Heralding the new publisher: strategic alliance and improved service.

As of 2009, International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (IJBM) will be published by Springer Science + Business Media. Springer is one of the largest scientific, technical, and medical publishers in the world. It publishes over 1,750 journals in the fields of social and behavioral sciences, medicine, humanities, business and economics, engineering, mathematics, physics, and chemical sciences. Springer has experience in collaborating with academic and professional societies almost one fourth of the Springer journals are published on behalf of societies. IJBM and the International Society of Behavioral Medicine, as the owner of the journal, initiated the search for alternatives regarding journal publishers in 2007. ISBM member societies now number 20, representing over 5,000 individual members in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. ISBM is actively engaged in facilitating the formation of behavioral medicine societies in Africa. With the increasing awareness of the importance of taking a global perspective when it comes to improving health and the increasing awareness of the importance of behavioral factors in determining health not only in the first world but in developing countries also, IJBM is poised to reach an expanding global readership. In searching for a new publisher, IJBM and ISBM realized that their strategic interests closely paralleled those of Springer. Springer’s ambitions for global expansion match the strategic interests of IJBM and ISBM, enabling the strategic alliance of these organizations. Negotiations with Springer have resulted in a markedly improved service level. Specifically, we would like to mention the following improvements: