International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management: Scopus, Scope, Metrics & Submission Guide

Key Takeaways

• Published by Emerald Publishing; ISSN 1741-0401 and eISSN 1758-6658.
• Scopus Source ID: 145293; publisher-displayed 2025 CiteScore: 12.3.
• Emerald displays a 2025 Impact Factor of 3.5 and five-year Impact Factor of 4.1.
• The journal uses double-anonymous peer review and normally sends suitable papers to at least two independent referees.
• Articles should normally be 7,000–10,000 words, with a structured abstract and up to 12 keywords.
• Emerald reports an 18.9% acceptance rate for submissions from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025; this is historical, not a promise or prediction.
• Gold and green open-access routes are available; gold OA uses CC BY 4.0 and an APC applies after acceptance.
• Strong fit depends on a substantive contribution to productivity, performance management or performance measurement—not merely having “performance” in the title.

Journal Information at a Glance

Methodology and Sources

This guide was prepared from the journal’s official Emerald Publishing page and author guidelines, the supplied Scopus Source ID, Emerald’s current open-access information, and institutional Scopus-metrics reporting where the publisher does not display SJR or SNIP. Metrics, editorial teams, fees, database coverage and policies can change. For that reason, this page labels reporting years and encourages authors to reconfirm live values before using them for university, funder or PhD requirements.

Aims and Scope

IJPPM publishes research that advances understanding of productivity and performance management or measurement. Emerald describes the journal as addressing improvement at individual, group, organizational and network levels. The scope is deliberately broader than a single management discipline: it connects operational performance with organizational design, human systems, measurement frameworks, strategy and applied improvement.

The journal’s history helps explain that breadth. Emerald notes that IJPPM continues from earlier titles Time and Motion Study and Work Study. Its roots therefore include industrial engineering and operations management, while its modern remit incorporates multiple managerial and organizational perspectives. The journal also gives space to a practitioner voice through reflective-practice papers.

Current global challenges can be relevant when the analysis remains anchored to productivity or performance. Emerald specifically encourages work examining issues such as sustainability and resilience. A sustainability manuscript, for example, is more likely to fit when it demonstrates how sustainability affects productivity, performance measurement, performance systems, operational outcomes or managerial decision-making rather than treating sustainability as a standalone theme.

Subjects and Research Themes Covered

The official scope draws from Operations & Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Marketing, Economics, Accounting, Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour. Coverage includes performance management, performance-measurement tools and techniques, productivity measurement and development, organizational design and methods, process analysis and re-engineering, quality and business excellence, lean approaches, and project or programme management.

Likely mismatch: a paper may be weakly aligned if productivity or performance is incidental, if the main contribution sits entirely in another discipline without a clear performance-management link, or if the manuscript only applies a familiar model without explaining what the journal’s productivity/performance audience learns from it.

Scopus Indexing, Visibility and Journal Metrics

The supplied source record identifies the journal as Scopus Source ID 145293, and Emerald displays current Scopus CiteScore information on the official journal page. The publisher also lists the journal in Clarivate Analytics’ Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) and displays a current Journal Impact Factor, indicating that researchers evaluating both Scopus and Web of Science visibility have official publisher evidence to review.

At the time this guide was prepared, Emerald displayed a 2025 CiteScore of 12.3, a 2026 CiteScore Tracker of 10.3, a 2025 Journal Impact Factor of 3.5, and a five-year Impact Factor of 4.1. For Scopus-derived SJR, SNIP and category quartiles, Wageningen University & Research’s journal browser reports 2024 SJR 0.954, SNIP 1.630, and Q1 positions in General Business, Management and Accounting and Strategy and Management. Because these values are reporting-year and category dependent, the newest Scopus profile should be the final authority for a current quartile decision.

Emerald also lists the journal in or through services such as ABI/INFORM, Business Source collections, Education Research Complete/Education Source, INSPEC, ProQuest, PsycINFO and other discovery systems, while ranking lists cited by the publisher include CABS and ABDC. Authors should distinguish indexing, citation metrics and journal-list rankings: they answer different institutional questions.

Article Types and Classifications

Emerald describes original research and reflective practice as major forms published by IJPPM. In the submission workflow, authors may also encounter broader classification choices. The author guidelines list Standard Paper, Reflective Practice, Book Review and News as paper-type options, and then ask authors to select the category that best describes the manuscript.

Manuscript and Formatting Requirements

Emerald’s journal-specific author guidance is detailed, and authors should format to it before submission rather than after review. The main requirements include:

• File format: Microsoft Word is accepted; a PDF may accompany it but is not sufficient alone. LaTeX can be used with an accompanying PDF.
• Length: 7,000–10,000 words, including the structured abstract, references, text in tables/figures and appendices; allow 250 words per figure or table.
• Structured abstract: Purpose, Design/methodology/approach, Findings and Originality are mandatory. Research limitations/implications, Practical implications and Social implications are optional where relevant.
• Abstract limit: 250 words in total, including keywords and article classification.
• Keywords: up to 12 short and appropriate terms.
• References: a recognized Harvard style; DOI details should be included when available.
• Author information: author names and affiliations are entered in ScholarOne; acknowledgements and biographies, if used, should be uploaded separately to protect anonymous review.
• Funding: external research funding should be acknowledged, including the funder’s role in the research process.

Because the review is double-anonymous, the submitted manuscript should not contain author-identifying information. Emerald specifically advises checking self-references, figures, captions, biographies and acknowledgements for material that could reveal identity.

How to Submit

1. Recheck journal fit. Read the aims and scope and compare your paper with recent IJPPM articles that use related theories, methods or performance constructs.
2. Prepare the anonymous manuscript. Remove author names and identifying acknowledgements from the review file while retaining required declarations in the appropriate submission fields or separate files.
3. Check structure and format. Confirm word count, structured abstract, keywords, article classification, tables/figures and Harvard references.
4. Complete ethics and permissions checks. Declare conflicts, funding, ethical approval and informed consent where required, and secure permission for third-party material before submission.
5. Submit through the official ScholarOne route. Emerald states that manuscripts should be submitted by the corresponding author through the journal’s editorial system and not by email or a third-party proxy.
6. Keep the manuscript number. The system issues a confirmation and manuscript number for correspondence and status tracking.

Peer Review, Editorial Screening and Timelines

Each submission is first screened by the journal’s editorial office. A manuscript can be declined or returned at this stage for poor fit with aims and scope, non-compliance with submission policies, or language/manuscript quality that is too weak for review. Papers judged potentially suitable are sent to at least two independent referees under a double-anonymous process.

After reviewer reports arrive, the editor may accept, request minor or major revisions, or decline the manuscript. Emerald’s generic journal guidance mentions a goal of first decision within 60 days, while the journal’s current metrics panel reports an observed 82 days to first decision for submissions from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. The same panel reports 46 days from acceptance to publication, last updated April 2025.

These are historical operational metrics rather than guarantees. Complexity, reviewer availability, revisions, special issues and editorial workload can change the path of an individual paper.

Open Access and Publication Fees

IJPPM is a hybrid journal. Emerald offers a gold open-access route in which the version of record is made openly available under a CC BY 4.0 licence after acceptance and payment of the applicable APC. Emerald also offers green open access, allowing the author accepted manuscript to be self-archived and made openly available after official publication without an embargo under the publisher’s stated policy.

Emerald’s 2026 open-access page lists a standard hybrid-journal APC of £3,222 / US$4,351 / €3,710, plus VAT or other tax where applicable. The publisher states that no submission fee is charged and payment is requested only when an accepted author chooses gold OA. Institutional agreements, vouchers, discounts or policy changes may affect the amount, so authors should confirm eligibility and the live price before choosing a route.

Research Ethics, Authorship and Responsible AI Use

Emerald states that its publishing ethics follow COPE guidance. Manuscripts should be original, not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere, and any substantial previously published material should be disclosed. Conflicts of interest must be declared, copyright and permissions must be respected, and research involving human participants should include appropriate ethical approval and informed-consent information where required.

The author guidance also addresses AI tools. Large language models cannot be credited as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the integrity and validity of the work. When AI-generated or AI-modified content falls within the policy, authors must describe the use and appropriately identify the tool and version; routine spelling and grammar tools are treated differently. Authors remain accountable for accuracy, originality, citations, methods and conclusions.

For publication readiness, this means editing support should strengthen scholarly communication without manufacturing data, inventing citations, concealing authorship responsibilities or attempting to manipulate similarity checks.

Is IJPPM a Good Fit for Your Manuscript?

A high metric does not compensate for poor fit. Conversely, a well-aligned manuscript still has to meet the journal’s expectations for novelty, methods, clarity and contribution. If scope remains uncertain after comparing recent papers, Emerald’s FAQ advises authors to contact the editor with the paper title and structured abstract for suitability guidance.

How to Prepare a Stronger, Journal-Aligned Manuscript

As a practical publication-readiness step, begin with the contribution statement. In one or two sentences, explain the specific productivity or performance-management problem, the gap in existing knowledge, what the study does, and what changes in understanding because of the findings. If this statement is vague, the manuscript is likely to feel generic even when the data are strong.

Next, compare the paper with a focused set of recent IJPPM articles. Look at how they frame performance constructs, connect theory to operational or organizational contexts, justify methods and develop implications. This is not an invitation to imitate wording; it is a way to test whether your paper is participating in the journal’s scholarly conversation.

Finally, treat formatting as part of submission quality. A 7,000–10,000-word manuscript with a correctly structured abstract, consistent Harvard references, anonymized files and complete declarations signals that the author has respected the editorial process. It does not guarantee review or acceptance, but it removes avoidable compliance problems.

How Contentxprtz Can Support Publication Readiness

Contentxprtz can ethically support authors before submission through academic editing, manuscript clarity review, proofreading, journal-format checks, reference and citation consistency, structured-abstract refinement, cover-letter editing, reviewer-response editing and journal-selection guidance. For thesis authors, support may also include adapting dissertation material into a journal-appropriate article while preserving the author’s intellectual ownership and research responsibility.

Important: Contentxprtz cannot guarantee acceptance, publication, indexing outcomes, review speed, citation performance or any editorial decision. Those outcomes remain under the journal’s independent editorial and peer-review processes.

Authoritative Sources Used

• Emerald Publishing — International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management: aims and scope, author guidelines, peer review, editorial team, metrics, indexing and submission information.
• Scopus — Source ID 145293: source identity and current Scopus verification route.
• Emerald — Open-access journal publishing: 2026 hybrid APC, gold/green routes and OA policy.
• Wageningen University & Research Journal Browser: 2024 Scopus SJR, SNIP and category quartile reporting.
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): ethics framework referenced by Emerald.