Journal profile · LAW
Southern African Business Review
ISSN 1998-8125 · Unisa Press · South Africa
Southern African Business Review: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 12 weeks (community reports); 12 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Southern African Business Review is published by Unisa Press and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Customer Service Quality and Loyalty, Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences and Quality and Supply Management, together about 25% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Southern African Business Review serves as a vehicle for the publication and dissemination of research in the fields of the economic and management sciences. Research contributions should conform to high standards of scientific scholarly research inquiry. The following should at least be addressed: purpose/objective of the article, sound conceptualisation/theoretical foundation, statement of the research problem or hypothesis, clear research methodology, analysis/discussion of research findings, policy recommendation or implications for industry and conclusion.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): LAW
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 9, Canada 1, Sweden 1, Belgium 1, New Zealand 1 (14 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Customer Service Quality and LoyaltyBusiness, Management and Accounting9.6%
- Entrepreneurship Studies and InfluencesBusiness, Management and Accounting8.2%
- Quality and Supply ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting7.3%
- Legal Issues in South AfricaSocial Sciences7.1%
- Corporate Finance and GovernanceBusiness, Management and Accounting6.6%
- Financial Reporting and Valuation ResearchBusiness, Management and Accounting5.7%
- Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorBusiness, Management and Accounting4.6%
- Consumer Retail Behavior StudiesBusiness, Management and Accounting4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Law | 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
ESCIDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- h-index
- 28OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 89OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.83OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 71.43%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 8LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,026Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 393 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 2025 | 12 | 12 | 6 |
| 2024 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 2023 | 15 | 15 | 38 |
| 2022 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
| 2021 | 6 | 6 | 30 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | ZAR 7,865 | Yes | CC BY-SA | |
| OpenAlex | ZAR 7,150 | — | — | |
| LetPub | ZAR 7,865 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Reference style
- Chicago
- Templates
- Word
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1
- book reviewPlease note the format and order of information required in metadata for book reviews: Reviewed Book, <Book title in italics> by Andy Author <Book author name(s…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Self-archiving
- Publication ethics 7. Misconduct
Misconduct and unethical behaviour may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor and publisher at any time, by anyone. Sufficient evidence should be provided in writing by any complainant when informing the editor or publisher for an investigation to be initiated. All allegations should be taken seriously and must be treated appropriately. Those who report such behaviour in good fai…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Model summary
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additio…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Policy
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Process
Every article received by the journal is subjected to rigorous desk review under two important considerations, namely conformity with the journal instructions and academic quality. Articles are automatically rejected at the desk level if they do not meet both considerations. Articles may also subject to editorial review before the peer review process if the need arises. It is not uncommon for a me…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
Manuscripts containing plagiarism will not be considered for publication in the journal. Plagiarism is defined as the use of another's work, words or ideas without attribution or permission, and representation of them as one's own original work. Plagiarism may take many forms, ranging from major plagiarism (the copy-and-paste of large amounts of text), to minor plagiarism without dishonest intent …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Self Archiving Policy
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process. Model summary
SABR allows for all versions of manuscripts to be deposited in an institutional or other repository of the author’s choice without embargo.
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
- Unisa Press
- Country or region
- South Africa
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1998-8125
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Southern African Business Review
What CAS zone is Southern African Business Review in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Southern African Business Review is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Law. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
How long does peer review take at Southern African Business Review?
Authors report an average review time of about 12 weeks. 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 Southern African Business Review?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Reference style: Chicago; Templates: Word; Suggested reviewers: Optional; 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 Southern African Business Review based?
Of the 14 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (9), Canada (1) and Sweden (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Southern African Business Review?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Southern African Business Review is indexed in ESCI and DOAJ.
Is Southern African Business Review open access, and what is the APC?
Southern African Business Review is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .