Yang Jianlong
"Things don't give birth because they don't happen, and they can't be reformed without reform." The construction of high-quality academic journals in the new era should be carried out in accordance with the times, leading academic innovation with institutional innovation, and supporting academic prosperity with platform construction. It is the journey and the destination to create a new academic trend with a clean and upright atmosphere.
Since 2023, under the direct leadership and instruction of the Party Group of the Development Research Center of the State Council, Management World Magazine has closely focused on "resolutely restricting the publication of 'soft power' with institutional constraints, and resolutely refraining from publishing 'relationship manuscripts' and 'favor manuscripts'", carried forward the spirit of self-revolution with the blade inward, and comprehensively deepened the reform of the editorial and review system. With institutional innovation as the core, we have built an editing and review system that covers the whole process of manuscript editing and review, all-round and all details, so that all processes can be covered, all details can be traced, and all rights are restricted, which has received extensive attention and positive evaluation from all walks of life.
"The power of action is to know more and more, and the depth of knowledge is to achieve more." Over the past 40 years, Management World has been at the forefront of the development of domestic academic journals for a long time, and has been rated as an excellent journal by the National Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences for many years. Ensuring the high-quality development of journals with high-level institutional innovation is the top priority of the management of the work of World Magazine. In particular, in recent years, the academic impact factor and social influence of journals have continued to increase significantly, and the editing and review of manuscripts has many links, high intensity and great influence, the development of journals has attracted attention from all parties, and the construction of the editorial review system has entered the "deep water area". In this regard, the party group and the main leaders of the Development Research Center of the State Council have put forward new and higher requirements for the editing and review of manuscripts of the World Magazine. Since 2023, Lu Hao, director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, has put forward clear requirements for the management of the work of World Magazine, emphasizing the need to strengthen system construction, especially to optimize and improve the manuscript editing and review system. Lu Hao, director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, and Zhang Laiming, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, have given instructions and instructions on the construction of the manuscript editing and review system for many times. Long Guoqiang, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, put forward specific requirements for optimizing the special rectification work of the review process at the symposium on researching and guiding the management of the theme education work of the World Magazine in 2023, and then Bi Xinxin, executive deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Development Research Center of the State Council and secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the organ, personally guided the specific work. Management World Magazine attaches great importance to and actively deploys the instructions and work requirements of the Party Group and the main leaders of the Development Research Center of the State Council, and lists the process optimization and system construction of manuscript editing and review as the special rectification plan for theme education in 2023.
The first is to insist on brainstorming and actively introduce the academic community to participate in the design of the system. On the basis of fully protecting the right to know, the right to express, the right to participate and the right to supervise all employees, the management of the world magazine formulated the overall idea and specific process of the construction of the new editorial review system through collective decision-making, and issued nearly 200 editorial review system plans to all sectors of society, including academia, through various channels. At the same time, the "2024 Edition of the Management Regulations on the Review of the Editorial Department of the Management World Magazine" was released on the WeChat public account of the Management World Magazine, which has been read more than 25,000 times and has been reprinted by more than 10 academic WeChat public accounts.
The second is to adhere to the implementation of legislative reforms, and the improvement of the system and the adjustment of actual work are carried out simultaneously. The overall idea of the new editing and review system will be basically formed at the end of June 2023, and the actual workflow will start to run on a dual track from July 1, 2023, and the mid-term evaluation of the new system will be completed at the end of September 2023. In January 2024, the parallel work was a complete success, and the new system began to be officially operational. At the same time, the computer-aided system designed synchronously according to the editing and review process has been running smoothly for 6 months in continuous optimization and debugging, and every editing and reviewing detail of each article in the process of system construction has been clearly recorded. As of April 2024, the system has accumulated 10 months of detailed information that can be monitored and queried at any time.
The third is to adhere to sunshine and transparency, and ensure that the operation of the editorial and review system is subject to internal and external supervision. Management World Magazine insists on placing the operation of the editorial review system under multi-level internal supervision and open external supervision. Establish and improve the integrity risk supervision and prevention mechanism covering the entire process of editing and reviewing, with discipline inspection commissioners as a link, and set up a person in charge of integrity risk prevention and control in all aspects of the entire process of editing and review, so that the integrity risk of editing and review is checked at all levels and the responsibility is assigned to the person. At the beginning of April 2024, Management World Magazine has reported the information on the editorial review work in the first quarter and the "Anti-Corruption Risk Monitoring and Investigation Report" to the Development Research Center of the State Council and the higher-level discipline inspection department in accordance with the requirements of the editorial review system, and will regularly report the above information at the end of each quarter in the future. At the same time, the WeChat official account of Management World Magazine has released a special mailbox for the supervision and prevention of integrity risks, and has taken the initiative to disclose to the public the external supervision and feedback channels for the editorial and review work of Management World.
"Put 'soft power' in the institutional cage". The management of the World Magazine gives full play to the basic advantages in the early stage of the construction of the editorial review system and the construction of the editorial team, and clarifies that the core idea of the system construction is "resolutely use the system to restrict the 'soft power' of publishing, and resolutely not to publish 'relationship manuscripts' and 'favor manuscripts'", and firmly adheres to the five principles in the design and operation of the new editorial review system.
The first is to adhere to the high degree of decomposition and independent operation of "soft power" as the core. High decomposition is layer by layer decomposition, inseparable and inseparable, and independent operation is to take responsibility for each other and not interfere with each other. The system design decomposes the "soft power" of editing and reviewing into 7 independent editing and reviewing links in series, and each series link is decomposed into a number of independent parallel editing and reviewing units, the vertical series links are independent of each other and are responsible for special personnel, and the horizontal parallel links are closed and do not interfere with each other, forming a manuscript editing and review system composed of about 25 independent editing and reviewing units, so as to ensure that each article published by Management World has been independently reviewed by all 25 or so editorial review units. It can only be published after obtaining the approval opinion of the absolute majority ratio. In the future, in the optimization of the editing and review process, we will also implement key monitoring of the work quality, efficiency and integrity risks of each editing and reviewing unit, and continue to improve the "physical firewall" and "physical hard isolation" of key links, so as to prevent any individual from abusing the "soft power" of editing and reviewing in any way for personal gain from the source.
The second is to insist on "two guarantees" in terms of manuscript source and review process. On the one hand, in terms of the source of manuscripts, the system is the only source of manuscripts for "Management World", and any "human manuscripts" and "relationship manuscripts" are eliminated from the source; On the other hand, in terms of the review process, we ensure that all journals strictly implement the system of "three reviews, three proofreadings and one reading", and record the whole process. This is another important reform to improve the quality and influence of the management world magazine after the cancellation of the "short article" column, and it is also an innovative move to be the first in the field of domestic academic journals, aiming to lead the direction of academic innovation and development and create a clean and upright academic atmosphere by "being the first person to eat crabs".
The third is to adhere to the principle of whole-process people's democracy and implement collective decision-making to the end. Whole-process people's democracy and collective decision-making are the fundamental guarantees for the construction of the manuscript editing and review system. In the whole process of editing and reviewing each key link under the responsibility of the collective resolution system, all the core decisions of each series link of the editing process are determined by collective discussion, and each participant is required to write down their opinions and reasons and sign, and each person in charge bears the main responsibility to ensure the progress of the corresponding link, the quality of editing and reviewing and the prevention of favoritism.
Fourth, insist that the entire process of manuscript editing and review can be covered and all details can be traced. On the basis of giving full play to the mature advantages of the "CNKI Journal Acquisition and Editing Collaboration System", we make full use of digital technology means, with the goal of "all processes can be covered and all details can be traced", and the "Digital Auxiliary Management System for Manuscript Editing and Review" is built in parallel, and the self-built system can fully cover the manuscript editing and review workflow of the editorial department by building modules such as information inquiry, detailed data processing, external review quality evaluation, and editing work evaluation, so that the process can be controlled and the details can be traced. At the same time, with the help of the computer-aided system to deal with the complicated and repetitive daily work of the editorial department, it can not only realize the efficient control of the whole process and limit the space for human operation, but also realize the full trace of detailed information, record every article, every link, and every decision of every participant in the entire system operation process, and improve the efficiency of editing and reviewing and the standardization and rigor of process control. The information on the editing and review of the above-mentioned manuscripts will be regularly reported to the Party Group of the Development Research Center of the State Council, the Discipline Inspection Commission of the organs, and the discipline inspection departments at higher levels, so that the operation of the "soft power" of manuscript editing and review will be placed under multi-level joint monitoring.
Fifth, adhere to the unity of restraint and protection, and fully reflect the equality of editorial and review powers and responsibilities. Correctly understand the dialectical relationship between institutional constraints and institutional protection, "when the system becomes the tightest rope that binds each of us, it also becomes the armor that can best protect us." Focusing on the unified idea of "strict management is love, and restraint can protect", the control of integrity risks and the prevention of ideological risks run through the whole process of manuscript editing and review, forming a system that integrates the deterrent force of "dare not be corrupt", the binding force of "not being corrupt" and the appeal of "not wanting to be corrupt". In accordance with the principle of equal management rights and responsibilities, the editorial and review powers should be scientifically allocated, so that "the power must be responsible, the responsibility must be assumed, and the failure of responsibility must be investigated". According to the editorial review workflow, the editorial staff is divided into posts and authorized at different levels, the responsible persons of each link node and the corresponding rights and responsibilities are clarified, and a three-member editorial team composed of the director of the editorial department and two deputy directors is established to promote the work of the editorial department in an orderly manner.
"If the wind is clear, the air is right, the spirit is right, and the heart is united." March 2024
In January, Management World, as a representative of outstanding journals in the field of economics and management funded by the National Social Science Fund, was invited to introduce the reform measures of the editorial review system and the operation of the new editorial review system at the "National Social Science Fund-funded Academic Journals Work Conference and Journal High-quality Development Seminar" sponsored by the National Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences, which was fully affirmed by all participants. Since the official operation of the new editorial system, it has received wide attention and praise from all walks of life such as academia.
First, we spoke highly of the leading role of the new editorial and review system in operating under the sun. Chen Binkai, assistant to the president of the Central University of Finance and Economics, dean and professor of the School of Economics, wrote in the letter: "The latest work management regulations of the editorial department of Management World have published the review process in detail, which has opened up a precedent for domestic journals, which is conducive to promoting the standardization of journal review and ensuring that every manuscript is treated openly, fairly and justly. This regulation puts forward higher requirements for editorial work, and plays an important leading role in purifying the atmosphere of the academic community and promoting academic innovation. Lv Bingyang, a professor at the School of Finance and Finance of Renmin University of Chinese, believes that "academic journals are the public instruments of the world and a platform for building China's independent knowledge system." The 2024 edition of the "Regulations on the Management of the Review Work of the Editorial Department of the Management World Magazine" issued by the Management World Magazine implements the whole process management of 'three reviews, three proofreadings and one reading', and its system is rigorous, pragmatic and perfect, giving full play to the leading role of top journals in creating a clean and positive academic environment. It not only establishes a 'physical firewall' to ensure academic fairness, but also provides an 'academic highway' for the academic progress of China's economic management. Huang Zhenming, a doctoral student at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University, wrote in a message: "The management regulations play a good exemplary role in major journals, and can achieve effective guidance in the process of creating a clean and upright academic journal review ecology, so that scholars and practitioners can have 'numbers' in their hearts when submitting papers, editors can have 'cautions' in their hearts when their work is carried out, review experts can have 'scales' in their hearts when reviewing manuscripts, and readers can have 'spectrum' in their hearts when reading." ”
The second is to fully affirm the reform goal of the new editorial and examination system to restrain "soft power". Zhang Penglong, an associate professor at Tsinghua University's School of Public Policy and Management, emphasized, "Such a system design will not only help monitor, prevent and resolve all kinds of potential ideological risks and integrity and favoritism, but also help strengthen the recording and archiving management of the whole process of editing and reviewing, so that the traces of the whole process of editing and reviewing can be traced, so that every link of each article can be traced, and the publication of each article can stand the test of 'looking back'." These regulations help to maintain academic ethics and promote the healthy development of the academic community. Zhao Zhirong, dean and professor of the School of Public Administration of Zhejiang University, said, "Management World is a journal sponsored by the Development Research Center of the State Council, which has a strong influence in the field of social sciences in China. Li Ming, dean and professor of the School of Government and Management of the University of International Business and Economics, said in the letter, "The new editorial review system adheres to the principle of all-round, full-process and full-coverage, refines and clarifies the specific links of manuscript processing and the responsibilities of relevant personnel, and actively responds to the concerns of the academic community, which is of great help to ensure the quality of manuscripts and comprehensively enhance the reputation of the journal." ”
Third, they unanimously appreciated the design of the "two guarantees" of the new editorial and examination system.
Liu Xiaolei, deputy director of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Peking University and professor at Guanghua School of Management, emphasized, "The complete cancellation of conference manuscripts, recommended manuscripts and invited manuscripts demonstrates the journal's firm commitment to academic fairness. This reform helps to eliminate potential conflicts of interest and ensures that all manuscripts are reviewed based on their academic merit and research quality. This not only enhances the academic reputation of the journal, but also provides a platform for the academic community to compete on a level playing field. Wang Ge, an associate professor at the School of Public Administration of Chongqing University, said in a letter: "The papers are all processed in the system from the preliminary review, external review to the final review, and I have realized the high standards and strict requirements of the editorial department of Management World for the quality of manuscripts." The fair and impartial manuscript processing process has strengthened the determination and confidence of our young scholars to take root in China's management practice and write high-level papers on the land of the motherland. Yi Xinlin, a doctoral student at the School of Management of Guangzhou University, wrote in a letter, "The collection of manuscripts ensures the quality of the manuscript through the link of preliminary screening and voting, the back-to-back review mechanism of the preliminary review improves the affirmation, revision and rejection of the manuscript, the two-way anonymous review system of the external review effectively prevents the cooperative relationship of interest and so on, and the collective review and scoring decision-making mechanism implemented by the final review strictly checks the quality of the manuscript from the aspects of ideology, academic norms, policy and ideology, which not only ensures the high-quality publication of the manuscript." It also guarantees the high standard of Management World as a top journal. ”
Fourth, we should actively agree with the orientation of the new editorial and review system to guide the development of research services. Zhu Xinkai, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, executive vice president and professor of Chinese Renmin University, said, "What is particularly commendable is that the review system also emphasizes academic research to serve the overall development of the country, which reflects the journal's sense of social responsibility and mission." By paying attention to major national practical issues, journals can guide the direction of academic research and promote the transformation and application of academic achievements. Xie Shenxiang, vice president of Shandong University of Finance and Economics, said, "I deeply feel the leadership of the editorial department on academics. The topic selection system launched by the editorial department can well guide the economic and management scientific research workers to grasp the academic frontier, pay attention to major practical problems in the field of economic management, and guide academic research to take root in the land of China. Ni Hongfu, executive dean and professor of the School of Applied Economics of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that "the final check of industry experts increased in the final review process is conducive to improving the policy reference, pertinence and operability of the paper. At the same time, it avoids some inappropriate understandings of national policies in the article and avoids some problems that are out of touch with reality, which greatly improves the quality of the article. Zhu Jigao, a professor at the International Business School of the University of International Business and Economics, believes that "the opinions of experts on the policy and ideology of the paper in the final review process are very helpful to the improvement of the quality of the paper." Since most of the authors of the papers come from universities, it is difficult to grasp how the research conclusions of the papers will be 'implemented'. The revisions put forward by the final reviewers from the perspective of policy formulation can help the paper better serve the national policy formulation and further improve the ideology and readability of the paper. ”
Fifth, it is generally reflected that the new editing and review system has significantly improved the efficiency of manuscript editing and review. Li Xiaoguang, an associate professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University, said in a letter, "This is the fastest review, the most transparent process, and the most professional publication experience I have ever experienced. As a young teacher, being able to publish high-quality manuscripts in top journals is essential for one's academic growth. I submitted the manuscript in September 2023 and received the first round of review comments in mid-November, which was very professional and constructive, so it took more than a month to revise the manuscript; After submitting the revised draft, the second round of comments was received in early January, and after the minor repair was completed, it was hired at the end of February, proofread in early March, and published in early April. Shi Yaya, a young teacher at the School of Accounting of Shandong University of Finance and Economics, said in the letter, "I am extremely surprised by the speed of the review of Management World. In the process of submission, both the teachers of the editorial department and the external reviewers showed extremely high work efficiency. The review cycle of external reviewers is basically maintained at about two weeks, and the editors can often give us feedback on the same day or the next day after receiving comments. This efficient communication not only greatly stimulates our enthusiasm and enthusiasm for revising the article, but also helps our research results to be presented to readers earlier, avoiding the duplication of academic topics that may be caused by the long review cycle. Ma Chao, an associate professor at the School of Economics and Management of Southeast University, praised in his letter: "I have also participated in the review of several manuscripts recently, and I feel that the communication efficiency with the editorial department has been greatly improved, and the review process is smooth, fast and effective every time. ”
At the same time, the new editorial review system has been positively recognized by peers in journals. On the one hand, journal peers recognized the scientific and leading design of the new editorial review system. "Your journal is the first journal in the domestic economic management journal to publish the editorial review process without reservation, and the new system of your journal has truly fulfilled the commitment of 'judging heroes by article quality'. Wang Yanmei, director of the editorial department and editor of China Industrial Economics, said in the letter, "The editorial review system of "Management World" eliminates the living space of 'human manuscripts' from the process, which not only sets an example for the domestic academic community to be a clean and upright journal, but also actually protects the editorial department of the journal, so that editors can return to their 'original intention' without interference in the selection and review of manuscripts." Li Jianping, editor-in-chief and professor of China Management Science and Management Review, said, "As far as I know, the entire review process of Management World is very formal and rigorous, and there should be a lot of experience for other editorial departments to learn from." For example, multiple rounds of organizational review meetings and a strict and accurate external review system. I was particularly impressed by the precise selection of external reviewers (what I have learned is that the opinions on the review of papers are not only sharp, but also very detailed), which not only ensure the quality of the published papers, but also provide good learning opportunities for the authors of each rejected paper, which has well enhanced the reputation of the journal. In addition, the editorial department is also a conscientious and responsible collective, and from the relevant journal exchanges and some author feedback, there is a high recognition of the openness and fairness of the editorial department and the serious and responsible attitude of the authors. The editor-in-chief of a journal believes that "the introduction of the 2024 edition of the Regulations on the Management of the Review Work of the Editorial Department of the Management World Magazine is an innovative reform to scientifically standardize the running of the journal, and the implementation of the empowerment scoring system for all members of the editorial department in the preliminary and final review links of the editorial department avoids the possibility of a certain person in the editorial department manipulating and controlling the manuscript to a certain extent, and avoids the 'human manuscript' and 'relationship manuscript' from the system, which is not only conducive to improving the quality of published papers, but also conducive to the formation of a fair, just, and upright academic atmosphere. It's worth learning from! ”
On the other hand, journal peers expressed their desire to create a community of academic journals with a clean and upright atmosphere. The editorial office of Journal of Financial Economics said, "We are willing to work with your journal to contribute to the purification of the academic ecology." On the basis of learning from the new regulations of your journal, we will also explore the editorial and review regulations of 'fairness, integrity, transparency and efficiency' in light of the actual situation, and keep the 'soft power' of publishing in the cage of the system. At the same time, we are also willing to work with your journal to face up to the mission of academic research to serve the overall situation of the country, so that research can be more practical and useful. The editorial offices of "Journal of Public Finance", "Economic Science", "Economic Dynamics", "Nankai Economic Research", "International Financial Research", "Journal of Nankai University", "Economic Theory and Economic Management", and "Financial Research" also expressed their willingness to strengthen exchanges and discussions with Management World in terms of system construction, journal development, and major topic selection, so as to jointly make greater contributions to the development of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, the construction of China's independent knowledge system, and the prosperity of academic research.
In addition, the new editorial review system has been affirmed and encouraged by the experts of the final review.
On the one hand, the final reviewers agreed that the new editorial review system has consolidated the status of academic journals. Mao Youfeng, a final review expert, former member of the party group and deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, wrote in his reply: "Over the past year, Management World has strengthened the construction of institutional norms, optimized the manuscript editing and review process, strengthened risk monitoring and prevention, improved the internal management level and the sense of responsibility of external reviewers, restrained the 'soft power', ensured the objectivity, fairness and justice of all links such as receipt, preliminary review, external review and final review, further optimized the structure of the publication, continuously improved the quality and social influence of the journal, and better served the main responsibility and main business of the center." Feng Kai, a final review expert, general counsel of Shanghai Urban Construction (Group) Co., Ltd., general manager of the risk management department of Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co., Ltd., and senior economist, said, "The standardization of the editorial review work of Management World is indeed at the forefront of the journal field, and it is also the best support and respect for the authors and editorial participants. It is our duty and responsibility to perform the review work in accordance with the norms and regulations. In his reply, Professor Ba Shusong, executive dean and executive dean of Peking University's HSBC Wealth Management Institute, said, "The system is very complete and strict, which is the core and foundation for Management World to maintain a strong influence and indisputable academic status in the fierce competition, and I am happy to participate in it." In his reply, the final review expert and deputy director of an internal agency of the State Council Office said, "Management World has always been the top academic journal, and the bottom is a strict system, and it has been consistently implemented and continuously improved." ”
On the other hand, the final review experts strongly support the new editorial review system's measures to improve the value of the publication policy. The second-level inspector of the Business Department of the State Council's think tank directly under the State Council said, "It is the work function of my unit to provide policy advice and advisory opinions for the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and participating in the final review of your journal is also a rare learning opportunity for me to improve my professional level." Liu Junsheng, a final review expert and director and researcher of the Salary Research Office of the Chinese Academy of Labor and Social Security, said in his reply, "I am willing to contribute to the reform and development of your journal to become a world-class top media of management with Chinese characteristics, and help your journal tell Chinese stories well, provide Chinese solutions, and spread Chinese voices." In just half a year, the final review expert database has accumulated nearly 150 experts from more than 20 ministries and commissions. The new editorial review system of the Management World Magazine has been strongly supported and recognized by various ministries and commissions and their subordinate policy research units when they are unable to pay reviewers.
"Only enterprising, so the day is new". Since the official operation of the new editorial and review system of "Management World", the whole process of editing and reviewing has been running smoothly, the division of labor and responsibilities of each link are clear, the editing and reviewing information has achieved effective "physical hard isolation", and the integrity risk supervision and prevention mechanism covering the whole process of editing and reviewing has been established, and the work efficiency of all aspects of editing and reviewing has been continuously improved. However, the reform of the system has goals and is endless, and comprehensively deepening the reform of the editorial and examination system is always on the road, making every effort to create a clean and positive academic environment is always on the road, and wholeheartedly guiding academic research to serve the overall development of the country is always on the road.
This year, Management World Magazine has formally established the "double benchmark" development goals of "leading academic research to serve the overall development of the country" and "taking system construction as the starting point to create a clean and upright academic research environment". First, "Management World" will take better serving the main responsibilities and main business of the Development Research Center of the State Council as its primary task, and will make every effort to lead academic research to serve the overall development of the country by accelerating the construction of a team of specially invited experts of "university scholars serving the overall development of the country", continuously improving the topic selection system, and conscientiously compiling the "Management World Research Reference", so as to promote the high-quality integrated development of academic research and policy research, and lay a solid foundation for the Development Research Center of the State Council to absorb external research forces to carry out various forms of cooperative research. Second, "Management World" will closely focus on the requirements of "strengthening the institutional constraints of 'soft power'", continue to improve the breadth and depth of the sunny operation of the new system of editing and reviewing, take the initiative to accept internal and external supervision, ensure that high-level manuscripts are selected in the context of sunshine, transparency, fairness and justice, actively play the innovative and leading role of first-class academic journals in system construction and academic prosperity, and walk the first phalanx of academic journals with the spirit of self-revolution with the blade inward, and make every effort to create a clean and upright academic research environment.
(The author is the editor-in-chief of Management World Magazine)