About the Journal

Sapiens Management Journal (SMJ) is an international scientific journal specializing in management, administration, economics, finance, accounting, entrepreneurship, marketing, and business innovation. It follows an interdisciplinary approach and publishes under a diamond open-access model (Diamond Open Access), with no charges for authors or readers.

The journal publishes original research, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, bibliometric studies, methodological studies, and scholarly essays submitted to external double-blind peer review.

Its purpose is to generate, evaluate, communicate, and transfer scientific knowledge that contributes to understanding and addressing problems related to contemporary management, organizational performance, markets, economics, and financial systems.

Manuscripts must demonstrate an original contribution to the administrative and economic sciences, provide sufficient evidence, and explain the implications of their findings for management, decision-making, economic policy, business innovation, or sustainable development.

Publishing Institution and Co-Publishing Institution

Publishing institution

The publishing institution responsible for Sapiens Management Journal is the Instituto Sapiens de Investigaciones Científicas Multidisciplinar (ISICM).

ISICM is responsible for:

  • defining the journal’s mission, vision, objectives, and scientific scope;

  • ensuring its academic orientation and editorial independence;

  • appointing the editor-in-chief and approving the composition of the editorial board;

  • overseeing compliance with ethics and research-integrity policies;

  • approving policies on peer review, conflicts of interest, corrections, retractions, and complaints;

  • ensuring transparent evaluation and editorial-decision procedures;

  • monitoring compliance with the declared publication schedule;

  • ensuring the journal’s institutional continuity and sustainability;

  • assuming institutional responsibility for the scientific and editorial quality of the publication;

  • authorizing substantive changes to the title, scope, frequency, or editorial structure.

ISICM shall ensure that editorial decisions are based exclusively on scientific quality, originality, thematic relevance, methodological rigor, and compliance with ethical standards.

Co-publishing institution

Sapiens Editions S.A.S. participates as a co-publishing institution and provides technical, administrative, and editorial-production support.

Its functions include:

  • technically administering the editorial platform;

  • supporting copyediting, technical editing, typesetting, and digital production;

  • managing the assignment of DOIs and other persistent identifiers;

  • preparing the files and metadata required for publication;

  • supporting interoperability with repositories, directories, and information systems;

  • assisting in the digital preservation of published content;

  • preparing statistics and technical reports on the editorial workflow;

  • supporting the communication and dissemination of published articles;

  • assisting in the administrative management of the journal.

Sapiens Editions S.A.S. shall not participate in:

  • the selection of reviewers;

  • the scientific evaluation of manuscripts;

  • the modification of peer-review reports;

  • acceptance or rejection decisions;

  • the selection of content for commercial reasons;

  • the alteration of results, citations, or conclusions;

  • the publication of manuscripts without evaluation;

  • the prioritization of authors, institutions, or countries.

Scientific, ethical, and editorial responsibility rests with the editor-in-chief, the editorial board, and the Instituto Sapiens de Investigaciones Científicas Multidisciplinar (ISICM).

Mission

To promote the generation, evaluation, communication, and transfer of scientific knowledge in management, economics, finance, and related fields through the publication of rigorous, original, and interdisciplinary research.

The journal seeks to contribute to understanding and addressing organizational, business, economic, and financial problems through evidence that is useful for management, strategy formulation, decision-making, and policy design.

Vision

To become an internationally recognized scientific journal in management, economics, and finance, distinguished by the quality of its publications, the rigor of its editorial processes, the transparency of its peer-review system, the diversity of its authors and editors, and the relevance of its contributions to organizations and economic systems.

Objective

To disseminate original research, systematic reviews, and high-quality scholarly essays that contribute to the advancement of knowledge in administration, strategic management, economics, finance, accounting, entrepreneurship, marketing, innovation, and digital transformation.

The journal prioritizes studies that:

  • analyze clearly defined organizational, economic, or financial problems;

  • present a theoretical, methodological, or applied contribution;

  • develop or evaluate management models, strategies, processes, or tools;

  • use appropriate data and methods to answer the research question;

  • compare their findings with the scientific literature;

  • explain the implications of their findings;

  • identify the conditions and limitations of their application;

  • provide evidence for decision-making.

Central Relevance Question

Every manuscript must answer the following question:

What administrative, organizational, economic, financial, or business problem does the study address, what new knowledge does it contribute, and how can its findings be applied to improve management, decision-making, organizational performance, or the functioning of economic systems?

Depending on the type of research, this question must be addressed through the following:

  • What research problem is being analyzed?

  • Why is the problem relevant to management, economics, or finance?

  • What knowledge gap does the study seek to address?

  • What new knowledge does it contribute?

  • What theory, method, model, process, strategy, or tool does it develop or evaluate?

  • How does it differ from previous research?

  • What evidence supports its findings?

  • In which organizations, sectors, markets, or contexts can it be applied?

  • What are its implications for management, economic policy, or decision-making?

  • What is its potential for transfer, innovation, or application?

Editorial Relevance Criteria

The main evaluation criterion is to determine:

  • what administrative, organizational, economic, financial, or business problem the study addresses;

  • what knowledge gap it identifies;

  • what original contribution it makes;

  • what theory, method, model, process, strategy, or technology it develops or evaluates;

  • how it differs from previous research;

  • what evidence supports the findings;

  • in which contexts the findings can be applied;

  • what its theoretical and practical implications are;

  • which organizations, sectors, markets, or groups may benefit;

  • what its potential for transfer, innovation, or management improvement is.

An article will be considered relevant when there is coherence among:

  1. the research problem;

  2. the research question and objectives;

  3. the theoretical framework;

  4. the methodology;

  5. the results;

  6. the discussion;

  7. the conclusions;

  8. the contribution to administrative, economic, or financial knowledge.

A business description, consultancy report, professional opinion, or technological application will not be sufficient unless it demonstrates a scientific contribution.

Editorial Scope

Sapiens Management Journal adopts an interdisciplinary approach integrating perspectives from administration, economics, finance, accounting, marketing, organizational sociology, work psychology, data science, technology, and other fields related to management.

The journal publishes:

  • original research articles;

  • systematic reviews;

  • scoping reviews;

  • bibliometric studies;

  • quantitative research;

  • qualitative research;

  • mixed-methods studies;

  • experimental and quasi-experimental studies;

  • observational studies;

  • comparative studies;

  • case studies with a theoretical or methodological contribution;

  • research protocols;

  • scholarly essays;

  • methodological studies.

Interdisciplinarity must be demonstrated in the formulation of the problem, the theoretical framework, the methodological design, the analysis, or the interpretation of the findings.

The journal will not publish manuscripts that:

  • lack a clearly defined research question;

  • present opinions without scientific support;

  • merely describe an organization;

  • fail to explain the methodology adequately;

  • use data without identifying their source;

  • present results without analysis;

  • fail to engage with the specialized literature;

  • duplicate previous publications;

  • contain plagiarism, data fabrication, or data falsification;

  • fail to comply with ethical standards;

  • do not demonstrate an original contribution.

Areas of Specialization

1. Administration and Strategic Management

  • organization theory;

  • organizational behavior;

  • leadership;

  • human talent management;

  • organizational culture;

  • competitive strategy;

  • change management;

  • decision-making;

  • operations management;

  • performance assessment;

  • risk management;

  • organizational sustainability.

Articles must explain what management problem they address and how their findings contribute to knowledge or organizational improvement.

2. Economics and Development

  • applied microeconomics;

  • market analysis;

  • macroeconomics;

  • economic policy;

  • regional economics;

  • economic growth;

  • international economics;

  • foreign trade;

  • economic integration;

  • labor economics;

  • development economics;

  • institutional economics.

Articles must identify the economic problem, the evidence used, and the implications of the findings for markets, organizations, or economic policy.

3. Finance, Markets, and Accounting

  • corporate finance;

  • asset valuation;

  • capital structure;

  • financial markets;

  • derivatives;

  • risk management;

  • banking;

  • management accounting;

  • auditing;

  • forensic auditing;

  • financial reporting;

  • International Financial Reporting Standards;

  • corporate governance.

Manuscripts must demonstrate a contribution to financial or accounting knowledge and should not be limited to descriptive indicators.

4. Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation

  • entrepreneurship ecosystems;

  • business creation;

  • start-ups;

  • scalability;

  • intrapreneurship;

  • business models;

  • digital economy;

  • venture capital;

  • business financing;

  • organizational innovation;

  • dynamic capabilities;

  • knowledge transfer.

Studies must explain what entrepreneurship or innovation problem they analyze and what is novel about their findings.

5. Marketing and Consumer Behavior

  • consumer behavior;

  • strategic marketing;

  • digital marketing;

  • data analysis for decision-making;

  • relationship marketing;

  • brand positioning;

  • internationalization;

  • consumer experience;

  • consumer ethics;

  • marketing sustainability;

  • business communication;

  • market research.

Manuscripts must present a scientific question and a theoretical, methodological, or applied contribution. The journal will not publish exclusively promotional or commercial texts.

6. Technology Management and Digital Transformation

  • digital economy;

  • financial technologies;

  • blockchain;

  • Industry 4.0;

  • automation;

  • information systems;

  • artificial intelligence applied to management;

  • business data science;

  • data governance;

  • organizational and financial cybersecurity;

  • digital transformation;

  • digital platforms.

Articles must explain:

  • what organizational, economic, or financial problem the technology addresses;

  • what method or system is developed or evaluated;

  • how its performance was validated;

  • what evidence demonstrates its usefulness;

  • what limitations it has;

  • in which contexts it can be applied.

Diamond Open Access and No-Fee Policy

Sapiens Management Journal publishes under a diamond open-access model (Diamond Open Access).

This model means that:

  • readers have free access to all articles;

  • authors do not pay publication fees;

  • no fees are charged for submission, evaluation, peer review, processing, copyediting, typesetting, or publication;

  • the journal does not charge article processing charges (APCs);

  • sustainability is ensured through institutional support and academic management rather than charges to authors or readers.

All contents are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which allows readers to access, download, share, adapt, and reuse the works, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors and the original source.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication.

Publication Frequency and Editorial Development

During its initial stage, Sapiens Management Journal followed a monthly publication schedule. Beginning in January 2026, the journal adopted a quarterly publication schedule in order to strengthen manuscript selection, peer review, and editorial production.

The publication calendar is:

  • January–March: official publication on January 1;

  • April–June: official publication on April 1;

  • July–September: official publication on July 1;

  • October–December: official publication on October 1.

The journal may use continuous publication within each quarterly period. Accepted articles will be progressively incorporated into the corresponding issue once the editorial process, technical production, and metadata assignment have been completed.

Manuscript submissions remain open throughout the year. The declared publication schedule must be maintained without delays or interruptions.

Editorial Process and Evaluation Times

Editorial management is conducted through Open Journal Systems under principles of transparency, traceability, confidentiality, and research integrity.

The process includes:

  1. manuscript submission;

  2. verification of formal requirements;

  3. initial editorial assessment;

  4. originality screening;

  5. assignment of external reviewers;

  6. peer review;

  7. editorial decision;

  8. author revisions;

  9. copyediting;

  10. technical editing and typesetting;

  11. DOI and metadata assignment;

  12. publication and digital preservation.

Estimated times are:

  • initial editorial assessment: 7 to 15 days;

  • double-blind peer review: 20 to 45 days;

  • author revision period: 7 to 20 days;

  • copyediting, technical editing, and typesetting: 10 to 20 days.

These timeframes are estimates and may vary according to manuscript complexity, reviewer availability, and the number of revision rounds required.

Peer-Review Process

The journal uses external double-blind peer review.

Reviewers assess:

  • originality;

  • thematic relevance;

  • clarity of the problem and research question;

  • quality of the theoretical framework;

  • methodological rigor;

  • quality and traceability of the data;

  • coherence of the findings;

  • quality of the discussion;

  • relevance of the conclusions;

  • theoretical or applied contribution;

  • quality of the references;

  • compliance with ethical principles.

Reviewers must disclose conflicts of interest and maintain manuscript confidentiality.

Editorial decisions may be:

  • accept;

  • accept with minor revisions;

  • request major revisions;

  • reject and allow resubmission;

  • reject.

The final decision is made by the editor-in-chief or the designated editor on the basis of the reviewers’ reports and the editorial assessment.

Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

The journal is committed to research integrity, editorial transparency, and good publication practices.

It will implement policies to prevent and manage:

  • plagiarism and self-plagiarism;

  • duplicate publication;

  • data fabrication or falsification;

  • image manipulation;

  • undisclosed conflicts of interest;

  • inappropriate authorship;

  • peer-review manipulation;

  • appropriation of ideas;

  • coercive citation;

  • corrections;

  • retractions;

  • complaints and appeals.

Authors must declare:

  • author contributions;

  • sources of funding;

  • conflicts of interest;

  • ethics approval, where applicable;

  • informed consent when human participants are involved;

  • data availability, where applicable;

  • the use of artificial-intelligence tools.

Policy on Artificial Intelligence

The journal permits the responsible use of artificial-intelligence tools as support in research and scholarly communication, provided that such use is transparent, verifiable, and supervised by the authors.

Authors must disclose:

  • the tool used;

  • the version or date of use, when relevant;

  • the purpose of use;

  • the research stage or manuscript section in which it was used;

  • the extent of the intervention;

  • the human-verification procedures applied;

  • the measures taken to protect confidential information.

Artificial-intelligence tools may not be listed as authors. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the data, methods, analyses, citations, results, and conclusions.

Artificial intelligence may not be used to fabricate data, falsify results, generate non-existent references, conceal plagiarism, breach confidential information, or produce peer-review reports without human supervision.

Open Science, Visibility, and Internationalization

The journal promotes:

  • diamond open access;

  • editorial transparency;

  • complete metadata availability;

  • ORCID identification;

  • DOI assignment;

  • standardized author identification;

  • publication of titles, abstracts, and keywords in Spanish and English;

  • repository deposit;

  • digital preservation;

  • methodological transparency;

  • responsible data sharing;

  • international scholarly communication.

Inclusion in directories, repositories, or databases will be announced only after official confirmation.

Promotion and Dissemination Strategy

The journal will disseminate its articles through:

  • complete metadata;

  • DOI assignment;

  • ORCID integration;

  • institutional repositories;

  • academic networks;

  • professional channels;

  • research summaries;

  • communication of relevant findings;

  • promotion of responsible citation practices.

The journal does not guarantee specific numbers of citations or impact levels. It will not use artificial citation practices or agreements that compromise editorial independence.

Digital Preservation

The journal will adopt preservation mechanisms to guarantee the accessibility, integrity, and permanent availability of its contents.

These mechanisms will include:

  • backup copies;

  • institutional storage;

  • preservation of files and metadata;

  • maintenance of persistent identifiers;

  • preservation of editorial history;

  • permanent availability of published articles.

Editorial Management and Sustainability

Sapiens Management Journal is a diamond open-access scientific publication managed under a non-commercial academic model with no charges to authors or readers.

Its sustainability is based on:

  • institutional support from ISICM;

  • scientific management by the editorial board;

  • the work of external reviewers;

  • technical and administrative support from Sapiens Editions S.A.S.;

  • digital preservation;

  • editorial planning;

  • transparent procedures.

Editorial decisions shall be based exclusively on scientific quality, originality, thematic relevance, methodological rigor, and compliance with ethical standards.