STATEMENT OF EDITORIAL POLICY

The Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) is the top-ranked journal in the field of international business. The goal of JIBS is to publish insightful and influential research on international business.

The domain of international business studies includes: the activities, strategies, structures and decision-making processes of multinational enterprises; interactions between multinational enterprises and other actors, organizations and institutions; the cross-border activities of firms (e.g., intrafirm trade, finance, investment, technology transfers, offshore services); how the international environment (e.g., cultural, political, economic) affects the activities, strategies, structures and decision-making processes of firms; comparative studies of businesses, business processes and organizational behavior in different countries and environments; and the international dimensions of organizational forms (e.g., strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions) and activities (e.g., entrepreneurship, knowledge-based competition, corporate governance).

JIBS seeks to publish manuscripts with cutting-edge research that breaks new ground, rather than merely making an incremental contribution to international business studies. Manuscripts should address real-world phenomena, problems or puzzles; build on relevant prior research to highlight what is interesting and different; and include a clear statement of their contribution to international business research. JIBS is particularly interested in publishing innovative papers that start up or redirect a line of inquiry, integrate across disciplines rather than being single disciplinary, and are multi-level (micro, meso and/or macro) rather than single-level studies. Theories whose central propositions are distinctively international are encouraged, as are theories where both dependent and independent variables are international. Single-country studies are generally discouraged unless they are clearly situated within the domain of international business studies.

JIBS is a methodologically pluralistic journal. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies are both welcome, as long as the studies are methodologically rigorous. Conceptual and theory-development papers, empirical hypothesis-testing papers, and case-based studies are all welcome. Mathematical modeling papers are welcome if the modeling is appropriate and the intuition explained carefully. Empirical submissions utilizing undergraduate student samples are usually discouraged.

JIBS does not publish manuscripts about teaching materials/methods or manuscripts aimed solely at a practitioner audience. Manuscripts that contain no theoretical contribution to international business or have no specific relevance to the domain of international business studies should not be sent to JIBS.

Submissions to JIBS must follow the journal's Style Guide, including formatting and references. Poorly written or structured papers will be promptly returned to the authors.

More pages:
Information for contributors
JIBS Keyword list
JIBS Style Guide
JIBS Code of Ethics