Hi Oshin,

It is always difficult to publish a conceptual paper, since there is not a generic structure as in example casestudy research. What I normally do is to identify the journal in which I would like to publish my future paper, and then see the existing conceptual papers in here for structure, length, building arguments, etc. This has worked for me... Also, there are some great references that are always good to use such as Whettens 1989 article ”what constitutes a theoretical contribution”..

Dr-Muhammad Asadullah thank you for your inputs.

Oshin, your question is not an uncommon one as these types of papers may sometimes prove rather challenging to publish especially in highly reputable journals. You may wish to map/match your paper's main focus and its research orientation and key question(s) with the target journal. In this way you heighten the chance of publication. There are lots of possibilities for doing so in the Chartered Association of Business Schools journal guide. Good luck.

First, check the specific scope of the journal. Then, in your paper, highlight a practical problem and propose a practical solution to that. You can check my theoretical paper as an example. Article Entrepreneurship development and pedagogical gaps in entrepr...

Tayyab Amjad John Mendy thank you for your valuable inputs.

Your paper can't be rejected due to the upload you did on the submission portal. But you better choose the type of journal (in terms of scope) that fit to your manuscript. Moreover, publishing a conceptual framework is not easy that different tasks could be preferred. My suggestion to you here is check if the gap you identified was strong enough for publication. And don't forget to choose journals that fits to the area of your manuscript. Good luck

Amare Abawa Thank You

There are some journals that are interested for conceptual papers than empirical findings. For example, Journal of Management Inquiry. You need to identify some journals like this from your research area. The other journals are also have an option to publish research notes or essays.

Dear Oshin:

What happened to you is not strange. As far as I know journals have a line of thinking where they focus and where the papers that are published aim. Perhaps what they are telling you is that what you send does not have that focus. I suggest you two paths: a) ask them why the paper does not fit and b)follow the bibliography you used for your paper and see where it was published, there you may find where to send yours.

Hope it helps

Regards

Gustavo Concari

Start by contacting an editor of the target journal and pitch the idea...or simultaneously pitch the outlines of the idea to a few editors and get a go ahead....conceptual papers are hard to publish because it is more difficult to use them to make an incremental contribution to knowledge in a field...but if you succeed, it has a huge payback in citations...

I agree with all the previous recommendations. I am a Doctoral Student and I also find it really hard to get published. This is my advice: first of all you have to make sure your paper makes a significant contribution (and make it clear). Another key point is to find ¨the right¨Journal for your paper in terms of ¨aims and scope¨. Otherwise your paper would be rejected at first look. This takes all of time and research but it worths it. Something useful: look up for calls for special issues so as to be sure your paper fits the topic addressed. Good luck!

Thank You Maria Dolores Dupleix

First of all, scholars have recently started using the term conceptual framework to refer to the blueprint for a particular study (e.g., Ravitch & Riggan, 2016; Rocco & Plakhotnik, 2009). Used this way, the term reflects the process and components of introducing the problem, covering the relevant literature, proposing methods, and perhaps explicating a particular theory to scaffold the study. From this perspective, the conceptual framework serves to logically link the various components of the research design (Sitko, 2013).

https://methods.sagepub.com/book/understanding-and-evaluating-research/i3648.xml

10.1177/1059601115576425

Read this: you have to write an abstract and find a publisher (Copy paste your abstract under given link )

https://journalsuggester.springer.com/

and submit your article :and wait for decision (Simple)

Thank You Muhammad Imran Majeed

My advice is that conceptual papers are not the kind of papers a beginner should focus on writing. To write a conceptual article, you must have researched and published so much on the topic or subject to provide you with expert opinion. I had the same problem when I tried to write conceptual papers just after defending my PhD in 2013 and received several rejections from editors. After 4 years of researching and doing qualitative and quantitative focused research, I have gone back to writing conceptual papers. I have 2 papers accepted since last year, one by International Journal of Organisational Analysis (ABS 1*) and another by Politics and Policy (ABS 3*). Currently, I have 2 more under review. Hence, after 5 years of engaging in the conventional research, I have gained knowledge and expertise to write conceptual papers.

My Advise to young researchers is focus on the conventional research methods (qualitative and quantitative) and learn from the process to graduate to writing conceptual papers. I hope this helps.

Rejection of an article by a journal is a normal thing in academia. I think heeding to the many suggestions will help you find a solution to your problem. However, it's only fair for journal editors to endeavor and explain in detail, the specific grounds upon which one's paper was rejected. The practice of leaving the reasons open often provoke speculations.

I suggest you take your time to consider the options available to you and the paper will eventually find a publication outlet.

All the best

Dear Oshin,

Sorry the the two time rejection experience. My take is that you submitted the topic which was not in the journals' list of priority areas.

Thank You Kiprotich Kiptum Michael A. Cretacci for your valuable inputs.

Conceptual papers need a thorough study of about 200 papers in your domain.After which the conceptual framework is made.Also the same model should not have been made previously by any researcher.you could check a conceptual paper on Sustainable consumption on my page

You may check different publication types in journals. In my field (applied linguistics), we have full-length research article, brief research report (or short communication). Basically a brief research report focuses more on (1) conceptual discussion; (2) synthesized review of a research issue; (3) preliminary results of a study (which can be considered a part of a large complete study). Hope journals in your field also have diverse publication types.

Thank You all for your valuable inputs Jaspreet Kaur Ge Lan Hermann Gruenwald

Article Designing conceptual articles: four approaches

Another very good source for clarity on Conceptual Articles is "Writing the Conceptual Article: A Practical Guide" https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2021.2009353?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Dear respected scholars

I am also one who is trying to prepare a concept paper for my proposed phd research. Can I get some clarification on how many papers should have been published before I can ‘legitimately’ produce a concept paper? Must it be on the specific area or broad area suffice? Many thanks in advance.

Thank you Sandeep Vij for the materials sharing. Much appreciate.

Add me as your co-author. I'll check and upgrade your your paper.

Respected Researchers..

I am also planning to write a conceptual research paper.

Kindly mail me your published articles as a reference.

Email Id: [email protected]

Thanks a lot

Dear colleagues from RG:

As a reviewer, I have passed through more than 1000 submired articles to more than 100 journals. Conceptual papers attract very little attention from editors, editorial board, and audience. The main reason is lack of reliability on the findings, which should be provided only by an empirical stage of the study. Even ifthe concepts arise from meticulous and valuable studies, their reliability and valudity should be granted by some kind of empirical evidence. Therefore, my advise is always plan an empirical validation of the conclusions with a case study, a focus group with recognized experts, a lab experiment, a simulation, or any other empirical source of evidence. Nonetheless, if the study does not encompasses an empirical stage, it should be presented as an essay. Many journals accept them. Good luck.