What exactly are “stylized facts”?

AMD articles report surprising empirical relations and/or stylized facts. The latter term calls for some elaboration. As its name suggests, a stylized fact is an observation or phenomenon of some kind (a single fact, or an interrelated set of facts) that one has systematically documented and, in turn, reported in a clever and elegant manner (a stylish form of communication). Not all facts in the world are ripe for stylization. While there is some judgment involved, it is safe to say that, in line with Davis’s (1971) classic observations on what makes research interesting, facts that in some way challenge existing assumptions about the nature of management or organizations are likely to command attention and receive consideration for publication. More generally, facts merit stylization and dissemination when they provide cause to rethink or reorient a particular area of research or practice.