I submitted a paper to a Scopus Q2 journal of Accounting. I checked the average time taken by the journal to reach decision before submitting the paper. 90% of the papers accepted are accepted within 7-9 months even if 6/7 revisions are done.

After I submitted the paper, it was not sent to reviewers for about 3/4 months. When the reviewers were assigned, they submitted review within a month. the Associate Editor (AE) however did not make any recommendation and send the paper back for three months. I sent 2 emails after waiting for 5/6 weeks; he never responded. I then emailed the EIC; he did not respond either.

I finally emailed the AE keeping someone from the publisher (Emerald Publishing) in the CC. The AE was notified by the publisher; AE got back to me immediately stating "3 months is not a long time. It is normal in academia to take 2 years to publish a paper". The AE forwarded reviewer comments within two days of such correspondence. The reviewers required effectively minor revision.

I submitted the revised paper one month after receiving the comments. Again this time, no reviewer was assigned for 2 months. When the paper was sent to reviewers, they reviewed within one month. Now, 2 months after the review has been completed, the AE is not forwarding reviewer comments. I emailed the AE, and the EIC. Again, they are not responding.

It has already been 14 months since I submitted the paper. Of this long time, it was held by the AE for more than 10 months. I have checked and found a writing by the AE in ResearchGate stating that he is quite engaged in some racial movement in his country. He was even in jail for some weeks.

Should I email the publisher again keeping the AE and EIC in the email cc? Actually the data used in the paper is getting outdated.