Journal profile · Multiple
Strategic Management Journal
ISSN 0143-2095 · eISSN 1097-0266 · Wiley-Blackwell
Strategic Management Journal: CAS Zone 1 · Management (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 7; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,250; median 634 days to acceptance (80 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 6% (journal website); 129 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Strategic Management Journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 1 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Innovation and Knowledge Management, Corporate Finance and Governance and Business Strategy and Innovation, together about 45.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Strategy and Management and Accounting. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Strategic Management Journal seeks to publish papers that ask and help to answer important and interesting questions in strategic management, develop and/or test theory, replicate prior studies, explore interesting phenomena, review and synthesize existing research, and evaluate the many methodologies used in our field. SMJ also publishes studies that demonstrate a lack of statistical support in a particular sample for specific hypotheses or research propositions. We welcome a diverse range of research methods and are open to papers that rely on statistical inference, qualitative data, verbal theory, computational models and mathematical models. SMJ publishes articles of different length – ranging from standard journal length to shorter papers that focus on a specific issue or question, as well as papers that describe and make available datasets that can be used by a wide community of researchers in strategy. The journal also publishes comments from readers on published papers and “prospectives” on new or emerging lines of research. Submissions are put through a double-blind review process and are published if the paper meets the journal’s standards. Editorial comments and invited papers on practices and developments in strategic management appear from time to time as warranted by new developments. Overall, SMJ provides a communication forum for advancing the understanding of strategic management. This includes all topics that are relevant to the performance of firms and non-profit organizations.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 226, Singapore 23, France 21, Italy 15, Germany 12 (380 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Innovation and Knowledge ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting18.4%
- Corporate Finance and GovernanceBusiness, Management and Accounting18.2%
- Business Strategy and InnovationBusiness, Management and Accounting9%
- Firm Innovation and GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.2%
- International Business and FDIBusiness, Management and Accounting4.4%
- Entrepreneurship Studies and InfluencesBusiness, Management and Accounting4%
- Private Equity and Venture CapitalBusiness, Management and Accounting3.6%
- Management and Organizational StudiesBusiness, Management and Accounting3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Business | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Management | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Business | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Management | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Management Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Business | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Management | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of ScienceINSPECPsycINFOCurrent ContentsPublisher 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
- 7LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 7.6Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 7.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 17.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 17.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 17.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 10.15LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.54LetPub ·
- h-index
- 523OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,401OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 8.63OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 64.89%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 101LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 101Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 2,554,749Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,538 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 90 | 64 | 63 |
| 2025 | 129 | 98 | 636 |
| 2024 | 125 | 91 | 2,269 |
| 2023 | 104 | 73 | 2,319 |
| 2022 | 122 | 58 | 4,471 |
| 2021 | 122 | 42 | 6,494 |
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 · to
634 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 415 days – 924 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (86 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 692 days
- Sample
- 80 articles with submission and acceptance dates (217 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 6%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 6%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 55 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 55 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 806 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,250 / EUR 3,520 / GBP 2,830 | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Policy and Guidelines for Authors
1.1 Appropriate Uses Authors may use GenAI tools to assist in the preparation of manuscripts submitted to SMJ. Permitted uses include assistance with language editing, grammar, clarity, structure, formatting, and the identification of relevant literature. Where AI is used to identify literature, authors remain responsible for verifying that every cited source exists and supports the claim for whic…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest 1.3 Disclosure Requirements
Authors who use GenAI tools in manuscript preparation must disclose this use.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
The journal publishes studies that demonstrate a lack of statistical support in a particular sample for specific hypotheses or research propositions. Model summary
We also publish studies that demonstrate a lack of statistical support in a particular sample for specific hypotheses or research propositions.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright & Licensing
If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper. You may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Model
In addition to anonymizing the text, please ensure document properties are also anonymized. Document Inspector helps you find and remove hidden data and personal information stored in the anonymized version of your manuscript. Here's how to use it: Open the Document Inspector: Go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document; Inspect the Document: Select or clear the options to remove or sa…
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
- 0143-2095
- Electronic ISSN
- 1097-0266
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 47, Issue 10 (October 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Strategic Management Journal
What CAS zone is Strategic Management Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Strategic Management Journal is in Zone 1 of Management, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Business / Management; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Strategic Management Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 7; CiteScore 17.2, h-index 523.
How long does peer review take at Strategic Management Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 80 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 634 days (interquartile range 415–924 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 6% (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.
Where are the editorial board members of Strategic Management Journal based?
Of the 380 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (226), Singapore (23) and France (21). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Strategic Management Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Strategic Management Journal is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science, INSPEC, PsycINFO and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Strategic Management Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Strategic Management Journal is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,250.
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: .