The EJIS editorial organisation and submissions
Abstract
European Journal of Information Systems (2009) 18, 1–3. doi:10.1057/ejis.2009.3 In November, EJIS completed a ‘soft launch’ of our new online submission system. We expect this system to help improve our management of the submission review process and streamline the path from submission to publication. We are also increasing the number of associate editors, and introducing a ‘senior’ rank among associate editors. Given these innovations, readers might find an explanation of the EJIS editorial organisation of interest. EJIS, like all academic journals, has an editorial team that manages the content for the journal. This editorial team handles unsolicited submissions and operates a rigorous, double-blind, scientific review process. The team will also occasionally publish opinion pieces, some solicited, in a single-blind process. EJIS maintains a flat organisational structure in its editorial team. We regard this basic organisation as a particular strength for the journal. Many journals have four editorial bodies. One of these, the editorial board, is often separate from the editors. EJIS does not have a separate editorial board. An editorial board mainly serves to publicise the journal, help attract submissions and review papers. It often serves in an advisory role for the journal. At some journals, the other three editorial bodies will operate as a three-level hierarchy, with an Editor-in-Chief, Senior Editors, and Associate Editors. EJIS essentially has two bodies instead of those four. The two bodies are the Editors and the Associate Editors. At present there are three Editors, one of whom assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief. This chief role rotates every 3 years to a different editor. As of January 2009, there are 37 Associate Editors. There is also one managing editor. A typical submission will first be read by the managing editor. The managing editor usually decides which of the three editors should evaluate (‘vet’) the submission. An editor will vet the submission, reading it to determine if the paper is within the scope of EJIS, and possesses a sufficient degree of quality and novel contribution to offer promise for a successful scholarly review. With an eye to matching the topical interests of an associate editor and the submission, the editor assigns the article to an associate editor. This associate editor will appoint expert reviewers and manage that review process. This review process may demand several revisions before a publishable manuscript is achieved. Any of the editorial team involved in the submission (the editor, the associate editor, or the managing editor) may make critical determinations that lead to rejection or revisions before a manuscript actually reaches the reviewers. We believe it benefits the authors when there is an opportunity to remove flaws from their work before it reaches the reviewers. It is also a benefit to have a rapid rejection instead of a lengthy review process in which an ultimate rejection is assured. We try to avoid aging a piece of serious research with an unnecessary review process when a negative decision is clear. EJIS does not have a separate editorial board or senior editors, but integrates both of these roles with the Associate Editor role. This combination places more responsibility and more authority with the EJIS Associate Editor. Indeed, because of the combined editorial board roles, an European Journal of Information Systems (2009) 18, 1–3 & 2009 Operational Research Society Ltd. All rights reserved 0960-085X/09