Understanding JIBS Review (jibs-review-process)

When to trigger

• Before submitting, to calibrate expectations for the JIBS process
• You received a JIBS decision letter and need to interpret it
• You are unsure how area editors and the methods canon shape your review
• You want to know what "revise and resubmit" implies at JIBS specifically

How the JIBS process works

1. Editorial desk-screen. Submissions are first screened by the editorial team for fit and contribution before going to reviewers; weak-fit or phenomenon-free papers can be desk-rejected quickly. (The EIC vision piece reports an approximate ~5-day desk-reject and ~62-day first-decision target — treat as indicative, not guaranteed.)
2. Area-editor routing. JIBS uses a departmental/area-editor structure organized by IB subfield (economics-finance-accounting, strategy, organization & management, marketing & operations, entrepreneurship, political economy/public policy, culture-conflict-cognition, HR/IR). Your keyword/area choice routes the paper; the area editor manages the review and writes the integrative decision.
3. Double-blind review. Authors and reviewers are mutually anonymous; usually multiple reviewers from the relevant IB conversation. The editorial board also includes a Research Methods Advisory Committee and a Societal Impact Advisory Committee as full editors, reflecting JIBS's emphasis on method rigor and impact.

What reviewers hold you to

JIBS reviews are demanding on a recognizable set of IB-specific points: