Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Arado Business Journal (ABJ) welcomes original, unpublished research that contributes to the advancement of business administration, management sciences, and organizational development, with particular relevance to the Arab world. Authors are required to follow the guidelines below carefully; manuscripts that do not comply may be returned without review.

1. Manuscript Structure

All submissions must include the following components. Manuscripts may be submitted in Arabic or English; bilingual abstracts (Arabic and English) are mandatory regardless of the language of the main text.

A. Title Page (separate file)

  • Title: concise, informative, in both Arabic and English (Sakkal Majalla 18pt, bold for Arabic; Times New Roman 14pt, bold for English).
  • Author(s): full names, institutional affiliations, country, email address, and a valid ORCID iD (mandatory for all authors).
  • Corresponding author: clearly identified, with full contact details.
  • Author Contributions: stated in accordance with the CRediT taxonomy.
  • Conflict of Interest Statement.
  • Funding Statement (including grant numbers, if any).
  • Acknowledgements (optional).

B. Anonymized Manuscript

The main manuscript file must be fully anonymized to support double-blind peer review. All identifying information (author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, funding details, self-citations that reveal identity) must be removed or replaced with neutral terms (e.g., "[Author]").

C. Abstract and Keywords

  • Length: 200–250 words.
  • Structure: Purpose / Objectives, Methodology, Findings, Originality / Contribution.
  • Keywords: 5–6 keywords aligned with established subject taxonomies (e.g., JEL classification, EconLit, or relevant business research thesauri).
  • Bilingual abstract (Arabic and English) is mandatory.

D. Main Text

The main text should follow the standard scholarly structure:

  1. Introduction: clear statement of the research problem, objectives, research questions, and theoretical/practical significance.
  2. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework: critical synthesis of prior work, identification of research gaps, and articulation of the theoretical framework or hypotheses.
  3. Methodology:
    • For empirical studies: research design, population and sample, sampling procedure, data sources, measurement instruments (with reliability and validity evidence), data collection procedures, and analytical techniques (e.g., regression analysis, SEM, thematic analysis).
    • For theoretical or conceptual papers: justification of the analytical framework, propositions, and reasoning approach.
    • For studies involving human participants: a statement of ethical approval (IRB or institutional ethics committee) and informed consent.
    • Use of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) for data analysis, drafting, or coding must be disclosed in the Methodology, including tool name, version, and purpose. Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
  4. Results / Findings: clearly presented, with interpretive captions for tables and figures (not raw data dumps).
  5. Discussion: interpretation of findings in light of existing literature, with explicit attention to implications for the Arab business and administrative context.
  6. Conclusion, Implications, and Recommendations: theoretical contributions, managerial/policy implications, limitations, and avenues for future research.
  7. Data Availability Statement: mandatory for all empirical articles; see the journal's Data Availability Policy.
  8. References: APA 7th edition.

E. References

  • References must follow APA 7th edition for both in-text citations and the reference list.
  • A minimum of 25 references is recommended for empirical and theoretical articles.
  • References should be recent and relevant; authors are encouraged to cite peer-reviewed sources from credible academic databases.
  • All references cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and vice versa.
  • DOIs should be included for all references where available.
  • Authors are encouraged to use reference management software (e.g., Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) to ensure formatting accuracy.

2. Formatting Requirements

Item

Specification

Length

6,000–10,000 words including references and appendices (approximately 25 pages).

Font (Arabic)

Sakkal Majalla 14pt for body text; 18pt bold for the title; 16pt for headings.

Font (English)

Times New Roman 12pt for body text; 14pt bold for the title; 12pt bold for headings.

Line spacing

1.15 for body text; single spacing for tables, figure captions, and references.

Margins

Top: 4.3 cm; Bottom: 3.2 cm; Left and Right: 2.5 cm.

Tables and Figures

Editable formats (Word/Excel for tables; .eps, .tiff, or high-resolution .png for figures); numbered sequentially with concise interpretive captions.

In-text citations

APA 7th edition format, e.g., (Al-Farsi, 2023, p. 12).

File format

Microsoft Word (.docx) or compatible.

3. Ethical and Integrity Requirements

  • Originality: the similarity index must not exceed 20% (Turnitin), excluding references and direct quotations. See the journal's Plagiarism Policy.
  • Authorship: all listed authors must have made a substantial intellectual contribution to the work, in accordance with the CRediT taxonomy.
  • Conflict of Interest: all authors must declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest. See the Conflict of Interest Policy.
  • Ethical Approval: studies involving human participants must include the IRB approval number and a statement of informed consent.
  • Data Transparency: a Data Availability Statement is mandatory; deposition of data in trusted repositories (e.g., Figshare, Zenodo, Mendeley Data, OSF) is encouraged. See the Data Availability Policy.
  • Use of Generative AI: any use of AI tools must be transparently disclosed in the Methodology section.
  • Prior Dissemination: any prior dissemination of the work (preprints, conference papers, theses) must be disclosed at submission.

4. Submission Process

  1. Register or log in via the journal's OJS portal.
  2. Upload the following files:
    • Title Page (separate file with all author information).
    • Anonymized Main Manuscript.
    • Cover Letter explaining the contribution and relevance of the manuscript to the journal's scope.
    • Signed Author Declaration / Copyright Form (CC-BY-NC 4.0).
    • Supplementary materials (datasets, codebooks, questionnaires) where applicable.
  3. The corresponding author will receive an automated acknowledgement of receipt within 48 hours.

5. Article Processing Charges (APC)

ABJ does not charge any submission fees. The journal currently operates without Article Processing Charges (APCs); all costs are covered by the publisher (ARADO). Should this policy change in the future, authors will be notified in advance and a transparent fee schedule with waiver eligibility will be published on the journal's website.

6. Peer Review and Decision Timeline

  • All manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review by at least two independent reviewers.
  • The expected review timeframe is 30–45 days from assignment to reviewers.
  • The total time from submission to first decision typically ranges from 8 to 12 weeks, depending on the complexity of the manuscript and reviewer availability.

7. Post-Acceptance

  • Accepted manuscripts are assigned a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) upon publication.
  • Articles are published under the CC-BY-NC 4.0 license; authors retain copyright.
  • Articles are archived through the publisher's digital preservation system and indexed in databases where the journal is listed.
  • Authors are encouraged to share the published version of their article through their own institutional repositories, ORCID profiles, and academic networks (e.g., ResearchGate, Academia.edu) in compliance with the CC-BY-NC license.

Last Updated: February 2026