What we expect from papers submitted to IJI

Abstract

The quality of articles submitted to Brazilian journals has been a source of criticism (Ferreira Falaster, 2016), not only in the International Journal of Innovation - IJI but also in other journals. Journals also usually receive work outside their scope. It motivated us to write this editorial comment. We aim to help the authors better understand the scope of the IJI and understand what we expect from the submitted works. Our concern is related to the format and the elements necessary for each type of work. In addition to the authors, the reviewers can also consult this editorial comment to guide their evaluations.The predominant field of IJI is innovation with a focus on emerging markets. Within innovation, the themes of interest to the journal are: Innovative Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Learning, Innovation and Sustainability, Internationalization of Innovation, Innovation Systems, Emerging Themes of Innovation and Digital Transformation. As scope, the IJI brings: Scientific research, theoretical essays, and reviews that advance the understanding and variety of innovation, improve its efficiency and critical approaches. We prioritize the development of new challenging theories, clarify existing theories, and identify new theoretical issues. Example: Systematic reviews, Bibliometrics, Theoretical essays, Reviews, among others.Empirical investigations or applied tests that, based on theories or references formulated, show state of the art and practical application in innovation; priority is given to unpublished technological contributions and their importance for studies in the area. Example: Empirical articles (quantitative and qualitative), Technological articles, Articles with guidelines for practice, among others.Perspectives that show the advance of established and emerging methodologies that are used in the area of innovation such as: Experimental, Technometrics, Text Mining, Data Mining, Modeling, Bibliometrics, Netnography, Neuroscientific Methods, Design Science Research, Grounded Theory and others.We will continue discussing what we expect from the papers submitted to IJI. We will contextualize some of the types of papers we accept: Articles, Technological articles, Perspectives, Reviews, and Editorial Comments. When submitting the work at IJI, the author must choose one of these options mentioned. We remind the authors that all types of papers must contain a structured summary in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. This structured summary can be adapted for reviews and perspectives, using only the elements that fit the study. Editorial commentLast year, we started the editorial comment section at IJI. This section is exclusively authored by the editors of IJI and their guests. Eventually, we invite members of the editorial board or scholars to contribute with their knowledge. Editorial comments do not go through peer review. Therefore, they are not considered articles.With the editorial comments from IJI, our goal is to assist authors and readers in understanding the various aspects related to scientific research, the publication of articles, and themes related to innovation. We want to help the researchers in their scholarly productions, orienting their articles in the best possible way. We intend to guide the IJI community through our editorial comments, minimizing the desks rejects of the articles, and maximizing authors' publications in the area of innovation. Articles[1]At the time of submission, authors who choose this type of work option may include empirical articles (qualitative and quantitative), theoretical and review articles (systematic literature reviews, bibliometric, theoretical essays)—always taking care of the scope of the IJI with a focus on innovation in emerging countries.In addition to the formatting guidelines that are found in the IJI, we suggest that the articles follow the following structure: Introduction; Literature review; Conceptual Development (Propositions or Hypotheses, when applicable); Methods; Results; Discussions and Conclusions. This structure, which will be suggested below, may undergo some changes depending on the article type. For example, a review article may not have a literature review section, as its results play this role. We suggest that an article has approximately 8000 (eight thousand) words.Introduction: When developing the introduction note the following aspects with greater specificity: if it is clear what the theoretical focus is used, present the research question that motivates the article, indicates the method, present the main results and the contributions or implications. Some failure possibilities deserve special attention from the authors: (1) the article indicates the research question, and (2) the article includes an explanation of the desired contribution.Literature review: Aspects to be considered by the authors: (1) the author is not limited to exposing a set of previous works on a theme with little connection to the current article; (2) links previous works to this article - the authors must clarify how previous referenced works relate to this article; and (3) it has a good balance in the inclusion of classic, or seminal, pertinent references, and more recent references.Conceptual development (propositions or hypotheses, when applicable): An article may or may not have propositions or hypotheses, but it must always have specific conceptual support that motivates the study. Authors should pay attention to the text of the propositions or hypotheses, the consistency between the various hypotheses, and whether they are adjusted to the research question. Authors should give special attention to the argument that supports each of the propositions or hypotheses. Check that it is consistent.Method: The method section needs to be elaborated on several aspects, especially on the data collection procedures and instruments, sample, variables, and data analysis procedures. Check if the data are appropriate to the objectives and if they are not biased. The article should include an adequate explanation of the data and sources used, given that primary data or lesser-known sources require further explanation. Likewise, it is important to understand the characteristics of the data and their representativeness, for which the sample description must be complete. An adequate description if an instrument is used is crucial, and it is not enough to send the questionnaire as an attachment to the article. The questionnaire items, the measurement method, and the source of the items are important. Finally, it is necessary to check the data analysis procedures. In empirical studies, the article must indicate which statistical technique is most effective for testing hypotheses.Results: The authors must include some descriptive elements. The descriptive component is relevant to observe the distribution of the data. A quantitative article should include the correlation table, for example. The article must contain tables with the statistical results, and in the text, the authors need to indicate sequentially if each hypothesis is verified. The text must contain an interpretation of at least the most important results.Discussion: It is a whole section for articles submitted to IJI. The authors must briefly mention the purpose of the article and how it was pursued throughout it. Here the authors must integrate the theory used in the theoretical framework, the hypotheses or propositions, and the results. It is time to show the contributions and/or implications of the study given the existing knowledge. Authors must present an analysis of the main results about the exposed theory. The discussion must be sustained in the analyzes so as not to run the risk of being speculative.Final considerations: the authors must pay special attention to some aspects. The conclusion does not need be too long. One can start by remembering the purpose of the article and how it was achieved. Authors should bring the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research. The ideal is a paragraph for each limitation and any future research. All of these elements must flow coherently and without ramblings for similar subjects or with references to other studies in progress. Technological articleWe will now conceptualize the technological article and show its difference from an academic article. The technological article is a production with a professional emphasis, with an approach mainly focused in problem-solving (Motta, 2017). It is the fundamental difference between a technological article and a production with an academic emphasis. The technological article generally describes experiences in organizations. Even so, authors must follow scientific and methodological rigor in their writing (Biancolino et al., 2012).We propose that the authors submit in this technological article section applied research that prioritizes the learning description, presenting the practical results experienced in the organizations. The CIMO logic (Van Aken, 2007) brings us some insights for a technical production:Context (problem situation);Intervention (intervention proposed to solve the problem presented);Mechanisms adopted (description of how the problem was solved);Results Obtained (objectively describe the results obtained in the organization).It is worth mentioning that in a technological article, reports of solutions implemented with results already obtained are expected. It does not make sense to report something that has not yet been implemented in the organization. So, it is expected that the technological article submitted to IJI will offer contributions to knowledge, as an example (Gregor and Hevner, 2013):Focus on innovation: new solutions to new problems;Focus on improvement: new solutions to known problems;Focus on extrapolation: known solutions to new problems.Another point that we would like to clarify is the size of a technological article. Even if some journals accept technologic