The latest talk in the Sasin Research Seminar Series comes from Dr. Constantin Blome, Professor of Operations Management and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Sussex Business School. He is also Co-Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Operations & Production Management (IJOPM). Dr. Blome gave fascinating insights into what happens behind the curtains of a top-tier journal, revealed general strategies for getting published, and discussed editor expectations. The talk began by asking how you would determine if someone was a good researcher or, conversely, how can you tell good research? From a journal’s perspective, the more important aspect is the latter. Journals look for good research, but all too often, they are inundated with very similar work. Dr. Blome advised finding topics that are different as they are more likely to be accepted, even if there are minor problems with the methodology. He then shared what he had learned as Editor in Chief and discussed what went on behind the scenes. He noted that different editors and journals varied widely across a number of issues, such as throughput times, the number of revisions requested, acceptance rates, journal structures, and reviewer and editor attitudes. To provide some background, he gave an overview of the mission and scope of the International Journal of Operations & Production Management (IJOPM). This included what they tend to publish and what they find more important in terms of impact, the literature, and advancement of the field of Operations and Supply Chain Management – theoretically and practically. Next, other factors were discussed, such as citation rates, acceptance rates, and why knowing the number of papers accepted each year should be a consideration. Dr. Blome then shared some statistics from IJOPM revealing the number of submissions, turnaround rates, and rejection rates. He also talked about how removing some reviewers and introducing associate editors reduced the number of days between submission and decision. The KPIs were examined, and it was revealed that while citations were important, they weren’t the main focus. The IJOPM aims to keep slots open for innovative and empirical research, promote research outside the scholarly community, and provide guidance and support to everyone involved. Due to the time it can take to publish research, the journal has introduced shorter articles – around 3000 words – that explain more contemporary issues relevant to the OSCM sector. These articles help advance the field, create scholarly and broader impact, provide opportunities for development, and gather data to build actionable solutions. Next, Dr. Blome looked at cardinal mistakes often made when submitting. For example, half of the rejections are down to being a poor fit – the submission should be in a different journal. Other problems include a lack of methodological rigor, not following standards or established methodologies, not looking at recent research, and boring or incremental topics that are only slightly different from other submissions. This was followed by an overview of what adjacent disciplines tend to be looking for. This included advice for publishing in top tier journals in Operations Management, Information Science, Corporate Social Responsibility, and General Management. The final topic discussed was whether it is advisable or needed to have any new research on Covid-19. Dr. Blome understood this was a new situation but questioned whether these studies enhanced extant theories in any way. Another problem was that pandemic research tends just to be descriptive and is unlikely to be cited in a few years. The fascinating talk was followed by a lively Q&A, which discussed a variety of topics. These included what type of impact was most valued by journals, the need for more international data and research – as long as it is new and not just the same questions in a new location – and how the journal made operations and review times more efficient.