Abstract
With the publication of this issue of the Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation (JSCAN), we have gone from being a new-born journal to now building the foundations of a journal that will generate impact through research, foster a community of scholars, inspire new scholars to the field and create engagement and interactions between scholars and professionals working in the private, public, government, and third sectors. Importantly, we want this journal to ensure the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) is further recognized as the world leader in terms of knowledge, theory and practice in this growing field, which is dynamic and constantly changing.
As IACCM continues to grow globally in its outreach and engagement, with increasing interest from government, industry and other sectors, it is becoming evident how complex and difficult it is to strategically align interests and agents to deliver a service or product, to innovate a solution, or to form short- or long-term alliances, networks and partnerships with successful outcomes. As such, JSCAN seeks to be a portal through which peer-reviewed, evidence- based research, along with good theory and practice, will advance our knowledge of core elements related to these challenges. This makes JSCAN the natural home for both empirical and theoretical pieces that speak to these challenges: be it the design, execution, evaluation of contracts; how various agents make sense of the benefits to be realized from the processes of contracting and negotiating; the nature and practice of negotiation; the successes and limitations of structuring relationships through various forms of contracts; the competencies, skills and dynamics involved in strategic contracting and negotiations; the nature of conflict and risk allocation and their relationship to trust, and especially contract success and failure; and the dynamics of inter-cultural values, practices and routines on service delivery and contract design.
The issues and challenges listed above are neither mutually exclusive nor are they exhaustive, but they do capture just some of the issues being faced in practice. They are also where our scholarship can make a major contribution. The challenge is in building a community of scholars who, while they do not need to agree with each other, are together contributing to the refinement, advancement, distribution and dissemination of knowledge that will guide us towards answers to the many complex issues and questions facing this professional field.
Invariably, and this is the wonderful thing about research and theorizing, the process of answering questions opens up new questions and as Thomas Kuhn argued, new possibilities (1996). Herein lies our philosophy for JSCAN – let us answer important questions, but let us also create more questions for exploration. That is what will make us a vibrant, valuable community.
In the light of the many challenges to our field, in this editorial we would like to restate our hopes and aspirations for JSCAN, and also to inform you of some of the initiatives we have put in place to ensure JSCAN becomes a leader in promoting and advancing knowledge in the strategic aspects of contracting and negotiation. In the editorial of our first issue we explained why publishing in JSCAN is a good investment of your time – especially in terms of exposure, impact and your centrality to creating and sustaining a momentum for building and strengthening JSCAN’s place as a high quality outlet for your work. We do not want to restate all these reasons here as you can visit the JSCAN website to read these – you can also access the entire first issue free of charge.
As we launch our second issue and prepare for issue three, we want to bring to your attention some initiatives to help make JSCAN one of, if not the, best journal in this professional field.
Best paper award
The JSCAN best paper award is specifically designed to reflect our commitment to attracting, promoting and rewarding high quality research and theory on the broad range of topics focusing on the strategic aspects of all things related to contracting and negotiation. Each year we will select an outstanding paper to receive a $3,000 1 prize and plaque as a reward and recognition of work that makes an important contribution to our field of study (this award is judged by your peers).
All peer-reviewed papers, published in each volume, will be considered for the award by the Journal’s editors and a panel of editorial board members. The shortlisted papers will be announced on our website as well as via IACCM. The winning paper will be announced at the IACCM Academic Forum.
In selecting the winner, the panel will reflect on how well the paper meets JSCAN’s ambitions, aims and objectives in relation to strategic contracting and negotiations. In particular we will judge the paper’s relevance to strategy, as well as its quality of theoretical and managerial implications. We will also be sure to take into account the technical quality of the paper: such as methods, and factors such as innovation, significance to the research and practice community, impact, and the clarity of presentation.
Essays – bridging practitioner/scholar divides
The term impact has many meanings. For scholars, creating an impact through our publications can quite simply mean citation rates (how many times an article is cited by our peers in quality journals both inside and outside our own fields and disciplines). However, impact can mean much more than this, it can mean an article that is: used as an exemplar for teaching students; used to design or make policy decisions or policy changes; or it might have caused someone to change their own or their organization’s behaviours, processes or practices. While we have no doubt many of JSCAN’s papers will have such impacts, the essay is designed with a different idea of impact in mind. Our essays section aims to create a space for shared dialogue between our scholars and our practice communities.
As with our regular articles, essays are shorter commentary pieces that aim to contribute insights, debates and critical discussion in the fields of contracting and negotiation, with an emphasis on the strategic aspects of these fields. Other areas can include procurement, sales, strategic relationships, conflict resolution and management, and any other topic that fits the aims and scope of the journal. Our essays tend to be written by leaders in government, industry and academia – but essentially we welcome essays from both established and emerging experts and leaders in their relevant fields.
Essays typically are conceptual in nature, but data can be used to support arguments as long as the data are of a nature and quality acceptable for publication. With our essays we especially welcome pieces from our non-academic audience, or essays written in collaboration between scholars and academics. We publish one essay per issue, and these essays are single-blind reviewed by the editors.
Your essay should be clear about its aims with an emphasis on the strategic relevance of your paper. It should speak to a general audience, and offer insights and ideas for the future. It could be a ‘call to arms’ for academics, industry leaders and/or government to work together to address challenges in the area. It can be an essay on what the future of a field may look like and how we can prepare for it, and so on. It is recommended you contact one of the editors in chief to discuss your idea beforehand.
Along with our regular articles and book reviews (which will begin being published soon), our essays and best paper awards will increasingly attract the attention of leading and rising scholars. We welcome you, and thank you for being a central part of the JSCAN community. Without you, JSCAN is nothing, so please do all you can to promote our journal – after all your success is JSCAN’s success.