Author Information Package

Aims and Scope

The Journal of Circular Economy (JoCE) is an academic journal publishing articles within the field of circular economy (CE). JoCE accepts articles regardless of national origin, in English. JoCE is an interdisciplinary journal that aims to provide practical advice to businesses, policymakers, and civil society on accelerating the transition towards a more circular economy.

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.

The following types of articles are published in JoCE:

• Research article: Standard research papers of 3,500–6,000 words in length, excluding tables, illustrations, and references, in which hypotheses are tested and results reported.
• Review: Articles which summarize the state-of-the-art circular economy research in a particular sub-field. Narrative reviews, meta-syntheses and meta-analyses are considered. 4,500–6,000 words in length, excluding tables, illustrations, and references.
• Perspective: Papers in an “op-ed” style that share a particular perspective on circular economy. Usually 800–1,000 words, excluding tables, illustrations, and references.

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].

Publication Fees

JoCE 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 financed by Article Processing Charges (APC model) which vary depending on the article format.

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

• Research article: 480 EUR
• Review article: 480 EUR
• Perspective: 380 EUR

Thanks to the generous support of Roskilde University, article process charges for students, young academics, independent scholars and/or authors from the Global South as well as any other authors from groups that are typically marginalized in the academy, are waived and/or significantly reduced. Such discounts are currently provided on a case-by-case basis.

To inquire about fee reductions or waivers, please contact our editorial team at [email protected].

Current Indexing Status

JoCE is currently registered in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The journal is also under evaluation for inclusion 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.

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