Publishing and getting published in EJIS : marshaling contributions for a diversity of genres

International audienceWith this issue we conclude 2015 and are about to enter 2016, closing a quarter of a century, which has taken the European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS) out of the 20th century, in which the information systems (IS) discipline was born, to the 21st century, which promises a very different ‘beast’. This is a good time to present to you, our community of authors, editors, reviewers and readers, a current and as far as possible comprehensive view of EJIS – its mission, structure, people and processes. We have based this editorial on our own views expressed in editorials over the past 3 years, as well as earlier editorials that set out some important principles for how to conduct ourselves until this very day. Unless we hear otherwise from you, we will probably continue to do so. We therefore urge you to make your voices heard. We also hope that potential authors will benefit, especially when preparing and submitting manuscripts, although we hasten to state that the general discussion here does not come in place of detailed submission instructions.EJIS has evolved with every editorial board, adding new policies and practices, but perhaps more importantly, new perspectives and sensitivities. The past editors-in-chief who gradually established the policies on which we build here are Jonathan Liebenau, Steve Smithson, Bob O’Kefee, Ray Paul, and Richard Baskerville. The immediate past Editor-in-Chief is Frantz Rowe, the current is Dov Te’eni and the next will be Pär Ågerfalk. From time to time, they presented their views of the journal in editorials such as this, which we encourage prospective authors, editors and reviewers to consult in order to better understand our journal and its mission.We see EJIS as a catalyst and platform for critical discussion of information systems as they are built and used by individuals, groups, organizations and society. In this discussion, the organizational context, however blurred in today’s way of work and life, has traditionally been important to EJIS. In pursuing this vision of EJIS, we wish to contribute to the many dialogues that are developing through a web of interrelated journals and conferences that serve our community ().Partaking effectively in the discussion means that EJIS must continually strive towards the highest quality publications that are interesting and that have impact, in order to encourage ongoing diverse discussions in our community but also in other related academic disciplines. As we listen to scholars of other fields, we ought to be heard by them too (). And while EJIS provides a distinctive European perspective on the theory and practice of information systems, it also aims for a global audience (). Furthermore, wherever possible, we look for discussions that are relevant to practice (). To this end, in addition to first-rate research articles by academics we also encourage reflective articles by practitioners. Above all, we provide a critical view on technology, development, implementation, strategy, management and policy.Since the journal began, editorial boards of EJIS have looked to make the journal a distinct place for discussing research into meaningful problems. The themes associated with distinguishing ourselves that have come up repeatedly are relevance and impact (), as well as diversity in almost every aspect of the journal (; , ; ) and interesting reading ().In an early editorial, editors said: ‘To us, the key aspect of European research into IS is pluralism. The joy of IS is the integration of the technical, personal, organizational, strategic and societal issues that seemed to be so intertwined in any particular IS’. These words reflect our thinking too. Research that picks on one aspect to study implementation or use, and ignores others aspects, is less interesting to us because the chances are that the research will not tell a full enough story to be successful. More often than not, interesting messages rely first of all on understanding the complex relationships between aspects in a particular context. Therefore, EJIS will not generally publish papers that focus purely on technology, or interface design, or organizational design, or whatever single aspect.In terms of research methodology, EJIS has been at the forefront of pluralism. We particularly welcome innovations in methodology. In our view, relevance is a function of what is researched, and how it is written up, rather than how it is researched. The balance can be addressed by making sensible choices and ensuring that publication is timely. We wish to do everything we can to promote relevance without loss of rigor.So much for vision and content. Nevertheless, we need to put two other aspects on the table before going forward, namely the performance and the processes of EJIS.A journal lives by its reputation. By virtue of its reputation, a journal draws submissions from potential authors, and the editors and authors develop the best possible articles, which build on that reputation. We have built a reputation for an outlet of interesting, quality articles. Our goal is to do more of the same, only better. Unfortunately, rankings are also part of the game. Our immediate objectives are to continue to be the most esteemed European journal of IS and to be recognized among the top three IS journals worldwide.How successful have we been so far? The easiest measure, one that we do not necessarily like but one that has had a major impact is the 2- and 5-year Impact Factor. The 2004 Impact Factors raised EJIS from 0.897 to 1.000, and this year, we have jumped to 2.213. We have seen journal league tables that place EJIS fourth among all IS journals in the world, and first among the non-North American journals. EJIS is profitable for its owner and publisher. Since 2010 we have been publishing 720 pages a year! However, to us, the success of EJIS lies in its ability first of all to serve our community and, through the community, the practice of IT too. To this end, we are committed to improving our services and operations continuously.Drawing quality submission also depends on the journal’s operations, and mainly the speed and quality of the review system. Our main and pressing challenge is to reduce the time of the paper lifecycle. We are working hard to improve procedures and the way the electronic submission system works, and we are looking to enhance the structure and size of the editorial board. In the next sections, we describe the current way of doing things with an eye on how to learn and improve. After outlining the diversity of genres, we publish at EJIS, we will briefly explain the types of contribution we expect from each