Manuscript Template

Manuscript Template — ARADO Business Journal (ABJ)

This document defines the official structural and formatting specifications for all manuscripts submitted to ARADO Business Journal (ABJ). These specifications correspond to the journal's final published layout and ensure smooth typesetting upon acceptance. Authors are strongly advised to download the official Word template from the journal website and to adhere to the requirements below.

1. Page Setup and General Layout

Item

Specification

Page Size

17 × 24 cm (journal trim size)

Margins (all sides)

2 cm (top, bottom, left, right)

Header Distance

1.25 cm from top edge

Footer Distance

1.25 cm from bottom edge

Page Orientation

Portrait

Columns

Single column

Text Alignment

Justified (with proper hyphenation)

Line Spacing

1.2 for body text; single for tables, captions, and references

Paragraph Indent

First line indent: 0.6 cm; no extra space between paragraphs

File Format

Microsoft Word (.docx)

Length

6,000–10,000 words including references and appendices (≈ 25 typeset pages)

2. Typography

Element

English (Times New Roman / equivalent serif)

Arabic (Sakkal Majalla)

Article Title

20pt, Bold

22pt, Bold

Author Names

14pt, Bold

16pt, Bold

Author Affiliations

11pt, Regular

13pt, Regular

Abstract Heading ("Abstract")

14pt, Bold

16pt, Bold

Abstract Body

11pt, Italic

13pt, Italic

Keywords (line)

11pt, Italic — "Keywords:" in bold italic

13pt, Italic

Heading Level 1 (e.g., Introduction)

14pt, Bold

16pt, Bold

Heading Level 2

12pt, Bold Italic

14pt, Bold Italic

Heading Level 3

11pt, Bold

13pt, Bold

Body Text

11pt, Regular

13pt, Regular

Table / Figure Caption

10pt, Italic — "Table (1):" or "Figure (1):" in bold italic

12pt, Italic

Table Body

10pt, Regular

12pt, Regular

References

10pt, Hanging indent 0.6 cm

12pt, Hanging indent 0.6 cm

Footnotes (rare, discouraged)

9pt, Regular

11pt, Regular

Page Numbers

10pt, centered in footer

12pt, centered in footer

Running Header

10pt, Italic — short title (left), volume info (right)

12pt, Italic

3. Title Page (Separate File for Submission)

The title page is submitted as a separate file and must contain the following elements, in this order:

  1. Article Title in both Arabic and English (Bold, centered).
  2. Author(s): Full name(s), without academic prefixes (Dr./Prof.), centered.
  3. Author Affiliation(s): Position, department, institution, city, country, email, ORCID iD.
  4. Corresponding Author: Marked with an asterisk (*), with full contact details at the bottom.
  5. Author Contributions (per CRediT taxonomy).
  6. Conflict of Interest Statement.
  7. Funding Statement (with grant numbers if any).
  8. Acknowledgements (optional).

Example of the published title-page layout (single column):

  • Article title — 20pt bold, left-aligned, multi-line as needed.
  • Submission/acceptance/publication dates, DOI, journal URL, license — 10pt, right-aligned beside the title.
  • Author names below — 14pt bold; corresponding author flagged with (*).
  • Affiliations directly under each name — 11pt regular.

4. Anonymized Manuscript (Main File)

The main manuscript file must be fully anonymized for double-blind peer review. All author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, funding details, and self-identifying citations must be removed or replaced with "[Author]" / "[Author, Year]". The Word file properties (Author, Last Modified By) must also be cleared.

5. Body Text Structure

  1. Bilingual structured abstracts (Arabic + English), 200–250 words each, followed by 5–6 keywords. [Keywords should follow a hierarchical hybrid scheme: aligned with the Scopus subject area "Business, Management and Accounting" or, for economics-focused manuscripts, JEL classification codes (EconLit). Authors are encouraged to use terms from recognized business research thesauri (e.g., EMERALD or EBSCO Business Thesaurus).]
  2. Introduction — research problem, objectives, significance.
  3. Theoretical Framework and Literature Review — including identification of the research gap.
  4. Methodology — including ethical approval and AI-tool disclosure where applicable.
  5. Results / Findings — with interpretive captions for tables and figures.
  6. Discussion — with explicit attention to the Arab regional context.
  7. Conclusion, Implications, Limitations, and Future Research.
  8. Data Availability Statement (mandatory for empirical articles).
  9. References (APA 7th edition).
  10. Appendices (numbered: Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc.).

6. Headings, Numbering, and Lists

  • Section headings are not numbered; they use the Heading Level 1 style (14pt bold).
  • Sub-headings within a section may be numbered using a single-digit list (1, 2, 3) or letters (a, b, c) for consistency with the published style.
  • Bullet lists: use simple bullets (•) at first level, dashes (–) at second level. Avoid nesting beyond two levels.
  • Numbered lists: 1- 2- 3- (with hyphen separator) is the journal house style.

7. Tables and Figures

Element

Specification

Table Caption

Above the table — "Table (1): [Title]" — 10pt italic, with "Table (1):" in bold italic.

Table Borders

APA-style: only three horizontal rules (top, below header row, bottom). No vertical borders.

Table Header Row

Bold, centered horizontally; light shading optional.

Table Body Cells

10pt, single line spacing, left-aligned for text, centered for numbers.

Figure Caption

Below the figure — "Figure (1): [Title]" — 10pt italic, with "Figure (1):" in bold italic.

Figure Resolution

Minimum 300 dpi; vector format preferred (.eps, .svg, .pdf) for diagrams.

Editable Formats

Word/Excel for tables; .eps, .tiff, .pdf, or high-resolution .png for figures.

Accessibility

ALT text required for all figures; tables must remain readable when printed in grayscale.

Placement

Each table/figure must be cited in text before it appears (e.g., "as shown in Table 3").

8. Citations and References (APA 7th Edition)

In-text citations: Author–date format, e.g., (Al-Harbi, 2023) or (Al-Harbi, 2023, p. 12). For two authors: (North & Scott, 2014). For three or more: (Morrar et al., 2021).

Reference list:

  • Minimum of 25 recent and relevant references.
  • Hanging indent 0.6 cm; single line spacing within entries; 6pt space between entries.
  • References organized in three groups (recommended): (1) Arabic references, (2) International institutional reports, (3) Academic peer-reviewed sources.
  • DOIs must be included where available, formatted as full URLs (https://doi.org/…).
  • All in-text citations must appear in the reference list, and vice versa.
  • [Authors are encouraged to draw substantially on high-quality, peer-reviewed sources, including Scopus/Web of Science–indexed literature where available; no fixed minimum percentage is imposed, and editors assess the relevance and quality of sources case by case.]

Citation Examples (APA 7th):

Journal Article:
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change, and economic performance. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808678

Book:
Bardach, E., & Patashnik, E. M. (2023). A practical guide for policy analysis: The eightfold path to more effective problem solving (7th ed.). CQ Press.

Book Chapter:
Collier, D. (1993). The comparative method. In A. W. Finifter (Ed.), Political science: The state of the discipline II (pp. 105–119). American Political Science Association.

Journal Article with DOI:
Sarasvathy, S. D. (2001). Causation and effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 243–263. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.4378020

International Report:
World Bank. (2024). The impact of the conflict on the Palestinian economy. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/westbankandgaza/publication/impact-of-the-conflict-on-the-palestinian-economy

Conference Paper:
Khan, A. (2021). AI applications in Middle Eastern HRM. In Proceedings of the International Business Conference (pp. 112–130).

9. Header, Footer, and Citation Block

  • Even pages (left header): Short article title in italic, 10pt, with horizontal rule below.
  • Odd pages (right header): "ARADO Business Journal (ABJ) Vol. X, Issue Y, Month, Year" in regular, 10pt, with horizontal rule below.
  • Footer (all pages): Page number centered, 10pt, with horizontal rule above.
  • Citation block (first page only): Submission date, acceptance date, publication date, DOI, journal URL, and license name (CC BY 4.0) — placed at the top right of the title page, 9–10pt.

10. Use of Generative AI

Any use of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) for analysis, drafting, translation, coding, or editing must be transparently disclosed in the Methodology section, indicating the tool name, version, and specific purpose. Generative AI tools may not be listed as authors. Routine spelling/grammar correction tools do not require disclosure.

11. Submission Checklist

  • ☐ Title page (separate file) with all author information, ORCID iDs, and required statements.
  • ☐ Anonymized main manuscript with bilingual structured abstracts (Arabic + English, 200–250 words each).
  • ☐ Page setup confirmed: 17 × 24 cm, 2 cm margins on all sides.
  • ☐ Headings, fonts, and line spacing aligned with the journal template.
  • ☐ Tables and figures editable (not image-based), with captions and ALT text.
  • ☐ APA 7th edition references with DOIs where available; minimum 25 references.
  • ☐ Turnitin similarity report attached (≤ 20%).
  • ☐ Cover letter explaining the contribution and relevance of the manuscript.
  • ☐ Signed Author Declaration / Copyright form (CC BY 4.0).
  • ☐ Conflict of interest, funding, ethical approval, AI use, and data availability statements included.

Last Updated: May 2026