Pre-Submission Preflight (jibs-submission)

When to trigger

• "We're submitting this week" — the last check before submitting
• Unsure what the JIBS portal requires (anonymized manuscript, title page, DAS)
• Need to confirm double-blind anonymization is complete
• Verifying the manuscript matches the JIBS Style Guide and the inclusive word limit

Current limits, platform, fees, and policy wording below were refreshed from official JIBS/Springer/AIB pages on 2026-06-20. Re-verify the live submission-guidelines page and JIBS Style Guide before submitting.

Verified JIBS specs (confirm current values)

• Length: Articles ~10,000 words for strong/broad contributions or ~7,000 words for narrower contributions; word count includes abstract, text, endnotes, and references, while tables, figures, and online supplemental appendices can follow. Research Notes should be 4,000-6,000 words including everything.
• Abstract: up to 200 words (raised from the historical 100-word limit).
• Formatting: JIBS Style Guide — 11-point Times New Roman, double-spaced; author-date (name, year) in-text citation style.
• Submission portal: JIBS online submission tool at mc.manuscriptcentral.com, reached from the Springer/AIB JIBS pages.
• Review: double-blind (authors and reviewers mutually anonymous), preceded by an editorial desk-screen for fit and contribution.
• Integrity: manuscripts are screened with iThenticate/CrossCheck; format-compliance checks run on the platform.
• Data transparency (DART): the JIBS Data Access and Research Transparency (DART) policy applies; on acceptance, authors provide a Data Accessibility Statement (DAS); data made available should be deposited in a reputable repository with a DOI.
• Ethics: read the JIBS Code of Ethics before submitting.
• Fees: subscription-route publication has no APC charges; optional gold open access after acceptance currently lists GBP 3,090 / USD 4,990 / EUR 3,990.

Pre-submission checklist

Anonymization (double-blind)

• Manuscript file contains no author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments
• Self-citations are neutral ("prior research (Author, 2020)"), not "our earlier work"
• Acknowledgments, funding, data-source thanks live on a separate title page
• File metadata/properties and file names scrubbed of author/institution identity

Format (verify against the JIBS Style Guide)

• Abstract ≤ 200 words
• Author-date citations and a matching reference list, alphabetized and complete
• 11-pt Times New Roman, double-spaced throughout
• Total length within the inclusive ~10,000 / ~7,000 word budget (tables, figures, references, appendices counted)
• Tables/figures self-contained; country groupings spelled out; acronyms (MNE, FDI, OLI) defined

Cross-country specifics

• Country coverage and any concentration disclosed
• Measurement-equivalence evidence included or in the online appendix
• CMV and (dynamic-)endogeneity treatments reported where applicable

Files & declarations

• Anonymized main document (as the portal specifies)
• Separate title page with all identifying information
• Cover letter (fit, IB contribution, not under review elsewhere)
• Online appendix / supplementary files if any
• Data Accessibility Statement (DAS) drafted per the DART policy (repository DOI, or a justified explanation of limited availability)
• JIBS Code of Ethics read and complied with; human-subjects/IRB stated where applicable
• Suggested area/keywords selected so the manuscript routes to the right IB area editor

Portal operation notes

• Submit via the Springer Nature system reached from the JIBS submission-guidelines page; keep your account and ORCID current.
• Select the IB subfield/area (e.g., economics-finance-accounting, strategy, organization & management, marketing & operations, entrepreneurship, political economy, culture-conflict-cognition, HR/IR) so routing reaches an appropriate area editor.
• Preview the built PDF before final submission.

Output format

【Anonymization】pass / fix: ...
【Format vs. JIBS Style Guide】11-pt TNR, double-spaced, author-date; abstract ≤200 ...
【Word budget (inclusive)】within ~10k/7k/<4k? ...
【Cross-country evidence】coverage / invariance / CMV / endogeneity present ...
【DART / DAS & Ethics】statement drafted; Code of Ethics read ...
【Files】manuscript / title page / cover letter / appendix: ready? ...
【Area routing】selected ...
【Next step】await decision → jibs-review-process; on R&R → jibs-rebuttal

Anti-patterns

• Self-identifying language ("in our 2019 study") left in the anonymized file.
• Acknowledgments/funding inside the anonymized manuscript.
• Forgetting that references, tables, figures, and appendices count toward the word limit.
• No Data Accessibility Statement, or not having read the JIBS Code of Ethics.
• A non-author-date reference style straight from the reference manager.

Resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — cross-country data sources and analysis/measurement-equivalence software
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official JIBS/AIB/Springer URLs behind every encoded current fact (refreshed 2026-06-20)