Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management: Scopus, Scope & Submission Guide

Key Takeaways

• Publisher: Elsevier; current journal information is hosted on ScienceDirect.
• Scopus: Indexed, with supplied Source ID 22972; verify current coverage if your institution has a specific database requirement.
• Scope: Purchasing and supply management, with a strong preference for original, significant empirical research.
• Review: Double-anonymized; suitable manuscripts are typically sent to at least two independent reviewers.
• Publishing model: Hybrid/supports open access; Elsevier displays an OA APC and also a subscription route with no publication fee charged to authors.
• Preparation: Separate title page and anonymized manuscript, abstract up to 250 words, 1–7 keywords, 3–5 highlights, editable source files.
• Fit matters: A manuscript should contribute directly to PSM theory and produce useful implications for practice or policy, not merely mention procurement in passing.

What This Page Covers

• Journal identity and Scopus record
• Aims, scope and subject fit
• Metrics and indexing
• Recent research themes
• Peer review and timelines
• Open access and APC
• Manuscript preparation
• Submission and ethics
• Publication-readiness support

Methodology and Source Note

This profile was prepared from the journal’s official ScienceDirect homepage, Guide for Authors, Journal Insights, editorial board, recent issues and the supplied Scopus Source ID 22972. The supplied source row was used as an identifier, then journal-specific facts were checked against the publisher’s current pages where possible.

Journal Information at a Glance

The table below separates stable identifiers from time-sensitive items. “Not publicly verified” means this article did not find a sufficiently authoritative current value and therefore does not substitute an estimate.

What Are the Journal’s Aims and Scope?

JPSM’s central aim is to publish original and significant empirical research in purchasing and supply management. Elsevier’s scope describes PSM broadly as the acquisition of external resources—materials, services, works, knowledge and related inputs—by organizations in any sector. The journal is interested not only in operational buying activity but in the strategy, design, management and evaluation of procurement and sourcing.

The journal is multidisciplinary in the sense that it focuses on a set of study objects rather than demanding one disciplinary tradition. That gives authors room to use theories and methods from strategy, operations, organizational behaviour, public management, innovation, sustainability or information systems when the research problem remains clearly anchored in PSM. The journal says it is liberal about methodology and style, yet largely empirically focused. It also states that mathematical modelling papers without strong empirical grounding are not published.

Subjects explicitly represented in the official scope

Editorial interpretation: a paper may use a broad supply-chain lens, but it should still show why purchasing or supply management is theoretically central. For example, a sustainability study becomes more plausible for JPSM when its mechanism involves supplier selection, due diligence, tender criteria, buyer–supplier governance or sourcing policy rather than sustainability performance at an aggregate supply-chain level only.

Understanding JPSM’s Scopus Coverage, Indexing and Metrics

For researchers whose university requires a Scopus-indexed outlet, JPSM has a clear source identity: the supplied record is Scopus Source ID 22972, and Elsevier lists Scopus on its Journal Insights page. The same Elsevier page lists SSCI, SJR, SNIP and ABDC among the journal’s abstracting/indexing or impact resources.

What Does the Journal Publish in Practice?

Recent ScienceDirect content shows the journal applying its scope to contemporary PSM problems rather than treating procurement as a narrow administrative function. Recent or in-press work includes generative AI in buyer–supplier negotiations, digitalization and green supply chains, social sustainability in digitalized circular-economy supply chains, modern slavery monitoring, public procurement for innovation, category management, and systematic literature reviews on sustainability learning and power.

Is This Journal a Good Match for Your Research?

A strong JPSM candidate normally has three forms of alignment at once: the research problem is recognizably PSM, the theoretical contribution advances understanding rather than only describing practice, and the evidence is sufficiently rigorous for the question. The journal’s own scope says articles should contribute to testing or developing PSM theory while also providing useful insight for practice and policy.

A practical journal-fit test

• Can the contribution be stated in purchasing/supply-management terms without forcing the vocabulary?
• Does the introduction engage PSM literature, not only general operations or supply-chain references?
• Is the empirical context appropriate for the theory and question?
• Does the paper show how findings change or refine PSM theory?
• Are there meaningful implications for purchasing, procurement, supply policy or supplier management?
• Do several recent JPSM papers use related constructs, contexts or methods?

Preparing a Manuscript for the Journal

The official author instructions are detailed, and following them early is easier than retrofitting a manuscript after writing. The journal uses double-anonymized review, so identifying information must be separated from the manuscript that reviewers see.

Core file and structure requirements

• Use editable source files. Word submissions should be .doc or .docx; LaTeX should use .tex. Elsevier states that a PDF is not an acceptable source file.
• Separate the title page from the anonymized manuscript. The title page contains authors, affiliations, acknowledgements, declarations and corresponding-author details; the anonymized manuscript should remove identifying information.
• Keep the abstract within 250 words. It should state purpose, principal results and main conclusions and generally stand alone without references.
• Provide 1–7 English keywords. Use established terms and avoid unnecessary multi-word phrases where possible.
• Upload highlights. The guide requires 3–5 bullet points, each no more than 85 characters including spaces, in a separate editable file.
• Number sections and subsections. The guide asks for clearly defined numbered sections such as 1, 1.1 and 1.1.1.
• Prepare data-sharing information. JPSM’s guide identifies Elsevier research-data Option C: deposit data in a relevant repository and cite/link it, or explain why data cannot be shared.

References and citation formatting

What Happens After You Submit a Manuscript?

JPSM uses a double-anonymized peer-review process. The editors first assess whether a submission is suitable for the journal. If it passes that editorial screening, the official guide says it is typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers for assessment of scientific quality. The editors make the final accept/reject decision.

Elsevier’s Journal Insights page available during this review displayed four journal-level timeline indicators: 11 days to first decision, 199 days to decision after review, 356 days to acceptance, and 101 days from acceptance to online publication. These numbers are useful for planning, but they are not a commitment for an individual paper. Desk decisions can be faster; complex revisions, reviewer availability or multiple rounds can make a manuscript take longer.

Open Access, Subscription Publication and Fees

JPSM is a hybrid journal in practical terms: Elsevier presents an open-access publishing option and a subscription option. When this guide was prepared, the Journal Insights page displayed an open-access APC of USD 3,740 excluding taxes and noted that the amount may be reduced during submission where applicable. Institutional agreements, funding arrangements or author circumstances can change the amount payable.

For the subscription route, Elsevier states that no publication fee is charged to authors, with the published article available immediately to subscribers. This distinction is important for researchers who assume a listed APC is compulsory. The OA charge applies to the open-access choice, not automatically to every accepted manuscript.

Publication Ethics and Responsible Authorship

The journal’s Guide for Authors incorporates Elsevier’s publication-ethics and authorship policies. The submitted work must not be under consideration elsewhere and should not have been previously published except in forms such as a preprint, abstract, published lecture, academic thesis or registered report as permitted by the policy. All authors must approve the submission and meet the journal’s contribution expectations.

Authors are expected to disclose competing interests and funding sources. Corresponding authors must also account for co-author contributions using CRediT roles. The guide states that authorship changes are generally not considered casually after submission, making it important to settle the author list and order before the manuscript enters editorial processing.

Generative AI disclosure

Elsevier permits authors to use AI tools as support during manuscript preparation under human oversight, but authors remain responsible for accuracy, originality, sources and the final text. Where generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were used in manuscript preparation, the guide requires a disclosure statement before the references. Basic grammar, spelling and reference-checking tools are excluded from that declaration requirement. AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

A Practical Submission Workflow for JPSM

1. Confirm fit using the official aims and scope. Read several recent JPSM papers closest to your question and method.
2. Finalize the author list. Confirm order, affiliations, corresponding-author details, funding and competing-interest information.
3. Create the two review files. Prepare a complete title page and a genuinely anonymized manuscript.
4. Check abstract, keywords and highlights. Keep the abstract within 250 words, use 1–7 keywords and create the required 3–5 highlights.
5. Review figures, tables, references and permissions. Ensure all in-text citations match the reference list and third-party material has appropriate permission.
6. Prepare data and declarations. Add data-availability material and any required generative-AI disclosure, funding statement and conflict-of-interest document.
7. Submit through the official journal route. Use the Guide for Authors and the journal’s “Submit your article” link rather than an unofficial intermediary.
8. Save submission evidence. Keep the manuscript version, uploaded files, confirmation email and manuscript number together for later revision rounds.

Publication-Readiness Checklist Before You Submit

How Contentxprtz Can Support Ethical Publication Readiness

Once you have independently decided that JPSM is a plausible target, professional support can help you present the research more clearly and reduce avoidable submission problems. Contentxprtz can assist with academic editing, manuscript language polishing, logical flow, consistency checks, reference and citation formatting, journal formatting, cover-letter editing and reviewer-response editing. Support can also include a publication-readiness review against the journal’s current author instructions.

The boundary is important: editing should not change the ownership of the research, fabricate evidence, invent citations or manufacture a contribution that the study does not support. The author remains responsible for data, analysis, interpretation, disclosures, authorship and final submission.