Preface

Journal of Business Logistics, 1998 by Closs, David J

The new volume of the Journal of Business Logistics brings some exciting news and changes. The first is news that I received in mid-December. The Journal of Business Logistics had been awarded the Anbar Golden Page Award for Originality involving the topics of Operations and Production. The award is made by Anbar Electronic Intelligence, Europe's leading on-line abstract publisher, to identify the leading journals across a broad range of management topics. The award is designed to highlight excellence in the categories of Research Implications, Practical Implications, Originality and Readability. Other journals cited in the Originality category include the Journal of Finance, International Marketing Review, Journal of Small Business Management and Interfaces. Other journals acknowledged for Operations and Production topics include Management Science (Research Implications), Business Change & Re-engineering (Practical Implications), and International Journal of Project Management (Readability). Other related journals receiving awards include the Academy of Management Review and Journal of Marketing. The judgement of leading business schools, consultants and management experts worldwide was utilized to assess the journals that should be included in the process based on the quality of individual articles. The forty-four awards (one each for eleven topics and four categories) were given to journals selected from a listing of some four hundred journals that comprise the accredited list from which Anbar draws its abstracts. In the press announcement, Mathew Wills, Vice President of Anbar Electronic Intelligence noted that "Previously, the only listings produced on magazines have relied upon borrowing statistics and citation indices; never before have articles been subject to such detailed analysis of their quality. The results have produced an industry leading independent source to flag the very best and therein to highlight particular areas of excellence. Now readers, researchers, authors, and librarians will have a credible and recognizable standard to identify quality." The Council, Editorial Review Board, past and present editors and Journal authors should be very proud to be included in the company of the journals cited above.

The second change is the addition of a Reviewers acknowledgements page for the front matter for the Journal. A cadre of capable and conscientious reviewers is critical to maintain the rigor and relevance of any journal. The Journal of Business Logistics has been fortunate over the years to have a great group of Editorial Review Board members who reflect a balance between the practice and theory of logistics. The Board is well represented by practitioners, consultants, service providers and academics. To take advantage of this wide range of perspectives and to maintain the Journal 's rigor and relevance, it is the general practice of the editors to have all manuscripts reviewed by individuals from a mix of backgrounds. Some are selected to determine the relevance of the material while others are asked to evaluate the methodology. While a formal blind review process is important to help authors improve their manuscripts, it is also very useful for developing future managers and researchers through their review activities. Ongoing involvement in the review process with its critical assessments and ongoing refinements from multiple individuals helps reviewers develop their critical thinking and communication skills as well as keeping up to date on the latest concepts and ideas for the discipline. The Journal has often used adhoc reviewers in this mode to provide critical expertise and to develop the skills of other interested individuals. To publicly recognize the contributions of these individuals and to encourage the involvement of more individuals for the future, the Journal will list the names and affiliations of individuals that regularly review. I welcome the interest and participation of Council members, both practitioners and researchers, who might be interested in becoming reviewers.

The third change is the addition of the Strategic Visioning Series. The Michigan State Proposal for the Editorship of the Journal of Business Logistics included the concept of series of articles developed by acknowledged visionaries in the field to highlight trends and discuss challenges and opportunities. In general, potential authors will be drawn from the recipients of the Council's Distinguished Service Award although they will not be limited to that group. It is felt that this group has demonstrated their capability and credibility through their previous successes. Dr. Donald Bowersox has agreed to be the Strategic Visioning Editor. Don will solicit potential authors and work with them to develop articles that are both informative and thought provoking. While these "visions" will not be designed to be controversial, it is hoped that they will generate some comment and feedback. Don has outlined his vision of the challenges for the discipline in this edition's lead article. Don will welcome feedback and incorporate appropriate comments into follow-up material. The Journal is looking specifically for comments and insight from practitioners among the readership.