Review Process (mgsci-review-process)

When to trigger

You want to know what happens to a submission and how long it takes
You are unsure who decides (Department Editor vs Associate Editor vs Editor-in-Chief)
A paper was desk-rejected and you need to understand why
You received a decision letter and want to read it correctly before responding

How a submission flows

Department/area routing. A submission is channeled into a specific Department (e.g., Accounting; Behavioral Economics and Decision Analysis; Data Science; Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Finance; Healthcare Management; Information Systems; Market Design, Platform, and Demand Analytics; Marketing; Operations Management; Optimization and Decision Analytics; Organizations; Stochastic Models and Simulation; Strategy; Sustainability). The Department Editor owns the desk screen and the standards for that field.
Desk screen. The Department Editor, and possibly an Associate Editor, first evaluates whether the manuscript is a good fit for the department and has enough merit to send to reviewers. If not, the paper is returned with the editors' reasoning, commonly on fit ("better suited to Operations Research / M&SOM / Marketing Science") or insufficient rigor/contribution.
External review. If the manuscript passes the initial screen, an Associate Editor recruits reviewers and later recommends to the Department Editor. Review is double-anonymous — neither side sees the other's identity.
Decision. The Department Editor recommends; the Editor-in-Chief (Christoph Loch, term 2024–2026) provides final oversight and cross-department arbitration for ambiguous-fit papers.

The cross-department fit bar

Beyond field rigor, papers are judged on whether they belong in Management Science versus a sister INFORMS journal. Ambiguous-fit papers spanning departments are discussed across the editorial team, and a large share are redirected. Expect "fit" to be a first-order screen, not an afterthought.