Jan Selmer, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Global Mobility

TIP NUMBER ONE: Make sure that your topic is appropriate for JGM.

At the JGM webpage, you can find a detailed description of the coverage of the journal. JGM publishes research on global employees, including corporate and self-initiated expatriates and other migrants crossing borders for work purposes. Among those are, for example, inpatriates, international business travelers, short-term assignees, and international commuters. We are also interested in research on global employees in non-corporate communities, such as diplomats, academics, international school teachers, international volunteers, military, missionaries, sports professionals, international artists and healthcare employees. Last, but not least, research on low status expatriates are of great interest to JGM.  Associated topics, such as global leadership, recruitment and staffing of global employees and global talent management are also relevant to the journal. We also encourage research on key stakeholders involved with global employees, such as family members (e.g., spouses/partners and children), host country nationals who work with global employees, and global mobility professionals.

TIP NUMBER TWO: Make sure that your manuscript is as good as it can be before submission.

Our reviewers deliver highly developmental reviews in a timely fashion and the JGM editorial team facilitates your way to a favorable publication decision. However, you must leave reviewers and editors with something that can be developed since they cannot write the manuscript for you. That not only includes the main ideas, arguments and findings of your manuscript, but also organization, structure and language standard of the text.

TIP NUMBER THREE: Make a very clear statement of your contribution to the literature. 

JGM is an academic research journal and what does not advance our knowledge, will not be published. Your contribution may take many forms and span more than one dimension depending on type of manuscript; empirical quantitative or qualitative papers, conceptual approaches, literature reviews or any combination of them, but in all cases there must be a sufficient contribution to extant literature and it is your job to point that out.

EXTRA TIP: What are the most common reasons for desk rejection of manuscripts or rejection after review and revisions?

The most common reason for desk rejection is a topic inappropriate for JGM. For rejection after first review, insufficient contribution is a common reason. The reason JGM exists is to advance our knowledge within our specialist area. If a manuscript does not do that, it will certainly be rejected. Despite the dedicated work of reviewers and editors, in a few cases, successive revisions do not generate enough development of a manuscript to warrant publication. To save the time and effort of all parties involved, the process is on such occasions terminated with a final decision to reject the manuscript.

Submit your manuscript to JGM: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jgmob.