Journal profile · MANAGEMENT
Journal of Leadership Studies
ISSN 1935-2611 · eISSN 1935-262X · Wiley-Blackwell
Journal of Leadership Studies: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.9 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,150; review about 2 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 7% (journal website); 35 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Leadership Studies is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 4 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior, Management and Organizational Studies and Organizational Leadership and Management Strategies, together about 31.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The mission of the Journal of Leadership Studies is to publish leadership research and theoretical contributions that bridge the gap between scholarship and practice and that exemplify critical inquiry into contemporary organizational issues and paradigms. The journal promotes interdisciplinary and interorganizational theory, fostering dialogue that transcends industry specific contexts and that explores leadership's role in improving organizational practices and human life. Published material in the journal will include research-based and theoretical papers that explicitly address leadership on various social, cultural, and organizational contexts.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MANAGEMENT
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Canada 2, Greece 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorBusiness, Management and Accounting11%
- Management and Organizational StudiesBusiness, Management and Accounting11%
- Organizational Leadership and Management StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting9.3%
- Organizational Learning and LeadershipBusiness, Management and Accounting5.5%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science5%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.9%
- Emotional Intelligence and PerformancePsychology4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Management | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Management | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePsycINFOPublisher website
Other: ProQuest
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)
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.28LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.42LetPub ·
- h-index
- 43OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 252OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.09OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 48.78%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 23LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 26Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 100,908Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 990 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 26 | 14 | 2 |
| 2025 | 35 | 14 | 131 |
| 2024 | 45 | 29 | 89 |
| 2023 | 45 | 30 | 101 |
| 2022 | 45 | 12 | 220 |
| 2021 | 50 | 8 | 250 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref
Not usableThis publisher's "received" date is mostly when the revised manuscript arrived (71% of articles were "accepted" within 3 days), so it cannot measure review time
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 7%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 7%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 31 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 31 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 20 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,150 / EUR 2,630 / GBP 2,100 | — | — |
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 prepare9 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 7,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Templates
- Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- editor's notesIn each issue of the journal, one or more of the JLS editors publishes their thoughts on the issue. This article type is only available to editorial team member…Length not stated
- editor's thoughtsEditor’s Thoughts are articles where the Journal of Leadership Studies (JLS) editors or invited authors share their thoughts on leadership. Manuscript length is…Length not stated
- feature articlesFeature articles are traditional scholarly articles that provide an extensive examination of leadership. The length of feature articles ranges from around 4,000…Length not stated
- leadership perspectives articlesLeadership Perspectives are relatively succinct (1,500-2,500 words) scholarly manuscripts that represent unique leadership perspectives. Manuscripts should addr…Length not stated
- media reviewsMedia Reviews explore leadership as portrayed in media. Reviews generally range from 1,000 – 5,000 words without references or about 3 – 15 pages in MS-Word.Length not stated
- perspectivecles are by invitation only. Leadership Perspectives Articles Leadership Perspectives are relatively succinct (1,500-2,500 words) scholarly manuscripts that rep…main text ≤ 2,500 words
- reviewplore leadership as portrayed in media. Reviews generally range from 1,000 – 5,000 words without references or about 3 – 15 pages in MS-Word. Editormain text ≤ 5,000 words
- symposium articlesA typical symposium is comprised of an Editor's Introduction (2,000 words) and 4 – 7 articles (2,000 – 3,000) for an approximate size of 10,000 – 20,000 total w…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Self-archiving
- Data availability
Data Sharing and Data Availability: This journal expects and peer reviews data sharing. Model summary
This journal expects and peer reviews data sharing.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Author Licensing: Authors may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Hybrid Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License. Model summary
Authors may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Hybrid Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Open Access fees: Wiley charges a fee to authors who choose to publish using Hybrid Open Access. Model summary
Wiley charges a fee to authors who choose to publish using Hybrid Open Access.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving
Self-Archiving Definitions and Policies: Note that the journal’s standard copyright agreement allows for self-archiving of different versions of the article under specific conditions. Model summary
Note that the journal’s standard copyright agreement allows for self-archiving of different versions of the article under specific conditions.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1935-2611
- Electronic ISSN
- 1935-262X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 20, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Leadership Studies
What CAS zone is Journal of Leadership Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Leadership Studies is in Zone 4 of Management, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Management. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Leadership Studies?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.9 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 1.9, h-index 43.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Leadership Studies?
The publisher reports about 2 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 7% (2025). 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 are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Leadership Studies?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 7,000 words; Reference style: APA; Templates: Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Leadership Studies based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Canada (2) and Greece (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Leadership Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Leadership Studies is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Leadership Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Leadership Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,150.
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: .