Journal profile · Social Sciences-Sociology and Political Science
International Journal of Strategic Communication
ISSN 1553-118X · eISSN 1553-1198 · Taylor & Francis
International Journal of Strategic Communication: CAS Zone 2 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.6 (journal website); JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 103 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 18% (journal website); 49 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Journal of Strategic Communication is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 2 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Public Relations and Crisis Communication, Corporate Identity and Reputation and Media Studies and Communication, together about 42.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Communication. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Aim The International Journal of Strategic Communication aims to advance the theoretical and practical development of strategic communication globally. The journal represents a multi-national effort to integrate various communication disciplines into a coherent body of knowledge and facilitate the emergence of strategic communication as an interdisciplinary domain of study. The journal seeks to define the field of strategic communication and to provide a forum for interdisciplinary approaches and research traditions. It espouses a truly international perspective that gives voice to cross-cultural research and scholars in all regions of the world. Scope The International Journal of Strategic Communication examines the philosophical, theoretical, and applied nature of strategic communication, which encompasses “all communication that is substantial for the survival and sustained success of an entity. Specifically, strategic communication is the purposeful use of communication by an organization or other entity to engage in conversations of strategic significance to its goals.“ [1] Please refer to Vol. 12(4) of this journal for a comprehensive overview of the discipline. Another source to explore the strategic communication body of knowledge is The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication . The International Journal of Strategic Communication provides a foundation for the study of strategic communication from diverse disciplines, including corporate and managerial communication, organizational communication, public relations, marketing communication, advertising, political and health communication, social marketing, international relations, public diplomacy, and other specialized communication areas. Since 2007, IJSC has served as the singular forum for interdisciplinary inquiry of this nature. Manuscripts submitted to IJSC must be clearly positioned within the broad framework of strategic communication, as well as make an original contribute to the strategic communication body of knowledge. In addition, manuscripts should address the communicators' perspective—any research focused on communication contexts or receivers should clearly elaborate the relevance for communicators and for using communication to support organizational goals and objectives. Unidisciplinary research—studies based in a single discipline—are not suitable for IJSC. Research published in this journal must attempt to integrate disciplinary perspectives to create novel ways of underst
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Sociology and Political Science
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 2, Germany 1, Australia 1 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Public Relations and Crisis CommunicationSocial Sciences26.7%
- Corporate Identity and ReputationBusiness, Management and Accounting8.7%
- Media Studies and CommunicationSocial Sciences7.2%
- Digital Marketing and Social MediaSocial Sciences6.7%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences5.8%
- Management and Organizational StudiesBusiness, Management and Accounting5.1%
- Knowledge Management and SharingSocial Sciences4%
- Corporate Social Responsibility ReportingBusiness, Management and Accounting3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ProQuest, EBSCOhost, ProQuest online research databasesPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.56LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.56Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.93LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.93Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 55OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 300OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.6OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 22.22%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 47LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 235,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 549 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 60 | 23 | 15 |
| 2025 | 49 | 19 | 134 |
| 2024 | 35 | 14 | 226 |
| 2023 | 31 | 11 | 258 |
| 2022 | 44 | 15 | 619 |
| 2021 | 29 | 6 | 627 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
103 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 52 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 103 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 24 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Not considered
- Unidisciplinary research
Article types accepted1
- editorialEditors: Jens Seiffert-Brockmann, Department of Business Communication, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria Brian G. Smith, Robertson School of…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
International Journal of Strategic Communication is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increas…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double anonymized peer review after initial editor appraisal. Model summary
All submitted manuscripts receive initial appraisal by the editors, and if found suitable for further consideration, undergo double anonymized peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1553-118X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1553-1198
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 20, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Journal of Strategic Communication
What CAS zone is International Journal of Strategic Communication in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Journal of Strategic Communication is in Zone 2 of Literature, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Communication. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of International Journal of Strategic Communication?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.6 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.4, h-index 55.
How long does peer review take at International Journal of Strategic Communication?
The publisher reports about 103 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 18%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is International Journal of Strategic Communication in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Literature.
Where are the editorial board members of International Journal of Strategic Communication based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (2), Germany (1) and Australia (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Journal of Strategic Communication?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Journal of Strategic Communication is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is International Journal of Strategic Communication open access, and what is the APC?
International Journal of Strategic Communication is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .