Consistent with our journal’s mission, we accept manuscripts that are useful and interesting for business practitioners. Each paper should highlight a current business problem, an approach to address it, evidence-based analysis supporting that approach, and recommendations immediately relevant to practice. This may be accomplished through an application of primary or secondary research, a problem-specific synthesis of literature, a rigorous case study, or another means of merging scholarship and practice. To reflect the diversity of the business communities we serve, the journal welcomes unorthodox approaches in addressing business problems through the development of evidence, insight, and creative analysis.
We encourage all authors to register in Scholastica in order to submit papers, become peer reviewers, or communicate with editors and other authors from a central platform. At a minimum, the corresponding author should be registered and be the one submitting the paper (in MS Word). All authors should be clearly indicated on the Scholastica submission form.
All manuscripts must be written in clear English (U.S. version) for the business practitioner and adhere to these minimum requirements:
- No identifiable information about the authors;
- Abstract of up to 100 words, directly addressing the manuscript’s value for the business manager;
- Size 12 font throughout (Times New Roman preferred);
- Current American Psychological Association (APA) style;
- Margins of 1 inch on all sides; no footnotes or endnotes;
- Clear and self-evident, business-style figures (e.g., pie charts, bar charts) are encouraged, with no more than four tables and figures in total;
- 2000-to-3000 words, inclusive of all references and artifacts;
- Clear structure to introduce, develop the argument for, and conclude the topic (e.g., traditional academic structure is not required nor preferred).
SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCESS
All manuscripts are submitted through an electronic submission system (Scholastica). To gain access to Scholastica, please create a free account at http://scholasticahq.com. This account provides the opportunity to submit a paper for publication consideration or become a reviewer for submitted papers. A nominal fee of $10, payable to Scholastica is required for each submitted article to cover Scholastica system’s costs. Business Forum does not charge any processing, review, or publication fees.
Each article submitted to the Business Forum must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by any other publication. It will generally undergo an editorial desk review and, if the paper is considered appropriate for the journal, a double-blind peer review, as follows:
- The editors conduct a desk review of the manuscript based on our journal’s mission, submission guidelines, and potential fit with a targeted journal Issue. Manuscripts that do not comply with minimal standards will be referred back to the authors, who may be encouraged to resubmit their revised versions.
- Manuscripts that are forwarded to reviewers will undergo a double-blind peer review by a minimum of two reviewers qualified to assess the manuscript’s merits, including its practical implications. Reviewers typically include external as well as editorial board members.
- Most papers will go through one round of revisions in response to the initial peer-review reports. A timely decision regarding the acceptance of the paper will be made by the editors based on the peer reviews.
Business Forum’s editorial team strives to provide a rapid turnaround of papers submitted for publication consideration. We aim to complete each initial double-blind peer review within three to six weeks and the review of resubmitted papers, if any, within a three-to-four-week period. To achieve this goal, we may reject papers that require more than one revision cycle.
Once a paper is accepted for publication, it goes through final editing and processing. Our editorial team works closely with the authors on final, editorial revisions and prepares the paper for publication. The editors reserve the right to edit the paper for clarity or to shorten it as needed. The authors’ cooperation at this stage will be important for our ability to publish the paper. Because the Business Forum is a theme-based journal, an accepted paper may not be published if critical review or publication deadlines for its targeted issue are missed.
Please see our published Guidelines For Reviewers to further understand what we look for in a manuscript when assessing its merits. Please contact the editors if you need any clarification or additional support.
We are excited about your visit to our website and hope to soon see your papers in our submission system!