JCF Manuscript Workflow (jcf-workflow)

When to trigger

• Starting a new empirical or theoretical corporate-finance paper aimed at JCF
• Deciding which jcf-* skill to invoke next at a given stage
• Sanity-checking that the project fits JCF's scope and process before investing

What JCF is (verified; re-confirm on the official guide)

The Journal of Corporate Finance is an Elsevier journal publishing original manuscripts or shorter format papers in empirical and theoretical corporate finance — financial structure, governance, payout, financial contracting, risk management, innovation, M&A, and international corporate finance, including intersections with macro, asset pricing, household/behavioral finance, fintech/blockchain, law, financial intermediation, and market microstructure.

Stage map (route to the named skill)

1. Fit & question → jcf-topic-selection (scope fit, "shorter format" option)
2. Positioning → jcf-literature-positioning (corporate-finance lineage)
3. Design → jcf-identification-strategy (causal credibility for firm data)
4. Evidence → jcf-data-analysis (WRDS-era panels, robustness)
5. Exhibits → jcf-tables-figures (self-contained tables, event-study plots)
6. Pitch → jcf-contribution-framing (what is new and why it matters)
7. Prose → jcf-writing-style (≤250-word abstract, author-date)
8. Data → jcf-replication-and-data-policy (Elsevier Option C)
9. Process → jcf-review-process (single-anonymized, two+ reviewers)
10. Submit → jcf-submission (Editorial Manager, US$340 fee preflight)
11. Revise → jcf-rebuttal (point-by-point R&R)

Key process facts

• US$340 non-refundable submission fee, paid up front; not refunded on desk reject.
• Active desk-rejection policy — clear the editor screen first.
• No fixed length ceiling (待核实); shorter formats welcome.

Anti-patterns

• Treating JCF like a double-blind journal (it is single-anonymized).
• Skipping identification because "it's a finance journal" — credibility still gates.
• Ignoring the up-front fee in planning.

Stop-and-repair gates

Pause the route before submission if any of these are true:

• the paper cannot name the corporate-finance decision or friction affected by the result;
• the design depends on firm panels but sample construction, links, or event dates are not reproducible;
• robustness tables exist but economic magnitudes are absent;
• the contribution is "new data" without a mechanism, policy implication, or theory revision;
• the manuscript treats the fee/process checklist as ready while identification or data availability is still unresolved.

The fastest route through JCF is not more tables; it is a coherent chain from corporate-finance question to credible design, magnitude, and reproducible evidence.

Stage gates and deliverables

Each stage exits with an artifact; missing artifacts predict where JCF projects stall:

Stage       | Exit artifact                                 | Stalls when…
Fit         | Viability-matrix row + format call            | The topic is data-first, question-second
Positioning | Closest-paper contrasts (2–3)                 | A gap is claimed without a recent-paper sweep
Design      | One-paragraph variation defense + diagnostics | The shock grades low; the selection story is unwritten
Evidence    | Audit ledger + magnitudes per main claim      | Robustness grows while magnitudes stay absent
Exhibits    | Self-contained main tables + an ID figure     | FE/clustering undisclosed; no event-study bands
Pitch/Prose | ≤250-word abstract carrying a number          | The abstract restates regressions
Data        | Option C statement + run_all archive          | The archive is deferred to acceptance
Submit      | EM package + US$340 budgeted                  | Metadata or PDF mismatches surface at upload
Revise      | Conflict table + per-comment change map       | The letter argues instead of changing the paper

Worked routing: a payout project through the pipeline

Hypothetical, dates illustrative: a team spots a dividend-tax reform. Weeks 1–2, jcf-topic-selection grades the shock and calls shorter format. Weeks 3–4, jcf-literature-positioning finds the closest two papers and the composition-versus-level gap. Weeks 5–8, jcf-identification-strategy and jcf-data-analysis run in tandem: treated/exempt definitions, firm and year FE, firm clustering, pre-trend leads, an illustrative headline of a 0.6-point repurchase rise. Weeks 9–10, jcf-tables-figures and jcf-contribution-framing build five exhibits and the one-sentence claim. Week 11, jcf-writing-style trims the abstract to 198 words while jcf-replication-and-data-policy finalizes the Option C statement and archive. Week 12, jcf-submission runs the EM preflight. The discipline is the order: no exhibit work before the design survives shock grading, and no submission while any stop-and-repair gate stays open.

Output

【Stage】<current> → next skill: jcf-<role>
【Fit】scope/format OK? [Y/N]  【Blockers】<list>