European Journal of Innovation Management: Scopus, Metrics, Scope & Submission Guide

Key Takeaways

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing; print ISSN 1460-1060 and online ISSN 1758-7115.
• Scopus Source ID supplied for the journal: 144961; Emerald currently lists Scopus and SSCI coverage.
• 2025 CiteScore: 15.3; 2025 Journal Impact Factor: 7.5; 2025 five-year Impact Factor: 8.1.
• Emerald reports a 7.9% acceptance rate for submissions received between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.
• The journal uses double-anonymous peer review and normally sends suitable papers to at least two independent referees.
• Current author guidance sets article length at 10,000–11,000 words and requires a structured abstract.
• EJIM is hybrid: standard publication does not require an APC; optional gold OA uses Emerald’s current hybrid APC, while green OA is available without payment.

Journal Information at a Glance

What This Page Covers

• Aims, scope and subject fit
• Scopus and Web of Science visibility
• Current 2025 journal metrics
• Article types and exclusions
• Manuscript structure and formatting
• Submission and peer review
• Open access and publication fees
• Ethics and AI-use rules
• Publication-readiness checklist

Methodology and Sources

This profile prioritizes the current official Emerald journal page and author guidelines, including its aims and scope, editorial team, indexing list, journal metrics, submission requirements, review process, and publication timeline. ISSN identity and publication origin were cross-checked with the ISSN International Centre. The supplied source record was used to identify the Scopus Source ID and official Scopus profile.

Metric values are dated because they change. Where a current SJR, SNIP, or Scopus quartile could not be verified from the publisher or accessible live Scopus profile, this page deliberately does not invent or copy a third-party value. Authors should reconfirm metrics, fees, editor details, submission URLs, and policies immediately before submission.

What EJIM Aims to Publish: Scope, Themes and Research Problems

Emerald describes EJIM as an interdisciplinary journal addressing all aspects of innovation management, with rapid dissemination of original, pragmatic and rigorous research. The current aims-and-scope page emphasizes the full process of managing innovation rather than the isolated study of a technology, product, or novelty. That distinction is central to deciding fit.

A strong EJIM manuscript normally investigates how new ideas are generated, selected, developed, coordinated, diffused, implemented, scaled, or converted into value. The journal explicitly welcomes studies involving creativity, knowledge flows, strategic use of innovation, and the interaction of organizational, industry, ecosystem, and policy actors. It is open to start-ups, SMEs, multinational firms, B2B and B2C contexts, public administration, and policy-making.

What may fall outside scope?

Emerald warns that papers should focus on innovation management, not technology or innovation by itself. A technically sophisticated study may therefore be unsuitable if it does not explain the management mechanisms, theoretical implications, or value-creation processes surrounding the innovation. Likewise, the current scope says the journal typically does not publish purely conceptual papers, viewpoints, technical papers, general reviews, descriptive literature reviews, or routine single case studies unless they provide exceptional theoretical or practical advancement.

Understanding EJIM’s Scopus Coverage and Journal Metrics

Emerald currently lists EJIM in Scopus, Web of Science Journal Citation Reports, and the Social Sciences Citation Index, alongside ABI/INFORM and several national journal-rating systems. The supplied source record points to Scopus Source ID 144961. This combination gives the journal substantial discoverability, but researchers should still check whether their institution imposes a specific requirement such as active Scopus coverage in the year of publication, a particular quartile, or SSCI/JCR recognition.

For SJR, SNIP and Scopus quartile, consult the current live Scopus source profile or the database required by your institution. This page does not present an unverified current value. A quartile is category-specific and can change as the database, category, or reporting year changes.

What Does the European Journal of Innovation Management Publish?

The current aims-and-scope page identifies three main types: original research articles, book reviews or invited contributions, and Real Impact articles. The detailed author guidance also asks submitters to classify their manuscripts within categories such as research paper, conceptual paper, case study, literature review, and Real Impact.

These labels need to be read together. EJIM’s scope is selective about some formats: literature reviews are considered when they offer a substantial theoretical contribution; single case studies need radical advancement in theory or practice; and purely conceptual papers are typically not published. A label available in ScholarOne therefore does not automatically mean every manuscript using that format is equally welcome.

Recent thematic signals

Recent 2025–2026 papers visible on Emerald include research on digital technology and entrepreneurship, advice-network centrality and innovative work behaviour, knowledge management in digital contexts, artificial intelligence in mission-driven organizations, green innovation, net-zero performance, circularity, digital transformation and innovation ecosystems. These examples reinforce the breadth of the journal while keeping management processes and value creation at the core.

Is EJIM a Good Match for Your Research?

A manuscript is more likely to be aligned when its primary research problem concerns the management of innovation and it makes both theoretical and practical contributions. The journal explicitly asks for rigorous methodology and meaningful advancement of the field. That can include quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, comparative, longitudinal, network, organizational, ecosystem, policy, or other defensible research designs.

As a practical publication-readiness step, compare your manuscript with several recent EJIM papers that are close in topic and method. Look at how they frame theory, formulate research questions, justify methodology, report findings, and connect conclusions to innovation management. This comparison is more informative than relying on the journal title alone.

Preparing a Manuscript for EJIM

The current Emerald author instructions are detailed. Articles should be 10,000–11,000 words, including the structured abstract, references, text in tables and figures, and appendices; the guidelines ask authors to allow 280 words for each figure or table. The main article file should be in Microsoft Word. A PDF may accompany the Word file but cannot be the only article file. LaTeX is allowed when accompanied by a PDF.

Structured abstract and keywords

Every submission needs a structured abstract with four mandatory headings: Purpose, Design/methodology/approach, Findings, and Originality. Research limitations/implications, Practical implications, and Social implications are optional when relevant. The abstract is capped at 250 words in total, including keywords and article classification. Up to 12 short, appropriate keywords may be supplied.

References, figures and tables

References should use a recognized Harvard style; Emerald provides its own Harvard style and stresses citation completeness, accuracy, consistency, and DOI inclusion where available. Figures should be submitted electronically at high quality, numbered consecutively and captioned. Tables are to be supplied in a separate file, numbered with Roman numerals, and clearly positioned in the manuscript with corresponding labels.

Anonymous-review preparation

Because the journal uses double-anonymous review, author names and identifying details should not appear in the review manuscript. Emerald specifically advises removing author names from figures and captions, uploading biographies and acknowledgements separately, and phrasing self-citations neutrally rather than in ways that reveal identity.

What Happens When You Submit?

Submission is made through the journal’s official ScholarOne site. Emerald states that the corresponding author should submit directly and that manuscripts must not be submitted by email, a third-party agent, a journal representative, or a publication-support company acting as a proxy.

1. Final scope and quality check. Re-read the aims and scope, confirm originality, permissions, ethics declarations, formatting, and anonymization.
2. ScholarOne submission. The corresponding author enters metadata, author details, ORCID information where available, files, classifications and declarations.
3. Editorial screening. The editor may decline or return a manuscript if it does not fit the scope or if language/manuscript quality is too low.
4. Double-anonymous review. Manuscripts judged potentially suitable are sent to at least two independent referees.
5. Decision. The editor may accept, request minor or major revision, or decline. Emerald’s stated goal is a first decision within 60 days; the journal-specific metric currently reports 27 days on average for the cited period.
6. Production after acceptance. Licensing, editorial checks, copyediting, typesetting and proof review lead to EarlyCite publication before issue assignment.

Open Access, APCs and Publication Charges

EJIM operates as a hybrid journal. Authors can publish through the standard subscription route without choosing gold open access. Emerald states that it does not charge publication, processing, or review fees unless the author has elected gold OA after acceptance.

For 2026, Emerald’s standard hybrid-journal gold OA APC is £3,222 / $4,351 / €3,710, plus VAT where applicable. Gold OA articles are published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licence. Authors should confirm the rate at the point of submission or acceptance because publisher pricing can change and institutional agreements or vouchers may affect what an individual author pays.

Emerald also offers green open access: the accepted manuscript may be self-archived openly after publication without an APC and, under the current Emerald policy, without an embargo period. This can be important for funder or institutional open-access requirements when gold OA funding is unavailable.

Research Ethics, Authorship and AI Use

Emerald states that its journals follow COPE guidance and requires original work that is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere. Authors must disclose conflicts of interest, secure third-party permissions, list only genuine contributors as authors, acknowledge funding, and consider ethical approval and informed consent where human participants are involved.

The publisher’s current AI policy is particularly important. Emerald says generative AI must not be used to copywrite or create new manuscript content. It permits copy-editing of an author’s own original work with generative AI for structure, clarity, language and grammar, provided use is responsible and transparent under its policy. Large language models cannot be credited as authors.

For researchers using professional editorial support, the same principle applies: the intellectual work, data, analysis, claims, citations and final submission remain the authors’ responsibility. Ethical support can improve presentation and compliance, but it should not fabricate findings, invent references, manipulate peer review, impersonate an author, or promise acceptance.

A Practical EJIM Publication-Readiness Checklist

How Contentxprtz Can Support Ethical Publication Readiness

Contentxprtz can support researchers who already have their own study, analysis and manuscript by improving the quality and compliance of the submission package. Relevant support may include academic editing, language polishing, proofreading, journal-format alignment, Harvard-reference consistency checks, structured-abstract refinement, manuscript assessment, cover-letter editing, and reviewer-response editing.

For EJIM specifically, useful preparation support can focus on whether the paper’s argument stays centered on innovation management, whether the theoretical contribution is explicit, whether the discussion translates findings into practical implications, and whether the manuscript is consistent with the journal’s current formatting and anonymity requirements.

No publication service can guarantee acceptance. EJIM’s editors and peer reviewers independently decide whether a manuscript is suitable, rigorous, original and publishable.