analysis (amj-data-analysis) or write the final contribution paragraph (amj-contribution-framing).
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill amj-theory-development --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.