Author Information Package

Aims and Scope

The Journal of Circular Economy publishes rigorous, action-oriented research that advances scholarly understanding of circular economy transitions while offering meaningful implications for policy and practice. The points below outline what we value in submissions and what typically characterises strong manuscripts received by the journal.

Positioning and contribution

Strong submissions clearly situate their argument, framework, or findings in relation to existing research and make the paper’s contribution explicit. This includes positioning the paper within relevant scholarly debates on circular economy and related fields and clarifying what is added by the paper beyond what is already established in the literature.

Conceptual clarity and definitions

Given the diversity of perspectives and disciplines engaged in circular economy research, we value conceptual precision. Authors are encouraged to define key terms and concepts as they are used in the paper and to clarify how these definitions relate to existing uses in the literature. Clear definitions support cumulative knowledge-building and help readers from different backgrounds engage with the argument.

Action-oriented implications

The journal seeks contributions that connect scholarly insight with real-world relevance. We therefore value papers that articulate implications for policy, business, or practice and explain how the argument or findings can inform concrete circular economy strategies or interventions.

Visual summary of the core contribution (encouraged)

We encourage authors to include one clear visual (e.g., a conceptual framework, model, or summary figure) that communicates the paper’s central contribution at a glance. This can support accessibility for readers across disciplinary and practitioner communities.

The concept of circular economy pertains to the efforts of limiting the use of virgin materials. This includes but is not limited to activities which reduce, reuse and recycle resources and is therefore a crucial tool to increase the sustainability of the economy, improve the quality of life of people, and reduce the environmental consequences of human-related activities.

Any disciplinary approach is welcome. Any methodological approach is welcome.

Publication Formats

Articles published in JoCE aim to be particularly succinct to reach both academic and practical audiences. Accordingly, we encourage that articles do not exceed 6,000 words; however, we welcome longer submissions when the depth or complexity of the topic requires it, leaving the final decision to the handling editor. JoCE aims to include implications for circular economy practice in all published manuscrips.

Article Types

The journal publishes three main types of contributions. Authors are encouraged to select the format that best fits the purpose of their manuscript.

Research Articles

Research articles present original scholarly work. They may be empirical, theoretical, or conceptual in nature, but should:

• engage with relevant academic debates,
• make a clear scholarly contribution, and
• advance understanding of circular economy transitions.

Review Articles

Review articles synthesise and critically assess existing research. They aim to:

• provide structured overviews of a body of literature,
• identify patterns, gaps, or tensions in existing work, and
• offer directions for future research.

Perspectives

Perspectives are shorter contributions intended to advance discussion or open new lines of inquiry within circular economy research. They typically:

• engage with relevant scholarly debates,
• articulate a clearly focused idea, argument, or conceptual provocation, and
• offer a perspective that is intended to stimulate further discussion or reflection within the research community.

Perspectives may be more essayistic in style than research articles, but they are reviewed as scholarly contributions and are expected to be positioned within relevant research debates. Past examples of published perspectives can be found in our ongoing and published issues.

Any article published in the JoCE is accompanied by an abstract of approximately 150 words. Suggested structure for Research Articles and Reviews: Introduction, theoretical framing, methods, results, discussion, recommendations. There is no suggested structure for Perspective articles.

Suggested structure for Research Articles and Reviews: Introduction, theoretical framing, methods, results, discussion, recommendations. There is no suggested structure for Perspective articles.

We encourage authors to publish any original data that their article is based on alongside the article to support transparency and reproducibility.

Peer-Review

This journal aims to further innovate peer-reviewed publishing in science and thus challenge established norms in peer-reviewed publishing.

JoCE operates a double-blind peer-review process.

All contributions will be initially assessed by a member of the editorial board (handling editor) and or a guest editor. JoCE operates under the Initial Editor Direct Decision (IEDD) model. This means that the handling editor will provide an initial decision regarding the paper, indicating if the paper carries potential for publication, pending revisions, or not, in which case the manuscript is desk rejected. The handling editor may also request the manuscript be revised and resubmitted in which case the handling editor must provide feedback to the authors for them to revise.

Papers deemed promising that are within the IEDD track are sent to a minimum of one independent external expert reviewer for Perspectives and two for Research and Review articles, to assess the scientific quality of the paper. Reviewers are encouraged to submit their review within fourteen days upon receipt of the paper. We are the first academic journal, as far as we are aware, that pays an honorarium to its reviewers.

The author(s) are encouraged to consider the comments shared by reviewers. However, the authors are not mandated to incorporate all comments provided (the traditional so-called ‘Union Heuristic’ model). Rather, only comments provided by all evaluators (handling editor and reviewers) ought to be incorporated (the ‘Intersection Heuristic’ model). If at least one reviewer and the handling editor believe the paper is to be accepted for publication, the paper will be accepted.

Authors are asked to revise their paper, if possible, within fourteen days. JoCE considers iteration as central to hone the quality of academic work. Multiple rounds of review are thus possible and, in our view, also desirable.

We encourage authors to already publish their work in preprint servers such as SocArXiv during the review process with JoCE.

JoCE evaluates submitted manuscripts based on their methodological rigor and high ethical standards, regardless of perceived novelty. Accordingly, we publish works that are replication studies as well as studies that report negative and null results. Overall, the aim of JoCE is to help authors improve their manuscript so that it becomes publishable in a respected academic outlet.

Accordingly, JoCE is not a gatekeeper to publishing circular economy research, but an ally to those dedicated to circular economy scholarship and practice.

Articles are published once accepted. This also includes articles that are part of a special issue. For questions about the editorial process, please contact [email protected].

Current Indexing Status

JoCE is registered in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). JoCE is also indexed in Web of Science.

Licensing and Copyright

JoCE applies the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to all works we publish. Under this license, authors agree to make their articles legally available for reuse—without permission or fees—for virtually any purpose. Anyone may copy, distribute, or reuse articles, provided that the author and original source are properly cited.

Repository Policy

Authors may deposit the submitted, accepted, or published version of their manuscript at any time into an institutional or subject-specific repository of their choice.

Declaration of Competing Interests

All authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could be perceived to influence the content of the submitted work.

Examples include:

• Employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or patent applications
• Grants, honoraria, paid expert testimony, or advisory roles
• Institutional affiliations or collaborations relevant to the research

This declaration is required from every author, even if no competing interests exist. Authors with nothing to declare must state that they have no competing interests to declare.

Should there be any editorial conflict of interest, such as submissions involving editors, colleagues, or institutions with a close association to the journal, this must be disclosed as early as possible, ideally prior to submission. Such manuscripts will be handled independently and subject to the journal’s standard editorial and peer review procedures without exception.

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in rejection, correction, or retraction.

Advertising and Funding

JoCE does not allow advertising on its website or any other platforms. The journal is funded exclusively through volunteer work, Article Processing Charges (APCs), and institutional support from Roskilde University.

Formatting Guide

JoCE follows a flexible submission model: ‘Your Paper, Your Way’. Authors are encouraged to focus on the quality of content at the submission stage without being constrained by strict formatting rules.

Upon acceptance, authors are required to format their manuscript according to JoCE’s guidelines. A detailed Formatting guide is available at:
Formatting Information for Authors

Authors must also, upon acceptance, complete and submit the official template, available here:
JoCE Formatting Template (DOCX)

Once we have received the completed template for the accepted manuscript, a preprint version will be made available on our website. Minimal edits will be made prior to publishing the preprint and the authors will not be consulted before publishing. The preprint will be de-linked once the formatted manuscript is published. All references to the preprint should hence use the DOI to direct to the source.

Publication Fees

The Journal of Circular Economy aims to be a low-cost publisher. We continuously attempt to undercut publication fees of comparable academic journals also publishing on circular economy by at least 70%. All journal operations are funded by Article Processing Charges (APC model), as well as an unconditional grant by Roskilde University.

Our current publication charges for authors (applicable upon acceptance of an article):

– Research article: 580 EUR
– Review article: 580 EUR
– Perspective: 480 EUR

VAT note: All fees are stated net. 19% VAT applies to payments made by individuals.
For institutional payments, VAT is charged where legally required. EU institutions with a valid VAT ID are invoiced under the reverse-charge mechanism.

Discounts may be granted to students, independent scholars, and/or authors from the Global South, as well as authors from other groups typically marginalised or gatekept from academic publishing via APCs. Discounts are granted on a case-by-case basis and must be requested before or upon submission. All articles are published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

To submit a waiver request, please fill out this form ahead of manuscript submission. For waiver questions or concerns, we kindly ask you to reach out to our editorial team: [email protected]

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