Journal of Knowledge Management: Scopus, Scope & Submission Guide

Key takeaways

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing; ISSN 1367-3270; eISSN 1758-7484.
• Scopus Source ID supplied for the journal: 144668.
• Emerald lists Scopus and SSCI indexing.
• 2025 CiteScore: 17.6; 2025 Impact Factor: 9.5; five-year Impact Factor: 9.3.
• Research Articles are normally 7,000–10,000 words and use a structured abstract.
• Recognized Harvard referencing is required.
• Suitable manuscripts are sent to at least two independent referees for double-anonymous peer review.
• Gold OA is optional after acceptance; green self-archiving is also available.

Journal information at a glance

Metrics and policies change. Authors using JKM for a PhD, promotion or funding requirement should confirm the latest values in the applicable database immediately before submission.

How this journal profile was verified

The supplied ISSN and Scopus Source ID were used to identify the correct journal. Current journal facts were checked primarily against the official Emerald JKM page, including its author guidelines, editorial team, indexing information, aims and scope, citation metrics and post-submission process. The Scopus source profile is the appropriate place to reconfirm current Scopus coverage and category metrics.

Where the latest annual SJR, SNIP or quartile was not directly exposed on the publisher page, this guide uses a 2024 university-library record that reports Scopus metrics and clearly labels the year rather than presenting an older figure as current.

Journal of Knowledge Management aims and scope

JKM is designed for scholarship in which knowledge management is the central problem, mechanism or contribution. Emerald describes the journal as a platform for academic research and practical information on managing knowledge across SMEs, large corporations, multinational organizations and global firms. The journal seeks innovative, rigorous and original research from academic, business and government contributors.

The official scope includes the development of knowledge-management culture and communication; strategic knowledge management and knowledge infrastructures; knowledge flows and organizational learning; information organization and retrieval; links between knowledge management, performance and financial decisions; human and intellectual capital; information technology and systems; decision-support systems; customer knowledge; innovation systems and technological management; big-data-enabled management decisions; and the measurement and use of organizational knowledge.

This breadth creates opportunities for interdisciplinary work, but it does not mean every management paper will fit. Research on AI, sustainability, entrepreneurship, HR, marketing or digital transformation is more likely to fit when the authors show how the study advances knowledge-management theory or practice—not when “knowledge” appears only as a contextual variable.

Research themes JKM currently engages with

Recent JKM content illustrates how the journal applies established KM questions to contemporary organizational challenges. Current article listings include work on AI adoption and digital knowledge-management performance, digital-workplace knowledge governance, platform risk and knowledge strategy, sustainability-oriented resources, cybersecurity, knowledge sharing and innovation. These examples suggest that novel technology or sustainability topics can be relevant when the KM mechanism remains explicit.

• Knowledge sharing and hiding
• AI and digital KM
• Knowledge governance
• Innovation capabilities
• Intellectual capital
• Organizational learning
• Customer knowledge
• Big data and decisions
• Sustainability and KM

For journal selection, compare your manuscript with several recently published JKM papers. Look beyond keywords: compare the theoretical conversation, unit of analysis, research design, type of contribution and practical audience.

Scopus indexing and current journal metrics

Emerald explicitly lists JKM as abstracted and indexed in Scopus and SSCI. Its current journal page displays the 2025 CiteScore and Clarivate Impact Factor figures above. A 2024 Scopus metrics record from Wageningen University & Research Library reports SJR 1.946, SNIP 2.354 and Q1 placements in relevant management categories. Because category rankings can change from year to year, a researcher who specifically needs “Q1 in the latest year” should verify that requirement directly in Scopus rather than relying on a static webpage.

What article types does JKM publish?

Emerald’s author instructions list several classifications. A Research Paper can report model or framework development/testing, action research, surveys, empirical studies or practical research. A Viewpoint is more interpretive. JKM also offers Real Impact Research Articles and Real Impact Viewpoint Articles that foreground real-world knowledge-management relevance, as well as Interview content.

Manuscript preparation requirements

The official author guidelines require Microsoft Word files. A PDF may accompany the Word file but cannot be the only manuscript file; LaTeX is allowed only with an accompanying PDF. Author names and affiliations are entered in ScholarOne, while the review manuscript should be anonymized.

• Use a concise, informative title.
• Provide a structured abstract using the required headings Purpose, Design/methodology/approach, Findings and Originality; additional implication headings are optional where applicable.
• Keep the abstract within the publisher’s 250-word maximum, including keywords and article classification.
• Provide up to 12 concise keywords.
• Use a recognized Harvard referencing style and check citation completeness and consistency.
• Prepare figures at suitable quality with captions and permissions/credits where required.
• Submit tables as directed and mark intended positions clearly.
• Declare external funding and explain the funder’s role.
• Document ethics approval, informed consent and third-party permissions where relevant.

Submission and peer-review process

1. Direct author submission. Submit through the JKM ScholarOne site reached from Emerald. Emerald states that submission should be made directly by the author(s), not by email or a third-party proxy.
2. Editor screening. The editor checks scope, basic quality and suitability. A poor-fit or insufficiently prepared manuscript can be declined before external review.
3. Double-anonymous review. Suitable papers are sent to at least two independent referees. Remove author-identifying details from the review manuscript.
4. Editorial decision. Following reports, the editor may accept, request minor or major revision, or decline. An article-transfer option may be offered where another Emerald title is more suitable.
5. Production. After acceptance, authors complete licence steps, review proofs and receive an EarlyCite version of record before issue assignment.

Emerald’s current metrics section reports 28 days to first decision for submissions from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, 90 days from acceptance to publication for the previous 12 months as last updated April 2025, and an 8.5% acceptance rate for the 2024–2025 submission window. These numbers are useful context, not a promised timeline or acceptance probability for an individual paper.

Open access and publication fees

JKM is a hybrid journal. Emerald offers a gold open-access option after acceptance; the publisher states that gold OA uses a CC BY 4.0 licence and that the APC is requested after acceptance, not at submission. Emerald also offers green open access, allowing self-archiving of the author accepted manuscript under its current policy.

The author-guideline page directs authors to Emerald’s APC price list or editorial system for the journal-specific amount rather than presenting a permanent fee in the guidance text. Because APCs, waivers and institutional agreements can change, authors should confirm the amount and any applicable agreement at the point of submission or acceptance.

Publication ethics and responsible AI use

Emerald states that its journals follow COPE principles. Submissions should be original, not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere, and compliant with authorship, conflicts-of-interest, copyright, permissions and research-integrity requirements. The publisher may use Crossref Similarity Check and maintains policies on plagiarism, data fabrication, image manipulation, informed consent and redundant publication.

The current Emerald guidance also draws a clear distinction in AI use: authors remain responsible for integrity and transparency; AI-assisted copy-editing of an author’s own original text may be permitted under the policy, while generative AI should not be used to create or draft new submission content. Because AI policies are evolving, researchers should re-read the current Emerald policy immediately before submitting.

Is JKM a good fit for your manuscript?

Fit should be evaluated before formatting work begins. JKM’s recent acceptance statistics indicate selectivity, and the journal’s scope is specific enough that the editor can screen for a genuine KM contribution.

Emerald’s own FAQ says that if authors have read the aims and scope and remain unsure, they may contact the editor with the paper title and structured abstract for suitability guidance.

How to make a JKM submission publication-ready

As a practical step—not an official journal requirement and never a guarantee of acceptance—authors can improve alignment by ensuring that the same KM problem runs through the title, abstract, introduction, literature review, method, results and discussion. The paper should show why the research question matters to KM scholarship, why the chosen theory helps answer it and what the findings change.

Common reasons a paper may be unsuitable

The publisher explicitly notes that editors can decline papers that do not fit the aims and scope or whose language/manuscript quality is too low. Authors can therefore reduce avoidable desk-rejection risks by checking journal fit, clarity, structure, ethics documentation, anonymization and technical requirements before pressing submit.

A deeper problem is conceptual misalignment. A paper can be well executed but still unsuitable if its primary contribution is really to another discipline and knowledge management is only peripheral. Likewise, attaching a fashionable topic such as AI, ESG or digital transformation to a paper will not create fit unless the analysis advances understanding of knowledge processes, infrastructures, governance or organizational use.

How Contentxprtz can support authors ethically

Professional support can help an author communicate their own research more clearly and consistently. For a JKM submission, support may include language polishing, checking the structured abstract, improving logical flow, aligning formatting with author instructions, reviewing reference consistency and helping an author present a point-by-point response to peer-review comments.

Contentxprtz can help researchers prepare a clearer, more polished and journal-aligned manuscript while all editorial and publication decisions remain solely with the journal. It does not guarantee journal acceptance, publication, indexing or a particular peer-review outcome, and it does not replace the author’s responsibility for the research, data, analysis, citations or ethical compliance.

Authoritative sources

• Emerald Publishing — Journal of Knowledge Management: aims and scope, author guidelines, editorial team, indexing, metrics and submission process.
• Emerald research and publishing ethics.
• Emerald peer-review key principles.
• Scopus Source ID 144668.
• Wageningen University & Research Library journal record for dated 2024 Scopus SJR, SNIP and quartile context.