The CASE Journal: Scopus Indexing, Scope, CiteScore & Submission Guide

Quick Answer: What Is The CASE Journal?

The CASE Journal is a peer-reviewed outlet for factual teaching cases covering the broad spectrum of business and management. It also publishes compact cases and, from time to time, pedagogical articles that examine case teaching, case writing, reviewing, and the teaching-case method. Emerald identifies it as the official journal of The CASE Association.

The journal is currently listed by Emerald as abstracted and indexed in Scopus. The supplied journal record identifies Scopus Source ID 21100945816. Emerald’s journal page lists ISSN and eISSN as 1544-9106.

Authors should consider TCJ when they have a factual, current, teachable organisational situation that can support defined learning objectives and classroom discussion, or when they have rigorous scholarship about case pedagogy. Authors with a conventional empirical business article, a fictional scenario, or a narrative that lacks a complete Teaching Note should normally look for a different outlet or substantially redesign the submission before proceeding.

Key Takeaways

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing; TCJ is the official journal of The CASE Association.
• Scope: factual teaching cases across business and management, compact cases, and selected scholarship about the case method.
• Scopus: Emerald currently lists the journal as indexed in Scopus; supplied Source ID: 21100945816.
• 2025 CiteScore: 0.4 on Emerald’s current journal metrics page.
• First decision: 35 days, based on submissions from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024.
• Acceptance rate: 21% for the same reporting period; this does not predict an individual manuscript outcome.
• Core format rule: teaching cases must be factual and accompanied by a stand-alone Teaching Note.
• References and formatting: current author guidance requires APA references, single spacing, 1-inch margins, and sequentially numbered exhibits.

Journal Information at a Glance

What This Page Covers

• The CASE Journal’s aims, scope, and intended research/teaching community
• Scopus indexing and currently verifiable journal metrics
• Teaching cases, compact cases, and pedagogical article types
• Case narrative and Teaching Note requirements
• Peer review, originality, permissions, ethics, and AI-use policies
• Open-access routes and publication-fee considerations
• A practical manuscript-fit and publication-readiness checklist
• Ways Contentxprtz can ethically support preparation without promising acceptance

Methodology and Sources

This profile was prepared by cross-checking the journal-specific information supplied with the task against authoritative sources, primarily Emerald Publishing’s official page for The CASE Journal, its current author guidelines, its journal metrics section, Emerald’s case-study collection information, and Emerald’s open-access policy pages. The supplied source record was used for the Scopus Source ID and source-category context.

Journal metrics, indexing, editorial teams, fees, and publishing policies can change. Researchers should reconfirm time-sensitive information on the live Emerald and Scopus pages immediately before submission, particularly when the journal is being used to satisfy a doctoral, university, accreditation, promotion, or funding requirement.

What Is The CASE Journal and Who Is It For?

The CASE Journal occupies a specific place in business education publishing. Its central product is not a conventional research article that reports a hypothesis test, survey, regression model, interview study, or literature review in the standard journal format. Its distinctive focus is the teaching case: a factual, evidence-based account of a real organisational situation that can be used to help students analyse problems, apply theory, compare alternatives, and discuss managerial judgement.

Emerald describes the journal as presenting students with a modern interpretation of discussion-based teaching and equipping future business professionals to solve strategic enterprise problems. That orientation matters when evaluating fit. A strong TCJ submission should be useful not only as a documented account of an organisation but also as a structured learning instrument. The case narrative and Teaching Note work together: the narrative creates the decision, dilemma, situation, or analytical context; the Teaching Note explains how an instructor can use it.

The likely author community therefore includes business-school faculty, case writers, management educators, doctoral researchers working on pedagogy, experienced industry professionals collaborating with academics, and researchers studying case-method teaching. International authors can also be a strong fit when their cases bring contemporary organisational situations, sectors, countries, institutions, or management problems into the classroom in a way that remains accessible to a wider teaching audience.

The CASE Journal Aims and Scope

Emerald’s current aims and scope identify three broad submission pathways. First, TCJ publishes factual teaching cases spanning business and management disciplines. This broad disciplinary coverage means cases can potentially address strategy, leadership, organisational behaviour, entrepreneurship, marketing, operations, finance, ethics, human resources, sustainability, governance, technology management, international business, and related management areas—provided the case is teachable and aligned with the journal’s factuality and Teaching Note requirements.

Second, TCJ publishes Compact Cases. The current author guideline sets a maximum of 1,500 words for this format. Compact Cases are designed to contain enough information for student learning and discussion while being shorter and more immediately usable in class. They still need to meet the fundamental expectations of a full teaching case, including factual grounding and an accompanying Teaching Note, but the learning objectives, theory/practice links, and discussion questions are expected to be more focused.

Third, the journal accepts articles and conceptual papers about the case method. Emerald states that these may relate to case teaching, case writing, case reviewing, and similar topics. Pedagogical articles can be empirical, review-based, or theoretical, and primary research involving human participants should have appropriate institutional ethics or human-subject permissions.

Subjects and Research Themes That May Fit

Because TCJ covers the full spectrum of business and management, topic fit is broad but format fit is narrow. A strategic-management case about a failed market entry, a leadership case about organisational conflict, an entrepreneurship case about a scaling decision, or a sustainability case about responsible consumption could all be plausible. The deciding factor is whether the manuscript presents a real situation that supports meaningful learning objectives and discussion.

Recent and current journal materials illustrate this range. Emerald highlights cases involving airline failure, employee voice and unionisation, responsible consumption, social media and AI, organisational culture, and other management dilemmas. This suggests an audience interested in contemporary, applied business problems rather than narrowly historical narratives that lack teaching relevance.

Authors should also note Emerald’s guidance that cases should be modern and engaging, typically based on organisational events occurring within the previous five years. That is not simply a preference for novelty: recent cases often make it easier to connect theory to current managerial practice, technology, regulation, stakeholder expectations, and classroom discussion.

Article Types and Submission Formats

1. Full Teaching Cases

A full teaching case should contain a factual case narrative and a separate Teaching Note. The case narrative should not include a synopsis or abstract, should normally use past tense except for direct quotations, and should not exceed 7,000 words excluding references and exhibits. Emerald notes that decision-focused, illustrative, descriptive, and analytical cases can all be considered.

2. Compact Cases

Compact Cases follow the same underlying logic as full teaching cases but use a shorter narrative. The current author guideline gives a maximum of 1,500 words. Their Teaching Notes are also more focused, including two or three learning objectives and a corresponding number of discussion questions.

3. Pedagogical Articles

The journal publishes pedagogical articles about teaching cases and the case method from time to time. These may be empirical, review, or theoretical. Authors using primary research methods should ensure human-subject approvals or equivalent institutional permissions are in place where applicable.

Manuscript and Formatting Requirements

TCJ’s author instructions contain unusually specific practical requirements, so manuscript readiness can often be assessed before submission. For all submissions, Emerald currently requires a stand-alone References section at the end of each document, references formatted to the most recent APA guidelines, and in-body citations using APA style or end-notes. The page warns that articles without in-body citations may be desk rejected.

The formatting guidance specifies 1-inch margins, single spacing, and clearly numbered exhibits. Tables, appendices, attachments, illustrations, maps, and related ancillary content should be numbered sequentially under the generic “Exhibit” identifier. Emerald also notes a style change from September 2025: the Case and Teaching Note receive separate DOIs and are published separately, while the Teaching Note remains access-controlled as appropriate; exhibits and plates are treated as figures and tables.

Teaching Case Narrative

• No synopsis or abstract inside the teaching-case narrative.
• The case must be factual and based on real organisations, people, and situations.
• Avoid invented thoughts, actions, or literary detail that cannot be supported factually.
• Use past tense except for direct quotations.
• Maximum 7,000 words excluding references and exhibits.
• Keep the case modern and engaging; Emerald says cases are typically based on events within the previous five years.
• Secure necessary permissions and ethics approvals for primary data and third-party material.

What the Teaching Note Must Contain

The Teaching Note is not an optional supplement; it is a core part of the submission. Emerald’s current guidance identifies the following minimum components:

For journal fit, this structure is highly informative. If an author cannot define clear learning objectives, link the case to theory, propose meaningful discussion questions, or explain how an instructor would teach the case, the manuscript may still be an interesting organisational story but is probably not publication-ready for TCJ.

Peer Review and Editorial Process

Emerald’s case-study collection describes The CASE Journal collection as containing double-anonymous, peer-reviewed cases. In a double-anonymous model, author and reviewer identities are concealed from one another during review, subject to the journal’s procedures and the ability to anonymise the submission effectively.

Before external review, authors should expect editorial screening for basic fit and compliance. The author guidelines identify several potential desk-rejection risks, including absence of in-body citations, non-factual case construction, incorrect tense, and submissions that fall outside the accepted formats. The journal also reserves the right to request changes or reject material containing inaccurate, unsubstantiated, or potentially defamatory statements.

Emerald currently reports 35 days to first decision. This is an historical journal-level indicator, not a promised service level. A manuscript needing permissions clarification, anonymisation, ethics review, major restructuring, or difficult reviewer matching can take longer.

Indexing, Scopus Status and Journal Metrics

Emerald currently lists The CASE Journal as abstracted and indexed by Scopus. The supplied source record identifies Scopus Source ID 21100945816. Emerald also notes that the journal is ranked by the Chartered Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Guide (AJG).

The current Emerald metrics page shows a 2025 CiteScore of 0.4 and a 2026 CiteScore Tracker of 0.4. CiteScore Tracker is updated monthly, so its value can change during the year. Researchers should always state the year when citing a metric and should not mix CiteScore, Journal Impact Factor, SJR, SNIP, and quartile as though they were interchangeable measures.

No current SJR, SNIP, category quartile, or Journal Impact Factor was verified from an authoritative live source during preparation of this page. If your institution requires a specific quartile, JCR listing, or ranking threshold, verify that requirement directly in the latest Scopus, SCImago, Clarivate, or institutional database that your university recognises.

Open Access and Publication Fees

Emerald provides both gold and green open-access pathways across its journal portfolio. Gold open access makes the version of record immediately open under the applicable Creative Commons licence after payment or coverage of an APC. Green open access allows authors to self-archive the accepted manuscript in accordance with Emerald’s policy; Emerald currently states that its green route has no embargo.

For 2026, Emerald lists a standard APC of £3,222 / US$4,351 / €3,710 plus applicable tax for publishing gold open access in a hybrid journal. Authors should not assume that this amount automatically applies in every case. Institutional transformative agreements, vouchers, funder rules, waivers, journal-specific arrangements, and policy updates can change the amount payable. Confirm the exact charge and eligibility in the Emerald editorial system after acceptance and before committing funds.

Publication Ethics, Permissions and Responsible AI Use

Ethics is especially important for factual teaching cases because they may involve identifiable organisations, employees, decisions, confidential data, quotations, internal documents, or sensitive events. Emerald requires appropriate signed permissions from case protagonists or authorised organisational representatives for teaching cases submitted for review. Authors must also clear third-party copyright permissions for material they did not create and should not assume that web-accessible material is automatically reusable.

For cases developed from primary data, the journal requires appropriate permissions and/or ethics review board approvals. The Teaching Note’s methodology section should explain the data sources and, where relevant, the use of disguise and the associated approvals. Disguise can protect identities, but it should not convert a factual case into fiction by altering the essential events or issues.

Emerald’s current AI policy is also highly relevant. It states that authors and reviewers remain accountable for accuracy and integrity, that AI should be used responsibly and transparently, and that generative AI must not be used to create or draft new submission content. Emerald permits copy-editing of an author’s own original existing work using generative AI to improve structure, language, and grammar, provided its principles are followed. Authors should review the live policy before submission because AI governance is evolving quickly.

Who Should Consider Submitting?

TCJ may be a good candidate if your manuscript is built around a real, teachable business situation and you can demonstrate how it helps students apply management theory or develop judgement. Faculty who already use a case in the classroom may be particularly well placed because they can describe target courses, student level, teaching modalities, discussion flow, and classroom testing in concrete terms.

The journal may also suit scholars researching case pedagogy itself—for example, the effectiveness of different case-teaching techniques, innovations in case writing, case review, technology-supported case instruction, or other evidence-based methods tied directly to the case method.

It is less suitable for authors whose primary goal is to publish a conventional empirical management study, a company profile without a teaching design, a fictional scenario, a purely descriptive consultancy report, or a manuscript that cannot meet the permissions and factual-verification requirements associated with real people and organisations.

Journal-Fit Checklist Before Submission

• Is the case based on factual events, real organisations, and real people rather than a fictional scenario?
• Is the organisational situation recent enough to feel relevant and teachable?
• Can the case be used in a defined course, level, and delivery mode?
• Are the learning objectives specific and aligned to the case’s decision, dilemma, or analytical problem?
• Does the Teaching Note connect the case to appropriate theory and practice?
• Are discussion questions explicitly mapped to learning objectives?
• Can the author provide credible answers and a workable 90-minute teaching plan?
• Are primary-data permissions, protagonist releases, ethics approvals, and third-party rights complete?
• Is the case narrative within 7,000 words and written in the required factual, past-tense style?
• Are both documents formatted with APA references, 1-inch margins, single spacing, and correctly numbered exhibits?

If several answers are “no,” the manuscript may need substantive redevelopment before submission. That is a journal-fit issue, not merely a language-editing issue.

Common Reasons a Manuscript May Be Unsuitable

Avoidable mismatch is one of the most expensive forms of publication delay. For TCJ, the following problems are particularly important:

• Fictionalisation: inventing people, events, thoughts, or composite situations that undermine factual integrity.
• Wrong article type: submitting a conventional research paper and calling it a “case study” without designing it for teaching.
• Missing Teaching Note: a strong narrative alone is not sufficient for a teaching-case submission.
• Weak pedagogy: vague learning objectives, generic discussion questions, or little connection to theory and practice.
• Permissions gaps: missing protagonist release, ethics approval, or third-party copyright clearance.
• Outdated or low-engagement context: a case may be factual but not sufficiently current or useful for modern classroom discussion.
• Formatting non-compliance: incorrect tense, missing citations, references outside APA style, or poor exhibit handling.

How to Prepare a Stronger, Journal-Aligned Submission

As a publication-readiness step, begin by reading several recent TCJ cases that resemble your intended teaching level or subject area. Compare how they frame the organisational inflection point, how much background they provide, how they handle evidence, and how the associated Teaching Note connects the narrative to learning objectives. This is general submission strategy rather than a guarantee of editorial preference, but it is one of the best ways to test real fit.

Next, build the Teaching Note early rather than after the narrative is finished. If the learning objectives, theory links, and discussion questions are difficult to articulate, that usually signals that the case itself needs sharper teaching purpose. Conversely, a well-designed Teaching Note can help identify which facts belong in the narrative and which details distract from the classroom problem.

Finally, conduct a factuality and permissions audit. Every statement about a person, organisation, decision, financial result, or event should be traceable to a legitimate source or authorised primary evidence. Identify what is disguised, why it is disguised, and what approvals support the case. Clear copyright for exhibits before submission, not after acceptance.

Official Sources and Useful Links

• The CASE Journal — official Emerald journal page and author guidelines
• Emerald Case Studies collection
• Scopus source profile — Source ID 21100945816
• Emerald open-access routes and 2026 APC information
• The CASE Journal submission portal (ScholarOne)