Perceived quality and self-identity in scholarly publishing

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to understand if and how 2 proposed facets of self‐identity (work‐self and career‐self) and journals' perceived quality (impact, visibility, and content quality) influence and explain the intention to publish in open access (OA) or nonopen access (non‐OA) journals. This study integrates attitude and identity theory within a cross‐sectional survey design. The sample consists of about 1,600 researchers in Norway, and the data were collected via e‐mail invitation using a digital surveying tool and analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. We determined that perceived impact‐quality increases the intention to publish non‐OA, while decreasing the intention to publish OA. Content quality is only associated with non‐OA journals. Perceived visibility increases the intention to publish OA, while the opposite effect is found for non‐OA. Career‐self salience has the strongest effect on impact‐quality, while content quality is most important when work‐self is salient. This research contributes to a deeper understanding about how perceived quality influences intention to publish in OA and non‐OA journals, and how self‐identity salience affects different facets of perceived quality in valence and strength. Findings have implications for policy development, implementation, and assessment and may contribute to improving OA adoption.