mw-tables-figures

Tables and Figures (mw-tables-figures)

Trigger Timing

• The main table has 8 or more columns, and reviewers complain that "information density is too high"
• The table uses borders / shadows / colors — does not conform to Management World standards
• Figure resolution is insufficient / color scheme is unprofessional

Table Standards (three-line table / booktabs)

Required Structure

表 3  政策冲击对企业研发投入的影响
═══════════════════════════════════════════
                  (1)      (2)      (3)
变量           研发支出  研发支出  研发支出
───────────────────────────────────────────
政策×处理后  0.045***  0.038***  0.040***
              (0.012)   (0.011)   (0.013)
              ......
───────────────────────────────────────────
控制变量          否       是       是
个体固定效应       是       是       是
年份固定效应       是       是       是
观测值          10,234   10,234   10,234
R²               0.213    0.247    0.251
═══════════════════════════════════════════
注：括号内为聚类于企业层面的稳健标准误；***、**、* 分别表示 1%、5%、10% 显著水平。

Strictly Observe Constraints

• No more than 6 columns(7 columns in extreme cases, never 8) — if there are many columns, split the table
• Three-line table: top rule thick, middle rule thin, bottom rule thick, no vertical lines
• Significance markers *** ** * uniformly use three levels
• Standard errors in parentheses below the coefficients,do not use t-values or z-values
• For control variable rows write "Yes / No", do not write out coefficients (unless the paper's core is control variables)
• Table number + table title above the table, notes below the table
• Notesmustinclude: clustering level, definition of significance symbols

Common Table Anti-patterns

• Writing coefficients to 4–6 decimal places (keep 3)
• "As shown in Table 3" in the notes — pointless
• The same variable appears multiple times (already made an interaction term but put the main term back in)
• Using stargazer / esttab default output without deleting redundant information

Figure Standards

Required Structure

• Font: SimSun / Times New Roman 9–11 pt
• Colors: black and white + 1–2 primary colors (recommended dark blue / dark red),do not use rainbow colors
• Resolution: ≥ 300 dpi
• Figure number + figure title belowthe figure(opposite of tables)
• Notes: must have data source + key variable definitions

Common Figure Types

1. Parallel trends event study plot — 95% CI, vertical dashed line marking the treatment timing
2. Policy timeline plot — paired with the institutional background section
3. Mechanism path diagram — use rectangles + arrows, avoid complex shadows
4. Heterogeneity forest plot — point estimates + CI for each subsample

Execution Bridge (StatsPAI / Stata MCP)

Tables and figuresgenerated from fitting results, do not hand-copy numbers. For the complete mapping see execution-with-mcp. Management World emphasizes empirical work in the Chinese context + policy operability; identification + economic magnitude, while qualitative/case studies follow their own standards.

• Tables:etable(multiple columns) or did_summary_to_latex directly from result_id generate.
• Figures:plot_from_result / enhanced_event_study_plot / event_study_table, coordinate units and standard error/clustering notes included.
• Each table notestates the estimator and clustering level, and reports economic magnitude in interpretable units.

For the complete "fitting results → tables and figures" chain see JF execution walkthrough。

Checklist

• Main table ≤ 6 columns
• Three-line tables, no vertical lines
• Consistent standard error format
• Notes include clustering level
• Figures at 300 dpi or above
• Continuous table and figure numbering

Anti-patterns

• Cramming R² + adjusted R² + pseudo R² + AIC + BIC + …… into a table — choosing 1–2 is enough
• Using a long string of explanation in the legend
• Overlaying 5 curves + 5 line types + 5 colors in one figure
• Screenshotting Stata / R output and pasting it directly into Word

Table and Figure Review Expectations of This Journal

《管理世界》 is sponsored by the Development Research Center of the State Council and is a major journal for rigorous empirical work; tables and figures are the most intuitive signal by which reviewers judge whether "the research is rigorous." The editorial board's requirements for three-line tables, completeness of notes, and restraint in the number of columns are close to hard constraints. The table below anchors this journal's review expectations and common rejection patterns:

Dimension	This journal's expectations	High-risk signals for rejection/complaints
Table structure	Three-line tables, no vertical lines, ≤6 columns	With borders/shading/8 or more columns
Standard errors	In parentheses below coefficients, clustered standard errors	Using t/z values, not stating clustering
Notes	Include clustering level + definitions of significance symbols	Notes missing or filled with filler like "as shown in Table 3"
Figures	≥300dpi, ≤2 main colors, figure title below	Rainbow color schemes, screenshot Stata output

Common rejection patterns (table and figure dimension)

• Main table has more than 8 columns with excessively high information density; reviewers ask for the table to be split
• Coefficients retain 4–6 decimal places, exceeding this journal's convention (retain 3 places)
• Table is stuffed with R², adjusted R², pseudo R², AIC, BIC, letting the incidental overshadow the essential
• Screenshotting Stata/R output and pasting it directly into Word, judged as non-compliant

Mini walkthrough example: digital transformation main table and event study figure

Taking the digital transformation manuscript as an example, walk through it according to the standards (numbers are illustrative):

• Main table (Table 3): 3 columns (baseline/with controls/with fixed effects), core coefficients "digitalization × post-treatment" 0.045***, 0.038***, 0.040*** (illustrative), with standard errors clustered at the firm level in parentheses.
• Column count check: 3 columns ≤6 columns, compliant; if mechanism columns are added, it will be split into Table 4 to avoid exceeding the column limit.
• Decimal places: coefficients uniformly retain 3 places; for R² report only R², do not pile on AIC/BIC.
• Notes: clearly state "robust standard errors clustered at the firm level are in parentheses;、、 denote the 1%, 5%, and 10% significance levels respectively" — includes clustering level and symbol definitions, meets the standard.
• Parallel trends event study figure: coefficients for periods -5 to -1 have 95% CIs crossing zero (illustrative), the treatment time point is marked with a vertical dashed line, dark blue single color, 300dpi, figure title below the figure.
• Judgment: three-line table, column count, notes, and figure standards all in place → proceed to mw-policy-implication.

Reviewer follow-up patterns + fixes in this journal's context

• Follow-up question "At which level are the standard errors clustered?" → Fix: explicitly state the clustering level in the notes of every regression table, consistent with the clustering decision in mw-identification.
• Follow-up question "Is the table information density too high?" → Fix: collapse the control variable coefficients into a "Yes/No" row, split the mechanism and heterogeneity results into separate tables, and keep the main table within 6 columns.
• Follow-up question "Do the figures not look like this journal's style?" → In this journal's context, editorial board members prefer black and white plus 1–2 primary colors (dark blue/dark red), with no complex shadows; a mechanism path diagram using rectangles and arrows is sufficient.

Calibration anchors

In empirical papers already published in this journal, the main tables are generally three-line tables, ≤6 columns, with clustered standard errors placed in parentheses, and notes containing the clustering level and significance definitions; figures are normally monochrome or use two primary colors, are at least 300 dpi, and have the figure title below. The specific font size, color scheme, and table placement shall be subject to the editorial office's latest submission guidelines and the format of papers published in the same period.

Output format

【主表列数】X 列
【三线表合规】是 / 否
【标准误格式】统一 / 不统一
【图形 DPI】X
【缺漏注释】[...]
【下一步】mw-policy-implication