Industrial Marketing Management: Scopus, Scope & Submission Guide

Quick Answer: What Is Industrial Marketing Management?

Industrial Marketing Management (IMM) is a peer-reviewed Elsevier journal that publishes research for scholars and practitioners working in industrial and B2B markets. Its official aims and scope emphasize theoretical, empirical and case-based research relevant to marketing decisions, relationships and strategy in organizational markets.

The journal is listed by Elsevier as indexed in Scopus and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Its ScienceDirect journal page currently displays a CiteScore of 15.2 and an Impact Factor of 7.5. The supplied source record identifies Scopus Source ID 22792. Researchers should verify the latest quartile, SJR and SNIP directly in the current Scopus/SCImago-linked source information because metric years can differ.

IMM may be a strong candidate for researchers in B2B marketing, industrial marketing, buyer-supplier relationships, sales, channels, innovation, digitalization, ecosystems, services, networks and related managerial topics. It is not enough that a paper mentions firms or marketing: the research question, literature positioning, method and contribution should fit the journal’s industrial/B2B conversation.

Key Takeaways

• Publisher: Elsevier.
• ISSN: 0019-8501 (print); online ISSN: 1873-2062.
• Scopus: the journal is listed as indexed; supplied Source ID 22792.
• Current publisher-displayed metrics: CiteScore 15.2 and Impact Factor 7.5; metric years should be checked in the relevant database.
• Peer review: the Guide for Authors states double-anonymized peer review.
• Publishing model: hybrid; subscription publication has no publication fee, while optional open access currently lists an APC of USD 4,110 excluding taxes.
• Fit: strongest for research that makes a substantive contribution to industrial and B2B marketing theory, evidence or practice.

Journal Information at a Glance

Metric and timeline figures are time-sensitive publisher/database indicators, not guarantees for a particular manuscript.

What This Page Covers

• Industrial Marketing Management aims and scope
• Scopus indexing, visibility and journal metrics
• Research themes and article fit
• Manuscript preparation and submission requirements
• Double-anonymized peer review and editorial screening
• Open-access and subscription publishing options
• Ethics, AI disclosure and author responsibilities
• Practical fit checks before submission
• Ethical Contentxprtz manuscript-readiness support

Methodology and Sources

This profile was prepared from the supplied journal record and authoritative publisher information, principally the official Industrial Marketing Management journal page, its journal insights, Guide for Authors, open-access information, and the supplied Scopus source profile. Where an acceptance rate, a current SJR/SNIP value or a current quartile could not be verified directly from an official accessible source in this review, no value is invented.

Industrial Marketing Management Aims and Scope

Elsevier describes IMM as an international journal for marketing in industrial and high-technology firms. Its scope is built around industrial and B2B markets rather than consumer marketing in general. The journal publishes theoretical, empirical and case-based research intended to serve both marketing scholars and practitioners.

In practical terms, this can include research on how firms understand, create and manage value with organizational customers; how buyers and suppliers interact; how interfirm relationships and networks evolve; how firms organize sales, key-account management and channels; how technology changes industrial marketing; and how strategy, innovation, services and market ecosystems affect B2B outcomes.

Research themes that can fit

• B2B customer relationships, customer engagement and value creation
• Buyer-supplier relationships, purchasing interfaces and supply networks
• Industrial sales, salesforce management, key-account management and selling behavior
• Business networks, ecosystems, partnerships and interorganizational relationships
• Industrial branding, reputation and market orientation
• Innovation, servitization, digital transformation, platforms and AI in B2B contexts
• Channels, distribution, intermediaries and go-to-market decisions
• International B2B marketing, exporting and institutional conditions
• Methodological or conceptual work that advances industrial marketing scholarship

Potentially weak fit

A paper may be a weak fit when it is primarily consumer-focused, treats “marketing” only as background, lacks an industrial/B2B theoretical conversation, or offers a generic management result without explaining why it advances understanding of organizational markets. A technologically novel study can still be unsuitable if the technology is not connected to a meaningful B2B marketing problem.

Who Should Consider Submitting?

IMM is most relevant to academics and research teams whose manuscript is positioned in industrial marketing, B2B marketing or closely connected organizational-market scholarship. PhD scholars may consider it when a dissertation paper has a mature theoretical contribution, rigorous design and a clearly articulated relationship to the journal’s literature. Practitioners and academic-practitioner teams may also find a route when their evidence addresses significant managerial questions without sacrificing scholarly rigor.

Researchers should not choose the journal only because of its metrics or Scopus status. A stronger selection process starts with the research problem and contribution, then asks whether IMM is already publishing the conversation the manuscript wants to join.

Scopus Coverage, Indexing and Journal Metrics

Elsevier currently lists Industrial Marketing Management in Scopus and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). The supplied journal record identifies Scopus Source ID 22792. The ScienceDirect page displays a CiteScore of 15.2 and Impact Factor of 7.5.

Quartile, SJR and SNIP values are reporting-year dependent and can change. If a university requires “Q1,” a specific Scopus percentile, SJR, SNIP, JCR category or a particular metric year, verify that requirement against the current database record rather than relying on an older screenshot or third-party ranking page.

Indexing also does not guarantee that a specific article will satisfy every university, promotion or funding rule. Institutions may define eligible databases, categories, quartiles, publication dates and document types differently.

Article Types and Recent Research Direction

The journal’s public description explicitly welcomes theoretical, empirical and case-based research, and recent ScienceDirect content shows research articles, editorials and special-issue collections. Recent themes have included AI and B2B service recovery, platform-based servitization, customer engagement with digital offerings, buyer-supplier dynamics, export market orientation, networks and industrial market-making.

This mix suggests a journal that is open to contemporary phenomena when they are anchored in strong industrial-marketing questions. A fashionable topic such as generative AI, sustainability or platforms is not enough by itself; the manuscript still needs a clear theoretical contribution and a convincing B2B context.

How to Evaluate Journal Fit Before Submission

1. Define the contribution in one sentence. State what the paper changes in B2B/industrial marketing knowledge.
2. Read recent IMM papers. Compare constructs, theoretical conversations, methods and contribution style.
3. Check the unit of analysis. Explain why the actors, relationships or market setting are meaningfully organizational/B2B.
4. Test the managerial relevance. IMM’s scope connects scholarly rigor with implications for industrial-market decisions.
5. Check methodological credibility. Design, sampling, measurement, analysis and limitations should support the claims made.
6. Check novelty against the journal itself. A contribution can be new to the author yet already established in IMM’s literature.

Practical Journal-Fit Examples

Example 1: AI-enabled service recovery in B2B relationships

A study of how AI-supported recovery affects trust and renewal intentions among organizational customers can fit well if it advances B2B relationship or service theory and uses credible data.

Example 2: Consumer influencer marketing with no organizational-market angle

A study focused only on consumer influencer purchase intention would usually be a weak fit unless it establishes a genuine industrial/B2B research question.

Example 3: Buyer-supplier governance and innovation performance

A multi-firm study connecting governance mechanisms with collaborative innovation can be aligned if the theoretical framing and measures contribute to industrial relationship scholarship.

Example 4: Generic machine-learning prediction

A technically strong prediction model using company data may still be unsuitable if the manuscript does not advance a marketing problem, theory or decision context relevant to industrial markets.

Example 5: Thesis chapter on B2B platform ecosystems

A thesis chapter can become a candidate journal article after it is reframed around a focused contribution, shortened to article form, aligned with recent IMM literature and prepared as an independent manuscript rather than a thesis excerpt.

Industrial Marketing Management Submission Guidelines: What to Prepare

The official Guide for Authors should be treated as the controlling source. Elsevier’s submission checklist asks authors to designate a corresponding author with complete contact details; upload the manuscript files, keywords, figure captions, tables and supplementary material; run spelling and grammar checks; ensure references cited in text and reference list match; and obtain permission for copyrighted material.

The guide states that editable source files such as Word or LaTeX are required for final production. The online submission system collects manuscript details, receives files and creates a PDF for peer review. Because the journal uses double-anonymized review, authors should follow the current instructions on separating identifying information from the anonymized manuscript.

Before uploading

• Confirm the manuscript fits the current aims and scope.
• Read the current Guide for Authors line by line.
• Prepare the title page and anonymized manuscript as required.
• Check abstract, keywords, tables, figures, captions and supplementary material.
• Verify every in-text citation and reference-list entry.
• Declare competing interests, funding and relevant AI use as required.
• Secure permission for third-party copyrighted material.

What Happens After You Submit a Manuscript?

IMM’s Guide for Authors states a double-anonymized peer-review model. In this model, reviewers do not receive author identities in the manuscript they assess, and reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors. Authors therefore need to follow the journal’s anonymization instructions carefully.

As with most selective journals, a submission may first receive editorial screening for scope, contribution, presentation and basic readiness before being sent to reviewers. If it proceeds to external review, reviewers can evaluate theoretical contribution, method, interpretation, originality, relevance and clarity. Revision does not imply eventual acceptance.

Elsevier currently reports journal-level indicators of 3 days from submission to first decision, 52 days from submission to a decision after review, 328 days from submission to acceptance, and 10 days from acceptance to online publication. These are publisher-reported historical indicators; a particular manuscript may take substantially more or less time.

Open Access, APC and Subscription Publishing

Industrial Marketing Management is a hybrid journal. Authors can publish through the subscription route or choose open access if the manuscript is accepted and the relevant open-access arrangements are met.

Elsevier currently lists an open-access Article Publishing Charge of USD 4,110 excluding taxes for this journal. The publisher notes that a personalized amount may be lower because of institutional agreements, country context or other applicable arrangements. Authors should confirm the amount displayed during submission and before making any financial commitment.

For the subscription route, Elsevier states that no publication fee is charged to authors, while the published article is generally available to subscribers. This is distinct from open access and should not be described as a mandatory APC journal.

Acceptance Rate and Publication Probability

The journal does not appear to publicly disclose an official acceptance rate on the publisher pages reviewed for this guide. No percentage should be inferred from its metrics, editorial board size or publication volume. Acceptance depends on editorial fit, originality, methodological quality, reviewer assessment, revision and other manuscript-specific factors.

Neither Contentxprtz nor any legitimate editing or publication-support provider can guarantee acceptance, peer-review success, indexing of an individual article or a specific publication timeline.

Publication Ethics and Generative-AI Responsibilities

The Guide for Authors links authors to Elsevier’s ethics and policy framework, covering submission declaration, authorship, changes in authorship, competing interests, funding, preprints, inclusive language, sex- and gender-based analysis where relevant, jurisdictional claims and a declaration of generative-AI use.

As a publication-readiness step, authors should ensure that all listed authors meet authorship criteria, data and results are represented honestly, duplicate submission is avoided, sources are cited accurately, permissions are documented, and research involving people or animals follows applicable approval and consent requirements. Any use of generative AI should follow the current Elsevier/journal disclosure rules and must not shift responsibility away from the human authors.

Common Reasons a Manuscript May Be Unsuitable

• The topic is outside industrial/B2B marketing.
• The paper repeats a known relationship without a convincing contribution.
• The manuscript uses a B2B sample but frames the theory as generic consumer or management research.
• The research design cannot support the causal or general claims being made.
• The literature review misses recent IMM conversations central to the topic.
• The paper is written as a thesis chapter rather than a self-contained journal article.
• The manuscript is difficult to evaluate because tables, figures, methods or references are inconsistent.
• The submission does not comply with double-anonymization or other author instructions.

A Publication-Readiness Checklist for IMM Authors

• My research question is clearly relevant to an industrial or B2B marketing problem.
• I can explain the theoretical contribution without relying on the journal’s reputation or metrics.
• I have compared my paper with several recent IMM articles in the same conversation.
• My method, analysis and claims are proportionate to the evidence.
• My abstract states the problem, approach, main result and contribution clearly.
• The manuscript follows the latest journal instructions and double-anonymization requirements.
• All references, tables, figures, disclosures and supplementary files are internally consistent.
• I have checked the latest fee, indexing and metric information directly.
• I understand that editorial review can result in rejection even after careful preparation.

How Contentxprtz Can Support Publication Readiness

Contentxprtz can ethically support authors who need help making a manuscript clearer, more consistent and better aligned with a target journal’s published requirements. Relevant services may include academic editing, language polishing, manuscript assessment, journal-format checking, reference and citation formatting, cover-letter editing, reviewer-response editing and thesis-to-journal-article preparation.

The goal of such support should be to improve communication and readiness while preserving author ownership of the research, analysis and conclusions. Contentxprtz does not guarantee acceptance or publication. Researchers remain responsible for the research record, journal selection, disclosures, factual accuracy and final submission decisions.

Explore ethical journal publication support from Contentxprtz.

Conclusion: Choose IMM for Fit, Not Metrics Alone

Industrial Marketing Management is a visible, specialist Elsevier journal for industrial and B2B marketing research. Its Scopus coverage, SSCI listing and current publisher-displayed citation metrics may make it attractive to researchers, but those features should follow—not replace—a serious fit assessment.

A stronger submission begins with a manuscript that contributes to a recognizable B2B problem, engages the journal’s recent literature, uses a defensible method, explains theoretical and managerial relevance, and follows the latest author instructions. Verify time-sensitive metrics, fees and policies at the point of submission, and treat professional support as a way to improve clarity and readiness rather than as a route to guaranteed publication.