What is the same? All submissions should reflect the same rigor and relevance as a typical JBL submission.  Authors should conduct their research using the same high standards for theory and methods.  

What is different? The data must be recent (collected in 2024 or 2025 or if secondary data is used, it should be no older than 2023). And the writing should be concise (3,000 to 4,000 words) and reader friendly (academics and practitioners).  

Authors should not view this STF as a shortcut to JBL publication.

We are open to all empirical methods typically appearing in JBL.  Authors need to keep their methods descriptions tight, especially for methods that tend to have longer word counts (e.g., (longitudinal, multiple experiments, qualitative studies, multi-methods)). Regardless of method, you authors need to hit the 3,000 to 4,000 word maximum word count.

We expect that both practitioners and academics will recognize your research questions as highly relevant in the current time frame (2024–to present).  We are looking for research that helps decision-makers leverage SC systems/capabilities to create value at the pace the world is changing today.

Reviewers will be extensively guided in the process. This includes briefing them both about the general idea and the specifics of this STF.