Journal profile · Multiple
Theory and Decision
ISSN 0040-5833 · eISSN 1573-7187 · Springer Nature · 8 issues per year
Theory and Decision: CAS Zone 4 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.44; fully open access; APC about USD 3,190; median 323 days to acceptance (50 articles, last 24 months); 85 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Theory and Decision is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Economics in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics, Game Theory and Voting Systems and Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies, together about 42.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics and Management Science and Operations Research. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The field of decision has been investigated from many sides. However, research programs relevant to decision making in psychology, management science, economics, the theory of games, statistics, operations research, artificial intelligence, cognitive science and analytical philosophy have remained separate. Theory and Decision is devoted to all aspects of decision making belonging to such programs, but addresses also possible cross-fertilizations between these disciplines which would represent effective advances in knowledge. The purpose of the journal is to let the engineering of choice gradually emerge both for individual and for collective decision making. Formalized treatments will be favoured, to the extent that they provide new insights into the issues raised and an appropriate modeling of the situation considered. Due to its growing importance, expermentation in decision making as well as its links to the cognitive sciences will be granted special attention by Theory and Decision.Of particular interest are: Preference and belief modeling,Experimental decision making under risk or under uncertainty,Decision analysis, multicriteria decision modeling,Game theory, negotiation theory, collective decision making, social choice,Rationality, cognitive processes and interactive decision making,Methodology of the decision sciences. Applications to various problems in management and organization science, economics and finance, computer-supported decision schemes, will be welcome as long as they bear on sufficiently general cases. Analysis of actual decision making processes are also relevant topics for the journal, whether pertaining to individual, collective or negotiatory approaches; to private decisions or public policies; to operations or to strategic choices.Officially cited as: Theory Decis
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Mohammed AbdellaouiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 14, France 13, United Kingdom 9, Netherlands 7, Germany 5 (72 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Decision-Making and Behavioral EconomicsDecision Sciences17.9%
- Game Theory and Voting SystemsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance13.5%
- Experimental Behavioral Economics StudiesSocial Sciences10.8%
- Game Theory and ApplicationsDecision Sciences9.8%
- Economic theories and modelsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8%
- Economic and Environmental ValuationEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.1%
- Auction Theory and ApplicationsDecision Sciences5.5%
- Bayesian Modeling and Causal InferenceComputer Science3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Economics Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Mathematical Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Mathematical Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Economics Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Mathematical Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexSCIEzbMATHEconLitERIH PLUSCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, RePEc
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
- 0.44LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.64LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.99LetPub ·
- h-index
- 86OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 900OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.63OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 25%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 48.31%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 86LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 240,100Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,418 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 55 | 33 | 4 |
| 2025 | 85 | 57 | 56 |
| 2024 | 46 | 29 | 57 |
| 2023 | 46 | 26 | 96 |
| 2022 | 66 | 30 | 221 |
| 2021 | 60 | 33 | 812 |
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
323 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 223 days – 477 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 36 days (94 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 403 days
- Sample
- 50 articles with submission and acceptance dates (152 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
- Submission to first decision
- 37 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
Fully open accessLetPub
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,190 / EUR 2,590 / GBP 2,290 | — | — |
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- APA
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
LLMs such as ChatGPT do not satisfy authorship criteria; use of an LLM should be documented in the Methods section, while AI-assisted copy editing does not need to be declared. Model summary
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
Authors must disclose financial or non-financial competing interests directly or indirectly related to the submitted work. Model summary
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement explaining how to access supporting data, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets; if data cannot be shared publicly, the statement should describe how data can be accessed and conditions for reuse. Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
Authors should include statements on disclosure of potential conflicts of interest, research involving human participants and/or animals, and informed consent in a separate 'Compliance with Ethical Standards' section. Model summary
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Authors must obtain permission from copyright owners for previously published figures, tables, or text passages for both print and online formats, and include evidence of permission at submission. Model summary
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Theory and Decision, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Authors may suggest suitable reviewers and/or request exclusion of certain individuals at submission; suggested reviewers should be independent and provide institutional email addresses or other identity verification. Model summary
Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts.
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
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 8 issues per year
- ISSN
- 0040-5833
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-7187
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 101, Issue 1 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Theory and Decision
What CAS zone is Theory and Decision in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Theory and Decision is in Zone 4 of Economics, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Economics / Social Sciences, Mathematical Methods. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Theory and Decision?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.44; CiteScore 2.2, h-index 86.
How long does peer review take at Theory and Decision?
Based on the dates recorded on 50 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 323 days (interquartile range 223–477 days). 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 Theory and Decision?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: APA; Suggested reviewers: Optional. 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 Theory and Decision based?
Of the 72 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (14), France (13) and United Kingdom (9). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Theory and Decision?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Theory and Decision is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, SCIE, zbMATH, EconLit, ERIH PLUS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Theory and Decision open access, and what is the APC?
Theory and Decision is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .