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Available Issues

February 23, 2016 - June 15, 2026

Available Issues

February 23, 2016 - June 15, 2026

Submission Guidelines

Strategy Science

Strategy Science seeks to publish outstanding research directed to the challenges of strategic management in both business and non-business organizations. The journal is eclectic with respect to methodologies, including field-based work, large-sample empirical work, and computational and analytic models. Strategy Science is open to a wide variety of underlying disciplinary approaches including economics, operations research, political science, psychology, and sociology. The critical issue with respect to publication is whether the work enhances, in some meaningful manner, our understanding of some substantive issues in the strategy domain.

Author Portal (for additional author support)

The INFORMS Author Portal is a resource to support authors as they move through peer review and production. Visit the Author Portal for detailed information regarding INFORMS publication policies, accepted author support, resources (including pre-submission editing services), and journal metrics.

—PLEASE REVIEW THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATION AND ETHICS POLICIES BEFORE YOU SUBMIT—

JUMP TO:  Preparing Your Manuscript | Submitting Your Manuscript | Review Process | After Acceptance

Preparing Your Manuscript

Length

The expectation is that manuscripts will be no more than 35 pages all-inclusive. If your manuscript exceeds this limit, please provide a brief justification in your cover letter (in this context, bear in mind that the Journal can host online supplements).

Format

Submissions must be double-spaced, with 11-point standard font (such as Times New Roman) and 1-inch margins all around. You may use any software as long as you can create a PDF to upload in ScholarOne Manuscripts. The system will also allow .doc and .docx files.

Double Blind

Strategy Science conducts double-blinded reviews, meaning that both the authors and the reviewers are ‘blind’ to the identity of the other. Authors must remove explicit indications of the authors’ names and institutions and all acknowledgments must be removed. The paper should be written in such a way that it does not reveal an author’s identity (e.g., “I extend the work in my dissertation (Norman 1995)” should be written in a neutral manner like “This work extends the research in Norman (1995)”). Proper attribution of prior work, especially work done by the authors, is a must and takes precedence over maintaining anonymity. Author names, institutions, and acknowledgments will be returned to the printed manuscript upon acceptance for publication).

Abstract

Authors should provide a text-only abstract of no more than 200 words; references and math should not appear in the abstract.

References

References should be listed alphabetically by author name at the end of the paper in conformance with journal style. In-text citations should be indicated by the author’s last name and year of publication, e.g., (Norman 1977) or Norman (1977). Click here for examples of reference style.

Endnotes and Footnotes

Endnotes and footnotes should be avoided. If the note is necessary, it should be indicated within the text.

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively and grouped together after the references. Tables and figures should complement arguments presented in the text, and the position of tables and figures should be cited in the text. The Author Portal contains detailed instructions for figure composition.

Submitting Your Manuscript

All papers for publication consideration by Strategy Science should be submitted electronically through ScholarOne Manuscripts at the ScholarOne Manuscripts site for Strategy Science.

IMPORTANT NOTE: By submitting a manuscript to or reviewing for this publication, your name, email address, and affiliation, and other contact details the publication might require, will be used for the regular operations of the publication, including, when necessary, sharing with the publisher (INFORMS) and partners for production and publication. The publication and the publisher recognize the importance of protecting the personal information collected from users in the operation of these services, and have practices in place to ensure that steps are taken to maintain the security, integrity, and privacy of the personal data collected and processed. You can learn more here.

The ScholarOne Submission Process

There are seven steps for uploading a manuscript in the ScholarOne system:

Step 1: Type, Title, & Abstract: Enter your manuscript type (ie, Original Manuscript). Provide the manuscript title. Add the abstract (not more than 250 words).

Step 2: Attributes: Authors should select 3–10 keywords to describe their paper’s theoretical and methodological orientation.

Step 3: Authors & Institutions: All authors and their institutions must be identified. Please note that the submitting author is required to provide their ORCID iD (more information about ORCID iDs can be found here.

Step 4: Reviewers & Editors: Authors can enter preferred and nonpreferred reviewers. Authors should not suggest reviewers with whom they have any conflict of interest. An author has a conflict of interest with (a) his/her major professor or a student for whom the author has served as major professor, (b) people working at the same institution, (c) co-authors on work completed or in progress during the last three years.

Additionally, the same conflict of interest rules apply to Senior Editor recommendations.

Step 5: Details & Comments: Authors can include their cover letter either in the text box or as a separate file. This information will be viewed by the Editor-in-Chief and the Senior Editor but will not be viewed by the reviewers. Authors will denote funding in this section. Last, authors will certify that they are complying with the journal's ethical policies.

Step 6: File Upload: Authors will upload as many files as needed for their manuscript. These files will be combined into a single PDF document for the peer review process. For revisions, authors should include only the latest set of files.

Step 7: Review & Submit: As the final step, authors will review the previous six steps for completeness and view the PDF proof generated by the ScholarOne system (this is required). Be sure to select “Submit” when done.

Ethical Statements Authors Will Certify

As part of Step 5 (above), authors will certify the following ethical statements within the ScholarOne System (Note: Papers may be submitted to a conference at the same time as they are being reviewed with Strategy Science):

Ethical Guidelines

I acknowledge that I am aware of Strategy Science's guidelines for ethical behavior in publishing (http://pubsonline.informs.org/page/stsc/submission-guidelines) and all INFORMS policies referred to therein and that this submission conforms to those policies. I have disclosed (in my cover letter and in any related submission questions) any possible perceived conflicts of interest and noted all of my work that has substantial overlap to prior publications, conference proceedings, book chapters, and papers submitted to this journal or any other journals. I also certify that the copyright for all portions of this paper can and will be transferred to INFORMS upon acceptance.

Plagiarism & Copyright

I acknowledge that in submitting this paper I am aware of INFORMS policy on plagiarism and copyright (https://pubsonline.informs.org/authorportal/copyright-plagiarism). Further, I acknowledge that I will report to the editor(s) of the journal all of my manuscripts (e.g., prior publications, conference proceedings, book chapters, papers submitted to other journals) that have substantial overlap with the submitted paper. I also certify that the copyright for all portions of this paper can and will be transferred to INFORMS upon acceptance.

Prior Submission

Has another manuscript from this same database been accepted by or previously published in Strategy Science or another journal? Has another manuscript from this same database ever been previously submitted to Strategy Science, or is one currently under review at this or another journal? If yes to any of these, please note this in your cover letter and explain how this paper differs from the previous one. If another paper from this database has been published in this or another journal, please also include the full citation in your cover letter.

Other Ethical Questions

  • Do you affirm that your manuscript conforms to the submission policy of Strategy Science?
  • Do you certify that your manuscript is original material and not copyrighted?
  • Do you certify that your manuscript is not being reviewed elsewhere simultaneously (Please note: the manuscript may be submitted to a conference at the same time as it is being reviewed for Strategy Science).
  • Do you certify that your manuscript has not been accepted for publication, nor published in, a refereed journal or book?
  • Is your manuscript published in, or in the publication process, at a non-refereed journal?
  • Is your manuscript posted on a working paper website?
  • If your manuscript is posted on a working paper website, do you agree to remove the manuscript from the site if it is published in Strategy Science?
  • If your manuscript is posted on a working paper website, do you agree to transfer copyright from the working paper site to INFORMS?
  • Is your manuscript's research supported by a government grant or funding? (This information will not be seen by the reviewers.)

Troubleshooting

For additional training and support for using the ScholarOne Manuscripts submission system, please visit ScholarOne’s Author Resources page.

Contact Your Managing Editor

Chris Asher
INFORMS
5521 Research Park Drive
Suite 200
Catonsville, Maryland 21228
[email protected]

The Review Process

Editors and Reviewers

Strategy Science has a decentralized editorial structure composed of Senior Editors and an Editorial Review Board committed to working with authors to develop interesting ideas into publishable papers. Each Senior Editor has the autonomy to accept or reject a paper for publication or to request that the author revise and resubmit the paper. Authors are invited to nominate up to three reviewers (with suitable expertise and no conflict of interest with the author(s) or the paper being reviewed). The Senior Editor incorporates the reviewers’ evaluation into his or her evaluation, but the ultimate decision is the Senior Editor’s and not a “vote” of the reviewers.

Revisions

If a revision of a manuscript is invited, authors should resubmit the manuscript within three months and no later than one year from the date a revision is requested.

Appeals

Editorial decisions are inherently judgments that reflect multiple factors and typically multiple evaluators. While no single comment or critique is likely determinative of a judgment reached, occasionally authors will find specific comments in the written evaluations of editors and reviewers that they believe are in error and that are of sufficient significance to have shaped editorial judgments. Therefore, we do consider appeals, but only on the basis of such large technical errors. Appeals are not for cases where the author(s) believe that the reviewers/editors did not sufficiently appreciate the paper. Appeals should document the error, its magnitude, and should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief. Appeals should be sent no sooner than 30 days and no later than 180 days after the date of the decision on the manuscript. All authors must be copied on the appeal email. The Editor-in-Chief, often in consultation with a senior editor, will consider the merits of the alleged error and choose a path of action which is generally among the following (1) Uphold the decision made; (2) Secure one or more additional reviews of the paper for further consideration. Authors should be aware that the identities of appealing authors will become part of the journal record and known to future editors. Please also note that while we are willing to entertain appeals, it is quite uncommon for editorial decisions to be reversed.

After Acceptance

We respectfully request that authors upload their final files to the submission site within 14 days from receipt of the acceptance decision letter. The decision of accept is not considered binding until final files have been received.

As a condition of final acceptance for publication in Strategy Science, the author(s) must indicate if their paper is posted on a working paper website. If so, authors are responsible for ensuring that, if any part of their paper has been copyrighted for prepublication as a working paper, the copyright can and will be transferred to INFORMS when the paper has been accepted. This includes both print and electronic forms of the paper. On acceptance, the text, or any link to the full text, must be removed from the working paper site.

Final Files

A decision of accept will cause the manuscript to appear in the “Manuscripts Accepted for First Look” section of the submitting author’s Author Center, where the author will submit the following files:

  1. A source file of the manuscript in Microsoft Word (or LaTeX), with a cover page that includes full author contact information and keywords;
  2. A PDF file of the main paper;
  3. A PDF file of online appendixes (‘e-companions’; these are not edited, so source files are not needed);
  4. Figure source files;
  5. A signed copyright transfer form;
  6. The completed editorial checklist; and
  7. A brief “author biography” that will appear with your published paper.

Figures

Color figures will publish online in color but be converted to black and white for the print journal unless the authors agree to pay the additional expense associated with printing color.

Open Access

The INFORMS Open Option (IOO) provides an Open Access alternative for articles accepted in any INFORMS journals that would have otherwise been available only through subscriptions or pay per view. Please be advised there is a $3,000 (US) fee to make an article Open Access. If you would like to make your article Open Access, you do not need to complete the regular copyright transfer form. Additional details for IOO as well as other types of Open Access can be found here.

Publication Forms

Contact Your Production Editor

After receipt of final files from authors, manuscripts are sent to production for copy editing and layout. Questions about the publication status of an accepted manuscript should be directed to [email protected].