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Author Guidelines

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Submit to the journal

Submissions should be emailed in Word format to the Editors, Professors Steve Brown, Roger Maull and Andi Smart, University of Exeter Business School, UK, at ijopm@emeraldinsight.com

Editorial scope

The scope of the journal covers all aspects of operations management: manufacturing and service, profit and non-for-profit, including, but not limited to, the topics listed below:

• Operations strategy
• Operations planning, scheduling and control
• Capacity planning and control
• Project management in operations
• Materials and inventory management
• Mass customisation
• New product and service design / development
• Information and knowledge management
• Human resource management in operations
• Supply chain management
• Performance measurement and management
• Lean / agile operations
• Quality management in operations
• Plant location, design and layout
• Management of technology for operations
• E-business and operations
• Managing technological /organisational change
• Logistics, order fulfillment and distribution
• Supplier / customer relationship management
• Global operations management

Articles may be of a theoretical nature, be based on practical experience, present details of a case study or survey results. The prime requirement for acceptance of an article will be that it conforms to the criteria detailed under "Review Process".

The reviewing process

All authors should be listed. For the purposes of blind review, author's details must be listed on the first page only and the authors should not be identified anywhere else in the article.

Every paper submitted to the journal is subject to the following review procedures:

Firstly, on receipt of a paper, authors will receive an acknowledgement, normally within one week.

The Editorial team will then review the paper for its appropriateness to the scope of the Journal. This should normally be completed within one month. Authors should note that a large number of papers are rejected at this stage, often because they contain purely modelling work with no reference to application, or because they do not contain any substantive research content. We want to see a significant reduction in the number of rejected papers. Authors should ensure that submissions are of high quality, reporting original research that has been conducted in a rigorous manner, and written in a concise and understandable way.

If the paper is judged suitable, an electronic copy is then sent out for review using a double-blind process. In the double-blind process, information which identifies the authors must be removed from the electronic copy. Two reviewers will then assess the quality of the paper according to criteria which may include the following:

• Are the research objectives clearly stated?
• Does the paper relate to what has already been written in the field, i.e. is the relevant literature covered adequately?
• Does the paper demonstrate rigour in the application of appropriate research methods, data collection and analysis?
• Are the arguments and conclusions in the paper supported by the evidence presented?
• Is the paper well written in terms of clarity and conciseness?
• Does the paper make a significant contribution to the field in terms of theory, methodology or practice, and is the contribution clear?
• Are the findings clear and succinct?

Based on the recommendations of the reviewers, the Editorial team then decides whether the paper should be accepted as it stands, accepted subject to minor revisions, resubmitted for review after major revisions, or rejected. The authors should receive clear feedback supporting the decision of the review process.

If the paper requires major revision, the same reviewers will normally be used to review the revised paper. The time taken for the review of papers depends largely on the speed of response of reviewers who are asked to complete their assessments within six weeks. We aim to complete the first review of a paper and to notify authors within three months after initial screening.

Once accepted for publication, the editors will require the final version to be emailed to ijopm@emeraldinsight.com.

Each article must be accompanied by a completed and signed Journal Article Record form available at www.emeraldinsight.com/jarform . 

Send a signed copy of the JAR form (with paper reference number clearly marked) to Lucy Sootheran at Emerald:

• post to Lucy Sootheran, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK
• fax to +44 1274 785244
• scan and email to lsootheran@emeraldinsight.com

Authors should note that proofs are not supplied prior to publication.

A summary of submission requirements:

• A brief professional biography of each author
• A structured abstract with keywords
• Figures, photos and graphics electronically
• Harvard style references where appropriate
• A completed Journal Article Record form

 

Copyright

Articles submitted to the journal should be original contributions and should not be under consideration for any other publication at the same time. Please see Emerald’s policy on originality. Use this in conjunction with the points below about references, before submission i.e. always attribute clearly using either indented text or quote marks as well as making use of the preferred Harvard style of formatting. Authors submitting articles for publication warrant that the work is not an infringement of any existing copyright and will indemnify the publisher against any breach of such warranty. For ease of dissemination and to ensure proper policing of use, papers and contributions become the legal copyright of the publisher unless otherwise agreed.

The editor may make use of iThenticate software for checking the originality of submissions received. Please see our press release for further details.

Emerald Literati Network Editing Service

The Emerald Literati Network can recommend, via our Editing Service, a number of freelance copy editors, all themselves experienced authors, to contributors who wish to improve the standard of English in their paper before submission. This is particularly useful for those whose first language is not English.

Manuscript requirements

1. Articles should be a maximum of 8000 words in length.
2. A title of not more than eight words should be provided.
3. A brief autobiographical note should be supplied including:
   • Full name
   • Affiliation
   • E-mail address
   • Full international contact details
   • Brief professional biography.
   NB This information should be provided on a separate sheet and authors should not be identified anywhere else in the article.
4. Authors must supply a structured abstract set out under 4-7 sub-headings (see our "How to... write an abstract" guide for practical help and guidance):
   • Purpose (mandatory)
   • Design/methodology/approach (mandatory)
   • Findings (mandatory)
   • Research limitations/implications (if applicable)
   • Practical implications (if applicable)
   • Social implications (if applicable)
   • Originality/value (mandatory).
   Maximum is 250 words in total.
5. Please provide up to six keywords which encapsulate the principal topics of the paper.
6. Categorize your paper under one of these classifications:
• Research paper
• Viewpoint
• Technical paper
• Conceptual paper
• Case study
• Literature review
• General review.
7. Headings must be short, with a clear indication of the distinction between the hierarchy of headings. The preferred format is for headings to be presented in bold format, with consecutive numbering.
8. Notes or Endnotes should be used only if absolutely necessary and must be identified in the text by consecutive numbers, enclosed in square brackets and listed at the end of the article.
9. All Figures (charts, diagrams and line drawings) and Plates (photographic images) should be submitted in both electronic form and as hard copy originals. They should be of clear quality, in black and white and numbered consecutively with arabic numerals.
      Figures created in MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, Illustrator and Freehand should be saved in their native formats.
      Electronic figures created in other applications should be copied from the origination software and pasted into a blank MS Word document or saved and imported into a MS Word document by choosing "Insert" from the menu bar, "Picture" from the drop-down menu and selecting "From File..." to select the graphic to be imported.
   For figures which cannot be supplied in MS Word, acceptable standard image formats are: .pdf, .ai, .wmf and .eps. If you are unable to supply graphics in these formats then please ensure they are .tif, .jpeg (.jpg) , or .bmp at a resolution of at least 300dpi and at least 10cm wide.
      To prepare screenshots, simultaneously press the "Alt" and "Print screen" keys on the keyboard, open a blank Microsoft Word document and simultaneously press "Ctrl" and "V" to paste the image. (Capture all the contents/windows on the computer screen to paste into MS Word, by simultaneously pressing "Ctrl" and "Print screen".)
      Plates (photographic images) should be saved as .tif or .jpeg (.jpg) files at a resolution of at least 300dpi and at least 10cm wide. Digital camera settings should be set at the highest possible resolution/quality.
      In the text of the paper the preferred position of all tables, figures and plates should be indicated by typing on a separate line the words "Take in Figure (No.)" or "Take in Plate (No.)".
10. Tables should be typed and included as part of the manuscript. They should not be submitted as graphic elements. Supply succinct and clear captions for all tables, figures and plates. Ensure that any superscripts or asterisks are shown next to the relevant items and have corresponding explanations displayed as footnotes to the table, figure or plate.
11. References to other publications must be in Harvard style and carefully checked for completeness, accuracy and consistency. This is very important in an electronic environment because it enables your readers to exploit the Reference Linking facility on the database and link back to the works you have cited through CrossRef.
       You should cite publications in the text: (Adams, 2006) using the first named author's name or (Adams and Brown, 2006) citing both names of two, or (Adams et al., 2006), when there are three or more authors. At the end of the paper a reference list in alphabetical order should be supplied:
• For books: Surname, Initials (year), Title of Book, Publisher, Place of publication.
  e.g. Harrow, R. (2005), No Place to Hide, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY.
• For book chapters: Surname, Initials (year), "Chapter title", Editor's Surname, Initials, Title of Book, Publisher, Place of publication, pages.
  e.g. Calabrese, F.A. (2005), "The early pathways: theory to practice – a continuum", in Stankosky, M. (Ed.), Creating the Discipline of Knowledge Management, Elsevier, New York, NY, pp. 15-20.
• For journals: Surname, Initials (year), "Title of article", Journal Name, volume, number, pages.
  e.g. Capizzi, M.T. and Ferguson, R. (2005), "Loyalty trends for the twenty-first century", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 72-80.
• For published conference proceedings: Surname, Initials (year of publication), "Title of paper", in Surname, Initials (Ed.), Title of published proceeding which may include place and date(s) held, Publisher, Place of publication, Page numbers.
  eg Jakkilinki, R., Georgievski, M. and Sharda, N. (2007), "Connecting destinations with an ontology-based e-tourism planner", in Information and communication technologies in tourism 2007 proceedings of the international conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2007, Springer-Verlag, Vienna, pp. 12-32.
• For unpublished conference proceedings: Surname, Initials (year), "Title of paper", paper presented at Name of Conference, date of conference, place of conference, available at: URL if freely available on the internet (accessed date).
  eg Aumueller, D. (2005), "Semantic authoring and retrieval within a wiki", paper presented at the European Semantic Web Conference (ESWC), 29 May-1 June, Heraklion, Crete, available at: http://dbs.uni-leipzig.de/file/aumueller05wiksar.pdf (accessed 20 February 2007).
• For working papers: Surname, Initials (year), "Title of article", working paper [number if available], Institution or organization, Place of organization, date.
  e.g. Moizer, P. (2003), "How published academic research can inform policy decisions: the case of mandatory rotation of audit appointments", working paper, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, Leeds, 28 March.
• For encyclopedia entries (with no author or editor): Title of Encyclopedia (year) "Title of entry", volume, edition, Title of Encyclopedia, Publisher, Place of publication, pages.
  e.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica (1926) "Psychology of culture contact", Vol. 1, 13th ed., Encyclopaedia Britannica, London and New York, NY, pp. 765-71.
  (For authored entries please refer to book chapter guidelines above.)
• For newspaper articles (authored): Surname, Initials (year), "Article title", Newspaper, date, pages.
  e.g. Smith, A. (2008), "Money for old rope", Daily News, 21 January, pp. 1, 3-4.
• For newspaper articles (non-authored): Newspaper (year), "Article title", date, pages.
  e.g. Daily News (2008), "Small change", 2 February, p. 7.
• For electronic sources: if available online the full URL should be supplied at the end of the reference, as well as a date that the resource was accessed.
  e.g. Castle, B. (2005), "Introduction to web services for remote portlets", available at: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/library/ws-wsrp/ (accessed 12 November 2007).
  Standalone URLs, i.e. without an author or date, should be included either within parentheses within the main text, or preferably set as a note (roman numeral within square brackets within text followed by the full URL address at the end of the paper).

Final submission of the article

Once accepted for publication, the editor may request the final version as an attached file to an e-mail or to be supplied on a CD-ROM labelled with author name(s); title of article; journal title; file name. Each article must be accompanied by a completed and signed Journal Article Record Form available online or from the Editor.

Authors should note that proofs are not supplied prior to publication. The manuscript will be considered to be the definitive version of the article. The author must ensure that it is complete, grammatically correct and without spelling or typographical errors.

The preferred file format is Word. For technical/maths content, Rich Text Format (.rtf) is acceptable.

Technical assistance is available by contacting Mike Massey at Emerald. E-mail: mmassey@emeraldinsight.com