Special Issue Guidelines

This Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issue Policy sets forth the principles, criteria, process and governance pertaining to the development, approval, administration and publication of Special Issues in the Journal. Special Issues are devoted to a specific topic within the areas of business, management and economics, in which it is intended to advance knowledge by presenting new developments or information that contribute significantly to an understanding of that field.

The Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) policy is applicable to all Special Issues, regardless of Guest Editorship (either externally or internally sourced), including collections derived from academic conferences and funded research projects.

Special Issue:

For the purpose of the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issue Policy, a Special Issue is a curated collection of scholarly articles centred on a coherent theme or research question that:

  • Addresses an emerging, under-researched, or rapidly evolving topic;
  • Integrates diverse theoretical, empirical, or methodological perspectives;
  • Makes a substantive contribution to business, management, and/or economics scholarship.

Special Issues may be published as a standalone issue or as a clearly labelled section within a regular issue of the Journal.

Strategic Alignment and Academic Standards:

All Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issues must:

  • Fit with the objectives, focus and quality standards of ethics of the Journal.
  • Meet the academic quality, standard of refereeing and presentation as regular Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) issues.
  • Make solicit contributions that are significant to international, scholarly debates.
  • Avoid promotional, advocacy-oriented or commercial-related content.

Acceptance of a Special Issue proposal does not imply acceptance of any individual manuscript.

Accepted Types of Special Issues:

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) may consider the following types of Special Issues:

Thematic special issues: Dedicated to an issue of a particular research agenda or theoretical discussion.

Special Methodological Issues: Featuring new research methods or analytic techniques.

Cross-Disciplinary Special Issues: bringing together and linking Business, management, economics, and other related areas.

Conference-Based Special Issues: Manuscripts presented at international and top academic conferences are also invited by Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE), provided the quality of the conference peer-review process is guaranteed. Other Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) requirements might be considered.

Policy and Practice-Oriented Special Issues: Connecting scholarly work with managerial or economic policy applications.

Special Issue Governance Structure:

Editor-in-Chief:

The Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Editor-in-Chief holds eventual responsibility and authority over all the journal’s Special Issues, including:

  • Acceptance or rejection of Special Issue proposal submissions.
  • Appointment and oversight of Special Issue Guest Editor(s).
  • Maintaining compliance with the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) editorial, ethical and quality guidelines.
  • Acting as the last referee for decisions on manuscripts when necessary.

Handling Editor / Senior Editor:

The Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Editor-in-Chief may nominate a Handling Editor or Senior Editor for the Special Issue to:

  • Supervise the Special Issue process.
  • Act as contact person (liaison) between the Guest Editors and Journal.
  • Oversight of timelines, peer-review quality and editorial consistency.

Guest Editors:

Prospective Guest Editors are encourage to submit Special Issue proposals to The Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) at any point of time. Approval of Guest Editors is based on scholarly, editorial expertise and academic prestige. At least one of the Guest Editors should be a senior researcher (with editor or reviewer experience) in a research field suitable to the focus of Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE).

Guest Editors are responsible for:

  • Preparing the Special Issue proposal.
  • Conducting any required adjustments to the Special Issue proposal by the journal Editor-in-Chief.
  • Preparing and circulating the Special Issue Call for Papers.
  • Managing the peer-review system as per Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) guidelines.
  • Selecting suitable reviewers for the Special Issue submitted manuscripts.
  • Recommending editorial decisions based on submitted reviewers’ reports.
  • Maintaining clarity, academic consistency and quality across all accepted papers for the Special Issue.

Special Issue Guest Editors do not have one-sided decision-making power concerning the Special Issue submitted manuscripts. All the Special Issue decisions remain subject to Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) editorial oversight.

Editorial Board Oversight:

The Editorial Board may be consulted for:

  • Strategic relevance of proposed Special Issues;
  • Appointment of Guest Editors;
  • Dispute or ethical concerns resolution.

Special Issue Proposal Requirements:

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issue proposal forms should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief. Special Issue proposals include:

  • Proposed title of the Special Issue.
  • Rationale and academic significance.
  • Clear scope and thematic boundaries.
  • Contribution to existing literature.
  • Proposed for Special Issue Guest Editor(s), their affiliations, and short bios.
  • Draft Call for Papers.
  • Indicative timeline.
  • Expected number of submissions and target number of accepted papers.
  • Disclosure of any conference, funding, or institutional links.
  • Declaration of conflicts of interest.

Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

Evaluation and Approval of Proposals:

Special Issue proposals submitted to the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) are evaluated based on the following factors:

  • Scholarly merit and originality;
  • Relevance to the Journal’s scope;
  • Feasibility and clarity of the proposed theme;
  • Editorial competence and diversity of Guest Editors;
  • The Special Issue proposal potential to attract high-quality submissions.

The Editor-in-Chief’s decision concerning the Special Issue submitted proposals is final.

Call for Papers:

Once approved, the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issue Call for Papers must:

  • Ensure the concept and purpose of the Special Issue are clear and well defined.
  • Specify submission guidelines and deadlines.
  • Indicate that submissions are subject to regular peer review.
  • Avoid language implying guaranteed acceptance.

Approval by the Editor-in-Chief of the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) is required before all Call for Papers are distributed to potential authors.

Submission and Peer Review Process:

Manuscript Submission:

All manuscripts should be submitted via the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) online manuscript submission system. Email submissions, or any other form of submission, are not acceptable.

Peer Review:

  • All manuscripts are subjected to double-blind review by referees.
  • At least two independent reviewers is required.
  • Reviewers should have relevant subject expertise in the area covered in the submitted manuscripts.
  • Guest Editors must avoid appointing reviewers with conflicts of interest.

Editorial Decisions:

Decisions may include:

  • Reject,
  • Major revision,
  • Minor revision, or
  • Accept.

The Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Editor-in-Chief or the Handling Editor may have to intervene in the event that recommendations are not in keeping with the journal’s preserving quality and integrity.

Conflicts of Interest and Ethical Standards:

Conflicts of Interest:

  • Guest Editors cannot handle manuscripts that are written or co-written by them.
  • Manuscripts authored by one or more of the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issue Guest Editors are handled by the journal Editor-in-Chief or a designated Editor.
  • Editors and reviewers should declare any potential conflicts of interest.

Publication Ethics:

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issues adhere to the Journal’s ethics policy, including the elements of:

  • Plagiarism and originality;
  • Data integrity and transparency;
  • Authorship and acknowledgement;
  • Research involving human subjects or sensitive data.

Misconduct will lead to rejection, retraction, and other corrective actions.

Quality Assurance and Balance:

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issues must demonstrate:

  • Intellectual coherence without thematic redundancy.
  • Methodological and geographical breadth as appropriate.
  • Reasonable balance of theoretical and empirical papers.

The Journal has the right to transfer accepted manuscripts to ordinary issues.

Timelines and Performance Management:

Agreed timelines should be followed for Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Special Issues. Persistent delays, poor peer review or failure to meet criteria might lead to:

  • Replacement of Guest Editors.
  • Changes/Cancellation to the Special Issue.
  • Transfer of Special Issue papers to standard review.

Acceptance Threshold and Publication Format:

  • Special Issue acceptance ratio is not guaranteed.
  • Acceptance of Special Issue manuscripts is based purely on merit.
  • The number of accepted papers is finalised taking into account quality criteria.

An editorial introduction by the Guest Editors is a possible inclusion for Special Issues (subject to review and acceptance by the Studies in Business and Economics Journal -SBE Editor-in-Chief).

Copyright, Licensing, and Open Access:

All Special Issue articles are subject to the Journal’s standard copyright, licensing, and open access policies. Guest Editors do not hold copyright privileges beyond standard authorship rights.

Amendments and Review of the Policy:

This policy is reviewed periodically by the Editorial Board. The Journal reserves the right to amend this policy at any time to reflect best practices in scholarly publishing.

Disclaimer:

Approval of a Special Issue proposal does not constitute endorsement of the views expressed therein. Responsibility for content rests with the authors.

Special Issue Proposal Form: