Paper Submission

Submissions to the journal should be original unpublished work and should not be under review with any other journal. Papers should be submitted electronically here.

Articles can be written in British or American English, with the only requirement to be consistent throughout the manuscript. While authors can freely choose whether they prefer using the third person singular (e.g., this study/research/paper) or the pronoun “I”/“We,” they should care about consistency throughout the text and the abstract.

On the first page of the manuscript, the author(s) should provide the following information:

• Manuscript title
• Authors’ name and institutional affiliation
• Address, phone, and email address of each author
• Corresponding author
• Acknowledgements (if applicable)
• Funding (if applicable)
• Data availability statement (if applicable)
• Conflict of interest statement (if applicable)

The manuscript title (but not the authors’ names) and the abstract (of no more than 250 words) should appear on the second page of the manuscript. The abstract should be followed by three to seven keywords and up to five JEL descriptors.

Authors should avoid mentioning any information enabling the reviewers to identify them.

Compliance with the authors’ guidelines is encouraged since the first submission and throughout the publication process. In any case, the authors must comply with the following guidelines to have the manuscript accepted for publication.

General Format

Length: Between 6,000 and 10,000 words (including Tables/Figures, References, and Annexes).
Format: 12 pt, Times New Roman; margin left/right: 2.5 cm; double spacing.

Abstract

The abstract should be prepared in a structured form according to the format outlined below. The maximum length of the abstract should be 250 words.

Purpose: Explain “why” you undertook this study. If you are presenting new research, explain the problem you have solved. If you are building upon previous research, briefly explain why you felt it was important to undertake the study. This is your opportunity to let readers know why you chose to study this topic or problem and its relevance. Let them know what your fundamental argument is.

Design/methodology/approach: Explain “how” you did the research. Let readers know exactly what you did to reach your results. For instance: Did you undertake interviews? Did you experiment in the lab? What tools, methods, protocols, and datasets did you use?

Findings: Explain “what” you found with your study, whether it answers the problem you set out to explore, and whether your hypothesis was confirmed. Be clear and direct, and prefer providing exact figures rather than generalizing.

Originality/value: Make a clear case for the scientific value of your results. You can also reflect on what future research steps could be.

Practical implications (optional): Highlight the direct impact of your findings on related practices or solving a real-life problem.

Sections and sub-sections

Section and sub-section headings should be numbered.
Typically, manuscripts should be structured around the following points:

• Introduction and research objectives
• Literature review
• Hypotheses development
• Research methodology
• Findings

• Discussion and conclusion

Please consider this as an example: the author(s) should follow the structure that better suits the study conducted.

Tables and figures

Tables and figures should be as self-contained as possible. Readers should be able to substantially understand the table/figure content without referencing the text.

Please check that the text contains a reference to each table and figure. Tables and figures should appear at the end of the manuscript. Authors should indicate in the body of the text where the tables and figures should be included. Tables and figures should be numbered and have a descriptive heading.

Tables can be single-spaced. Tables and figures can be in black and white or colored. However, the printed version will be in black and white. Therefore, the authors should ensure the content is visible in that format.

Mathematical expressions

All mathematical expressions should be displayed on a separate line and centered.
Equations must be numbered consecutively on the right margin, using Arabic numerals in parentheses.

Footnotes

Use footnotes rather than endnotes. Footnotes should be used only when necessary and not in place of bibliographic references. Numbers should be inserted as superscripts.

Citations and references

Authors should refer to APA Style, 7^th Edition for in-text citations (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations) and references (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples).

Authors should double-check citations and references for completeness, accuracy, and consistency. Using software for citation management (e.g., Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) is welcomed.

Submissions should include a reference list in alphabetical order. While the first line has no indent, subsequent lines shall be indented.