Author guidelines

Thank you for choosing to submit your paper to us.

Please read the guidelines below then visit the EJFB's submission site to upload your manuscript.

 

Preliminary considerations

Before you submit your article, please read the EJFB editorial policy hosted in Journal information section.

Publication criteria

Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts to shed new light on contemporary challenges in the broad domain of family business. They should strike a reasonable balance between theory and practice, providing a concise but clear description of the issue or research question, using a credible and persuasive argumentation based on scholarly foundation as well as an appropriate methodology, concluding with a clear summary with implications and recommendations for the business practice. This should not be at odds with the use of an informative language, avoiding as far as possible the use of jargon and technical terminology.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of EJFB will be reviewed. EJFB accepts manuscripts for evaluation written in English, Spanish or Portuguese but only publishes manuscripts in English.

Publication model

EJFB is a fully open access journal (also called Diamond route). Diamond Open Access refers to a scholarly publication model in which journals and platforms do not charge fees to either authors or readers. Contents published on EJFB are licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 License. If the paper is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according tho this license.

EJFB is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research. In support of the Open Access initiative, authors are encouraged to self-archive their publications in open access repositories and share their research data in institutional or public data repositories.

Manuscript types acceptable for peer review

EJFB publishes original papers that raise our knowledge base on family business, business-owning family, and allied field. The journal considers the following sort of manuscripts:

Research paper: These papers are based on empirical findings or descriptions, theoretical arguments, or methodological developments that show an immediate practical relevance for family business owners, managers, consultants, and other stakeholders. Descriptive works that do not offer a relevant contribution to family business research are not considered for publication in EJFB. Final accepted manuscripts typically should have less than 9,000 words (all-inclusive) with a section on practical implications and recommendations. Statistical details and empirical results should be presented in an appendice at the end of the document to provide smooth reading of article, thus reinforcing its orientation to business practice.

Review article: These papers should provide an extensive overview of recent developments on topics that fall within the scope of the journal. They should offer a clear contribution to the domain of family business. Review articles are usually up to 11,000 words. The practical implications and recommendations sections should be well developed.

New or Data-driven Insight: EJFB welcomes articles of 6,000-9,000 words in length that provide new ideas or perspectives by building upon existing or new theories to understand contemporary trends related to enterprises in general, and family firms in particular. EJFB also accepts papers that present new empirical works or techniques that are explorative in nature or that show unusual or counterintuitive findings.

Point/Counterpoint debate: Short articles or notes written to clarify or respond to the content of an insight article previously published in this journal. The journal may accept other formats (e.g. two manuscripts by different authors presenting conflicting views on a specific topic). 

Perspective article: This category of article is an in-depth viewpoint paper that present a forward-thinking view of an emerging topic that is written in an accessible and non-technical style. These articles can provide an ‘insider view’ of family firms and business-owning families drawing on experiential knowledge or offer reflections on key challenges and response options with a view to trigger new exchanges on emerging and future issues. Papers that seeks a dialogue between theoretical and the empirical evidence will be well received. Publishing perspective articles allow an in-depth practical and theoretical discussions.

Essay and Commentary. They are usually essays that present a personal point of view of fundamental concepts or prevalent ideas in the field.  Commentaries should be stimulating and reflective essays providing personal perspectives on key topics and issues within family firm research. Whereas a perspective article looks at the big picture of a topic, an essay or commentary is a more technical or practical paper.

Practitioner Forum pieces. Papers describing the experience of addressing the challenges faced by family firms and business-owning families. Practice papers are aimed to understand critical issues that are unique to family firms by applying the knowledge and expertise developed to solve complex family business issues. We encourage entrepreneurs, business owners and managers, practitioners, consultants, policy makers and other family business stakeholders to present their opinion and experiences using cases and data from which they have learned and that can be useful elsewhere.

Point/Counterpoint debates, Perspectives, Essays and Commentaries, and Practitioner Forum pieces submitted to EJFB are indicatively 4,000 words long, including references.

Peer review and ethics

EJFB is a member of the Committe on Publication Ethics (COPE). As a peer-reviewed journal, the rigor of scientific publication is expected to be observed throughout the editorial process. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: authors, the editorial team, reviewers and the publisher. 

All published academic papers in EJFB have undergone a rigorous and transparent double anonymous peer review process, based on initial editor screening, anonymous refereeing by two independent expert reviewers, and consequent revision by author(s) when required. In addition to offering authors advice and guidance, peer review ensures that the manuscripts published in EJFB are of the correct quality for the journal’s aims. In the peer review process the identity of both the reviewers and author(s) are always concealed from both parties. The review process is done with the Open Journal System (OJS) software that guarantees automated and auditable electronic registration of all interactions.The content of each peer review is confidential, for use only by EJFB editor and authors.

Practice papers (Practitioner Forum pieces) submitted to EJFB undergo a single anonymous peer review process, a conventional method of peer review where the authors do not know who the reviewers are  the reviewers know that you are the author of the article, but reviewers (editors) know the identities of the authors.

Please anonymize your manuscript. It is very important that no file contain any information that can identify it with the author(s). 

In case of any signs of misconduct or malpractice, EJFB Direction will discuss and will be in contact with the author(s) as soon as possible. 

Find out more about what to expect during peer review process visiting our Publication ethics statement. It is based on COPE's Best Practice Guidelines.

Originality and lack of prior publication

The manuscript must be original and unpublished. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration unless it was rejected.

EJFB uses anti-plagiarism tools to guarantee the originality of the submissions  through Ithenticate Plagiarism Checking Software.

Authors should ensure that none of the data presented in the manuscript have been plagiarized, fabricated, manipulated or falsified. All original data are distinguished clearly from previously published data. Also that all references have been properly identified and cited and that the sources of all previously published figures, tables, data, etc., have been cited in the manuscript.

Authorship

All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted. It must be ensured that no person who meets the for scientific authorship has been ommitted from the list of authors.

Minor contributions such as suggestions related to references, data analysis or editing support, among others, do not guarantee authorship credits. These and other contributions to the paper may be recognized separately in  'Acknowledgements'.

Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the editor. To request such a change, the editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.

Author contribution statement

For transparency, we encourage authors to submit an ‘Author Contribution' statement outlining their individual contributions to the paper using the relevant CRediT roles: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; Writing - review & editing.

The 'Author Contribution' statement should include the names of all authors and their CRediT role(s). EJFB encourages authors to specify their contributions in this way. If authors have  equal contribution, the statement should say: These authors contributed equally to the work.

This information should form part of the ‘Title Page’ file. The information will be published if the paper is accepted.

Language

EJFB accepts manuscripts for evaluation written in English, Spanish or Portuguese. If the manuscript is submitted in a non-English language, authors commit to translate it to English once it is accepted. Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these).

Use of inclusive language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, for instance by using plural nouns as default/wherever possible to avoid using "he, she" or "he/she".

Sex and gender equity in research

We encourage authors to include sex and gender considerations where relevant. Authors should use the terms sex (biological attribute) and gender (shaped by social and cultural circumstances) carefully in order to avoid confusing both terms. 

Where appropriate, data should be presented disaggregated. The potential implications of sex and gender on the study results should also be discussed.  Additionally, authors should report how sex and gender were taken into account in the design of the study, whether sex and/or gender differences may be expected.

Declaration of interest

All authors must ensure there are no potential or perceived conflicts of interest. They must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work.

Declaration of interest statement

Authors should complete a 'Declaration of Interest' statement. This statement should form part of the ‘Title page’ file. If there are no interests to declare, please write: Declarations of interest: none.

Funding information

Authors are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design (please indicate the grant number); in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement then this should be stated.

Please supply all details requered by your funding and grant-awaring bodies. This information will be published if the paper is accepted.

Acknowledgments

Authors may recognize those who have supported the authors in the preparation of the manuscript. Acknowledgments should not be included in the manuscript. The acknowledgments will be incorporated into the paper once it is accepted for publication.

 

Preparing the manuscript for submission

Our manuscript submission system will guide you step-by-step through the process of entering your article data and attaching files. Online submission system requires the register as author role. User ID and password can be obtained on the first visit. The system will contain the files that make up the manuscript for the peer review process. The corresponding author will receive information about the review process of the manuscript via email.

Please do not hesitate to contact us (ejfb@uma.es) in case you have any question or any problem when submitting your article. Remember that we will be very pleased to support you.

Accepted file formats

Manuscripts should be uploaded as a single document containin the main text, tables and figures. Please insert the graphics (schemes, figures, tables, etc.) in the main text after the paragraph of its first citation. In revision stages, figures and tables must be provided as separate files.

The title page and the main manuscript files should be provided in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx). Accepted  figures (charts, diagrams, images, etc.) file formats are as follows: TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF), or MS Office files.

Important: Please anonymize your manuscript and prepare a separate title page file containing author details.

Title page file

The title page should contain:

  • Manuscript Title. Concise and informative, written in English and Spanish (only Spanish speakers) with initials capitalized (excluding determiners, prepositions, etc.). Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. The title should not contain abbreviations.
  • Author details. Please clearly indicate the first name and the surname(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. In case of using double surnames, use a hyphen between them. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Provide the full postal address, including the country name and the e-mail address of each author. EJFB encourages to provide the ORCID of all authors.
  • Corresponding author. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author. Please include the ORCID number.
  • Declaration of interest. EJFB encourages to provide this information. If there are no interests to declare, please write: Declarations of interest: none.
  • Author contribution. EJFB encourages to provide this information. All authors that have made a significant contribution to the paper should be listed. Those who have provided support but have not contributed to the research should be featured in an acknowledgements section. If authors have equal contribution, please write: Authors contributed equally to the work. 

Main manuscript file

Manuscript should be uploaded as a single document (containing the main text, tables and figures) in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
Manuscript should be prepared following APA style (6th edition) including DOI in URL format. Paper should be in A4 size, using double line spacing, a minimum of 1 inch (2.5 cm) margins, and 12 point readable font.

Please organize your paper with the following structure: Abstract; Keywords; Introduction; Thematic sections; Discussion, conclusions & implications; References; and Appendices.

Authors should write in an accessible way and avoid technical jargon so that the paper can be understood by a non-academic reader. 

Regular manuscript should be no more than 9,000 words (all-inclusive). Point/counterpoint debates, perspective pieces, commentaries, and practice papers should have a maximum length of 4,000 words and also include a brief abstract and keywords.

The abstract should not exceed 250 words. Exceptions may be evaluated by contacting the journal Editor. Abbreviations will be avoided in the Abstract. Clear writing and an attractive presentation are indispensable.

Manuscripts should have an introduction and a conclusion section, with the main body of the article divided into thematic headings. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc.), 1.2, etc.  Authors should not use abbreviations in the headings. Please define abbreviations the first they are mentioned in the abstract and manuscript.

Mathematical analysis and statistical data should be placed in appendices it is possible in order to provide smooth reading of article, thus reinforcing its orientation to business practice.

The first page of the manuscript 

Please remember that personal data of authors may under no circumstances appear in the manuscript.

The first page should contain:

  • Manuscript title. A short informative title should be provided

  • Abstract. A concise abstract is required, writen in English and Spanish (only Spanish speakers) and of not more than 250 words. The abstract should summarize the whole paper and not the conclusions alone. It should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. References and non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself

  • Keywords. Inmediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 4-6 keywords, using American or British spelling, avoiding general and plural terms, and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of', etc.). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible, since these keywords will be used for indexing purposes. Keywords are not capitalized.

  • Classification codes.  Please provide at least one JEL code. These classification codes may be accessed at JEL.

Main body of the manuscript

Please organize your paper with the following structure:

  • Introduction. This must state the objectives of the paper and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

  • Theory section. This must explain the theories that support the research, showing that the work is grounded in established ideas, theories and models.

  • Sample description and methods. This must include a description of the research method, procedures, as well as the reason for selecting them.

  • Results. They should be clear and concise. Authors should report, where relevant, whether sex and/or gender differences may be expected.

  • Discussion. This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them

  • Conclusions. The main conclusions of the work must be presented in a short Conclusions section.
  • Practical implications. Practical implications are based on logic and reasoning. Please try as much as possible to be realistic in your description of what the results of your study might imply.
  • References. Citations will be listed alphabetically at the end of the paper, and be presented in alphabetical order in accordance with the APA style (6th edition).
  • Appendices. They should include mathematical analysis and statistical data, if it possible.

Where Greek letters or other special sorts are used, please ensure they are clear on the manuscript. Mathematical and statistical analyses should be placed in appendices where possible.

Illustrations, tables, figures, etc. must be included in the manuscript, in the correct place and numbered consecutively. The format admitted for all of them is JPG except tables than must be editable text. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and only use capital letters in the first word of the titles. All these must be properly referenced and, if any are copyrighted, it is the author’s responsibility to obtain the necessary permissions to use them.

Footnotes are incorporated into the text and numbered consecutively throughout the article.

Before submitting your work, please check that the manuscript is complete, grammatically correct, and without spelling or typographical errors. Final accepted manuscripts typically should have less than 9,000 words including figures, tables, footnotes and references.

Funding

If article is accepted, funding information will be published within the article. Please list funding sources to facilitate compliance to funder’s requirements. Supply all deails required by our funding and grant-awarding bodies as follows: This work was supported by the [Funding Agency] under Grant [number xxxx]

Acknowledgements

If article is accepted, acknowledgements will be published within the article. 

Reference style

Books and journal articles should be referred to in the text by the authors name and year of publication, e.g. (Cooper & Martínez-Pereira, 1992) or Cooper and Martínez-Pereira (1992). Where there are multiple citations within the text, they should be ordered chronologically then alphabetically. Where reference is made to more than one work published by the same author in a single year, a suffix, a, b, c, etc., should follow the date, e.g. (Smith 1989b).

Please ensure that all citations in the text are listed in the reference list, and that all entries in the reference list are cited in the text. Citations will be listed alphabetically according to APA style (6th edition). It is mandatory the inclusion of the DOI in URL format when it exits, or the link to the electronic publication.

A full reference list should be included at the end of the paper using the following convention:

  • Article in journal: Aparicio, G., Ramos, E., Casillas, J.C., & Iturralde, T. (2021). Family business research in the last decade. A bibliometric reviw. European Journal of Family Business 11(1), 33-44. https://doi.org/10.24310/ejfbejfb.v11i1.12503.

  • Book: Kellermanns, F.W. & Hoy, F. (2017). The Routledge companion to family business. Routledge. 

  • Chapter in book: Pérez-Pérez, M. & Hernández-Linares, R. (2019). Commitment to learning, knowledge, and strategic renewal: do family firms manage them differently? In J. M. Saiz-Alvarez, J. Leitão, & J. M. Palma-Ruiz (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and family business vitality, 177-203, Springer.

  • Webpage or piece of online content: Gallo, M.A. & Pereira-Otero, B. (2018). The exercise of power in the family business. Practitioner FFI, June 27th. Retrieved from https://ffipractitioner.org/the-exercise-of-power-in-the-family-business

Tables

Tables should be included in the main body of the manuscript after the paragraph of its first citation. Tables should be numbered consecutively as Table 1, 2, 3, etc. Give each table a brief title.

Figures

All figures (charts, diagrams, images, etc.) should be submitted in an acceptable format [TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF), or MS Office files] and with the correct resolution. All figures should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and have clear captions. Please:

  • Do not supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); these typically have a low number of pixels and limited set of colors.
  • Do not supply files that are too low in resolution.
  • Do not submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Figure captions

Ensure that each illustration has a caption.  Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

It is responsibility of the author(s) to obtain the necessary permissions for the images that are subject to copyright.

Math formulae

Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.

Suplementary files

Supplementary material (e.g. research data, additional material, etc.) should be submitted as separate files alongside the title page and manuscript files. These files should be clearly labelled in such a way that makes it clear they are supplementary. All supplementary material must be mentioned at the appropriate moment in the main text of the manuscript. 

Please note that EJFB will not make any changes to the material and it will not be copyedited. Authors will not receive proofs for the review. 

If authors choose to use an institutional or personal repository, they should ensure that the supplementary material is hosted on the repository ahead of submission, and then include a link to the repository within the manuscript. It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that the material is free to access and that it remains permanently available.

 

After acceptance

After your paper is accepted, your files will be assessed to ensure they are ready for production. EJFB will carry out editorial copyediting and typesetting and return proofs to the corresponding author for the review. This is the opportunity to correct any typographical errors, grammatical errors or incorrect author details. EJFB cannot accept request to rewrite text at this stage.

When the page proofs are finalized, the proofed version of the paper will be published online. This is referred to as the Article in press version (also called EarlyCite version), which has yet to be assigned to a volume and issue but it has a DOI and is fully citable. It will be compiled into an issue according to the EJFB's issue schedule, with papers being added by chronological date of publication.

When an author discover significant errors or inaccuracy in the published paper, we have the option of withdrawing it or introducing a correction notice. Please visit our  page on fundamental error in published works.

How to share scientific information (open access publications)

Open access (OA) refers to the practice of providing online access to scientific information (research articles and research data) that is free of charge to the end-user and reusable.

EJFB  is a fully open access journal. EJFB provides immediate and fully open access to its content, which means that all content will be permanently available for free without delay. There are no financial, legal or technical barriers to accessing publications.

In support of the OA initiative, we encourage authors self-archive their publications in open access repositories. Specifically, Spanish authors should  make a deposit of their accepted manuscripts to their respective institutional repositories upon acceptance of their articles. In papers published in EJFB, we encourage sharing their publications with colleagues and other stakeholders. For further information and guidance, please refer to the Recolecta website.

To make research data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR), we also encourage authors to deposit their research data (data underlying publications considered as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation) in their institutional repositories or open access thematic repositories (e.g., repositories within the European Open Science Cloud initiative - EOSC).