Dear AIB members worldwide,
First, let me express my gratitude for being elected Editor-in-Chief of JIBS for 2023-2025. On behalf of my team, I am happy to announce that the transition from the previous editorial team to the current one went well. In terms of the composition of the editorial team, I followed the maxim “something old, something new”. This approach ensures continuity, but allows for further refinement and development of the journal to align with new initiatives and directions adopted by the incoming team. The current team is larger and the first gender balanced team in JIBS history.
Second, in my opening editorial, “For JIBS to matter for a better worldI have outlined many new initiatives and directions for the magazine under our team that reflect the continuation; JIBS editorial statementspecifically, the publication of “insightful, innovative and influential research on international business”, in line with AIB’s 2018 Mission, Vision and Values Statement which are based on the main pillars of internationalization, excellence, intellectual freedom, integrity, inclusiveness and impact. As such, many of the new initiatives and directions adopted by our editorial team are designed to pursue the three “I’s” of “integrity, inclusion, and impact.” The final ‘I’ impact goes beyond the journal’s Impact Factor (IF) and represents the journal’s ambition to publish high-quality research that has social impact.
Without repeating what I wrote in my opening editorial, below is a brief summary of the new initiatives implemented by our team:
- The addition of two new sub-domains, Industry 4.0 and Global Sustainability, which reflect: one, the ubiquitous impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on all aspects of society’s functioning; and, two, our collective responsibility as academics and researchers to address and fix society’s grand challenges.
- Adding two advisory committees to the editorial team, whose members are full editors. The first is the Research Methods Advisory Committee (RMAC), which encourages a variety of research methods (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, etc.) to understand and explore the complexity of concepts, constructs, and theories that challenge us in studying IB phenomena. . The second is the Social Impact Advisory Committee (SIAC), which helps sharpen the social impact of high-quality research that has passed conditional acceptance.
- In addition to encouraging multiple high-quality research methods, our team will pay greater attention to the diversity of research paradigms and cognitive approaches in order to emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of the IB discipline and embrace Western and non-Western perspectives more. accurately portray the nature and scope of IB.
- Expanding territorial activities to promote scholarship in regions of the world that are currently underrepresented in terms of submissions. Our editorial team has conducted JIBS paper development workshops at most AIB regional Chapter conferences, as well as with sister academic associations that share our goal of advancing scholarship with impact for the IB.
Third, updating some of the journal metrics. Although our editorial team only took on their official role earlier this year, we actually began overseeing all new journal submissions from mid-June 2022. the past year immediately preceding the transition. Desk rejection rates for our two Reviewing Editors (REs) and Area Editors (AEs) are 60 percent and 5 percent, respectively, and match our predecessors’ rates. The average turnaround time for the RE desktop is rejected and: It is 5 days and 62 days, respectively, from the submission of the first decision by the CA. The latest stats reflect a 5 day reduction from the previous team’s stats. As authors, we all appreciate a quick turnaround time for decisions. Our team will work hard to maintain this momentum of faster turnaround times without compromising the integrity and quality of the review process.
In closing, I hope you are as excited as my editorial team members and I have been about making JIBS essential for a better world. This goal can only be achieved through your continued support and contributions. I look forward to interacting, listening and, most importantly, learning from all of you to gain meaningful and useful knowledge in the field of IB.
the best
Rosalie L. Tung