Call for Special Issue Proposals (2027-2028)
Benchmarking: An International Journal (BIJ) invites proposals for Special Issues to be published in 2027 and 2028. The journal will select at least two and up to three Special Issues per year through a competitive selection process.
BIJ is an international, peer-reviewed journal published by Emerald that advances understanding and application of benchmarking, performance metrics, best practices, and performance improvement approaches to enhance business processes and organizational performance. The journal welcomes contributions in operations management, productivity, performance evaluation, benchmarking, and related areas that support decision-making and continuous improvement in organizations.
Priority Themes
While proposals on all high-quality topics aligned with BIJ’s aims and scope are welcome, the journal particularly encourages Special Issue proposals addressing themes such as:
- Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation and Performance Benchmarking
- Performance Metrics, Measurement Systems and Comparative Performance Evaluation
- Benchmarking Best Practices for Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence
- Cross-Firm and Cross-Sector Benchmarking for Decision-Making
- Benchmarking in Operations, Supply Chain and Business Process Performance
- Digital Maturity, ICT Adoption and Data-Driven Performance Improvement.
Interdisciplinary, methodologically rigorous and practice-relevant proposals are especially encouraged, provided they make a clear contribution to benchmarking, performance improvement, operations management and/or organizational performance.
Process
BIJ invites Special Issue proposals for issues scheduled for publication in 2027–2028. The selection process is competitive. All proposals that meet the basic requirements will be evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief and the publisher.
If a proposal is successful, a revision process will follow to shape the final Call for Papers and ensure strong alignment with BIJ’s aims, scope and quality expectations.
Key Dates
Proposal submission deadline: 30 September 2026
Decision communicated by: 30 October 2026
Submission Format and Procedure
All proposals must be submitted using the official BIJ Special Issue Proposal Form, available by emailing the Commissioning Editor, [email protected].
The completed form must be sent as a single Word or PDF file by email to: [email protected].
Proposals submitted in any other format may not be considered.
Editorial Introduction
The Special Issue editorial team will be invited to write an editorial introduction that synthesizes and contextualizes the accepted articles and develops integrative insights for benchmarking research and practice. This editorial should not be a stand-alone conceptual article, but rather a contribution that connects the papers in the Special Issue and highlights their collective relevance for benchmarking, performance improvement, decision-making and organizational excellence.
Target Size of the Special Issue
Each Special Issue should aim to publish a focused set of high-quality articles. Most contributions should normally be empirical, although conceptual, methodological and review articles may also be considered where they offer a clear and rigorous contribution to benchmarking, performance metrics, best practices, operations management or organizational performance.
Audience Orientation
BIJ Special Issues are oriented toward researchers, practitioners and policymakers interested in achieving world-class performance through benchmarking, performance measurement, best-practice implementation, operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Prof. Pedro Soto-Acosta
Editor-in-Chief
Benchmarking: An International Journal
Emerald Publishing