Submissions

Author Guidelines

Download a template...

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Thematic 

Papers should tackle contemporary and relevant management, marketing, public administration and public policy issues.  

Standard analytical papers, literature review papers, but also interesting case studies and other types of papers can be submitted. 

Language 

The papers should be written in standard English. The authors are responsible for the language editing. 

General styling features 

The paper should be submitted as a Word document (.docx). 

To prepare it, please download the following template. Articles that do not follow the prerequisites of the template will be rejected without reviewing.  

All illustrative elements (tables, figures, pictures, logos, etc.) can be in full color since JOMSA is published only online. 

The line spacing in the text is single.  

The paragraphs are justified, with 6 pt. indent before and after, and with no first line indent. 

The manuscript pages should not be numbered. 

Do not use tabs, page breaks, section endings, headers, or footers.  

Length  

The article should be minimum 5 standard pages (about 2 500 words or 9 000 symbols). There are no limits regarding the maximum length, as long as it meets the criteria for an article and is left to the reviewer’s discretion.   

2. STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER

Title  

The title is a brief phrase, adequately describing the content of the paper. 

The title should be typed in capital letters, in Times New Roman, size 24 and bolded. 

Name(s) of the author(s) 

The author’s name (first name, family name) is stated without any titles. 

The name should be in a size 16 font. 

In case of two or more authors, the order of the names is done according to the decision of the team of writers. 

In a footnote for each of the names the following information should be provided: the author’s institution, city and country, email and ORCID. 

Abstract 

The abstract is a structured summary of the content of the paper: the objectives and scope of the research; the methodology; the main results and findings. It should be understandable to readers who have not read the rest of the paper. The abstract should not contain abbreviations, table and figure numbers, citations of other published work or any other references. 

The abstract should not exceed 150 words.  

It is written in a size 10 font.  

Keywords / key phrases 

The key words / phrases have to point to central terms discussed in the main text, they are usually included in the abstract and in the title. They are generally nouns and no abbreviations are used.  

The keywords must be separated by commas. Do not put a full stop after the last keyword. All words should be in lowercase. 

The article should have up to 5 keywords.   

The keywords are in a size 10 font.  

JEL  

There should be at least one code according to the Classification System of the Journal of Economic Literature (see https://www.aeaweb.org/jel/guide/jel.php).  

The article can have up to 3 JEL codes that best describe its area(s) of research.  

The structure of the article depends on the research goals and the methodology of the author. Nevertheless, the following order of the structural elements is recommended: 

Introduction 

The introduction synthesizes the subject of the article. Typical elements of the introduction are: clear description of the nature and scope of the problem; overview of the degree of examination of the problem in the scientific literature; the research methodology and limitations; and the expected results of the author's study. 

Literature review 

This part reviews the existing state of knowledge about the topic of the article. We recommend checking especially publications dealing with the region covered and published in the last 5-7 years. A plus is checking highly visible sources – books/monographs, articles and conference proceedings, etc. that are peer reviewed and covered by SCOPUS and/or Web of Science.  

Methodology 

The methodology part should describe and explain all the methodological aspects of the research, such as the methods used, data collection method, and the validity of the sample. 

Results 

This section should contain an overall description of the topic and the present data gathered during the research project. The manuscript should utilise representative data rather than repetitive information. Data that will be referenced several times in the text should be provided in tables or graphs. All data, repetitive or otherwise, should be meaningful. Results must be clearly and simply stated as this section comprises innovative research findings for an international community of academics and practitioners. 

Discussion 

This section presents principles, relationships, and generalisations indicated by the researcher’s findings. This should not restate information present in the results section but should: (i) point out any exceptions or lack of correlation; (ii) define unresolved issues; (iii) show how the results and interpretations agree (or contrast) with previously published work; (iv) discuss the theoretical implications of the work, and any possible practical applications; and (v) summarise the evidence for each conclusion. The primary purpose of the discussion section is to show the relationships between the facts that have been observed during the course of the research. The discussion section should end with a brief summary or conclusion regarding the significance of the work. 

Conclusion 

The conclusion responds to the main research question, summarizes the findings, identifies opportunities for further research, proposes policy recommendations.  

Endnotes 

The endnotes can be used to cite secondary sources (see the References section), to have minor side discussions or other explanatory notes. 

Please, try to avoid excessive usage of endnotes. 

Sponsorship 

Any external financial assistance, such as grants, contracts, or fellowships must be disclosed. The authors should describe the role of these funding sources throughout the workflow – from the staging of scientific research to achieving the final results. 

Acknowledgement  

Assistance received from any individual and or organization/institution who contributed significantly to the work or to the interpretation of the work, must be acknowledged. 

References 

APA format (6th edition) is requested.  

Only significant, published references should be cited in the list of references. References to unpublished data, papers in the press, abstracts, theses, and other secondary materials can be added as an endnote after the text.  

3. STYLE AND FORMATTING

 Headings and subheadings  

The article may be divided into sections, subsections, and sub-subsections, using Arabic numerals. The headings and subheadings must be short and clearly defined. Notes are not allowed in any of the sections and subsections.  

No more than three levels of subsections should be used.  

 Notes 

No footnotes are allowed in the text. 

In case the author(s) would like to make a remark or any additional comments, endnotes with continuous numeration should be used. 

Quotations 

Quotations are to be included in the main text, between single quotation marks. The original capitalization, spelling etc. of the quotation should be preserved. Place any change made to a quoted text between square brackets, unless you use an ellipsis to indicate omissions within the quoted text: (…). Use ‘sic’ between square brackets to signify obvious mistakes in the quoted text. If you wish to add specific emphasis to part of the quoted text, this should be done by the use of italics, and ‘(emphasis added)’ should be added. 
  

The in-text citations should follow to APA 6 citation style (for further details follow this link: In-text citations (apa.org)).  

Tables and figures  

All the tables/graphs/pictures should be written in English. They should fit only to a portrait orientation of the page and should not exceed a single page. 

The tables can be fully colored and should be placed in the appropriate place in the text. 

The tables have a continuous numbering with Arabic numbers.  

Each table should have a title (written above the table) and a source (indicated under the table). In case the table is created by the author, “own” should be written as a source.  

The formatting of the tables is shown in the example: 

Example: 

Table 1. Table’s title 

Source: Lorem ipsum / Own 

All other illustrative materials (diagrams, graphs, flowcharts, pictures, screenshots, etc.) should be named figures. They have a continuous numbering for the whole article (separate from the one of the tables).  

Each figure should have a title (written above it) and a source (indicated under it). In case the figure is created by the author, “own” should be written as a source.  

The formatting of the figures is shown in the example:  

Example: 

See the example here...

Formulas  

The authors should use Word Equation to include formulas. The equations should be placed in the middle. The formula numbers must be written in small brackets on the right side of the page. Please, do not use Print Screen or JPG format.  

Example: 

See the example here...

Reference list 

The reference list should follow to APA 6 citation style (Reference examples (apa.org)). 

All the significant, published references should be stated at the end of the paper, listed alphabetically. References to unpublished data, papers in the press, abstracts, theses, and other secondary materials can be added as an endnote after the text.  

In case the reference points to a certain web page, it is necessary to state the date of visiting the page. 

If a reference contains the DOI number, it should be provided. 

The non-English sources must be transliterated and then described in their original language. The transliteration can be done following the link: Bulgarian – Streamlined transliteration system (translitteration.com)   

Example: 

Erhard, L., 1993. Blagodenstvie za vsichki, Sofia: UI „Stopanstvo“. (Ерхард, Л., 1993. Благоденствие за всички, София, УИ “Стопанство”)