Editorial: at year’s end

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Volume 21, Issue 6

This issue marks the end of Volume 21 for IJEBR and the end of a successful and busy year which has witnessed some significant changes for the journal. As part of the further development and growth of the journal we have expanded and updated the Journal Advisory Board (JAB) and introduced a new Journal Review Board (JRB). Both boards are expected to contribute actively to the further development and direction of the journal. We will be holding a virtual meeting in coming months to disseminate all our plans and receive feedback from the board members.

In addition, 2016 has seen the appointment of a new co-editor in Professor Lois Shelton from California State University,Northridge. Lois Shelton was recently promoted to professor in the Department of Management at California State University,Northridge, and holds a PhD in business economics from Harvard University. A former business executive with nearly ten years of experience in diverse fields such as management consulting and real estate development, her research interests include new venture growth, minority and women’s entrepreneurship, and the work/family interface. Professor Shelton utilises both quantitative and qualitative methods in her work, and has been the recipient of Best Paper Awards at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship and Diana International Research Conferences. In addition to her co-authored book, Femme et Entrepreneur? C’est Possible, published by Pearson France, and book chapters published in both USA and abroad, her work has appeared in several leading entrepreneurship journals. Professor Shelton’s appointment will provide additional editorial capacity for IJEBR in line with its growth aspirations and encourage further development of the journal in the USA.

This year has been a productive year for the journal with 40 papers published which represents a significant improvement on 2015. In terms of highlights, in Issue 3, IJEBR published an excellent special issue entitled “Celebrating Entrepreneurial Research” co-guest edited by Dr David Higgins,Professor Kiran Trehan and Professor Pauric McGowan which featured ten contrasting papers considering qualitative approaches to entrepreneurial research.

This issue sees the inclusion of a special section on Social Capital and Competitive Advantage of Family Businesses, guest edited by Dr Yong Wang, Professor Panikkos Poutziouris and Dr Chris Graves, which includes four thought provoking papers. The Guest Editorial included within this issue provides a detailed insight into the subject area and the contribution of each paper. This issue also includes two “standard papers” one from Zikic and Ezzedean considering entrepreneurial career capital within high-technology entrepreneurs and a paper by Sambajee and Dhoman comparing and contrast the role of government in the development of SMEs in the Maldives and Mauritius.

On a personal level, I would like to acknowledge the considerable contribution and efforts of the editorial team namely the co-editors Dr Martina Battisti, Dr Richard Tunstall and Dr Claire Seamen, the Book Review editor. Moreover, my gratitude to Annie Simmons (managing editor) and Patti Davis (publisher) for their considerable support and patience in the development of each issue. Looking forward, the focus of IJEBR will remain unchanged namely on publishing original research related to the human and social dynamics of entrepreneurship,and entrepreneurial management in small and growing organisations, at an international level. For IJEBR, 2016 offers an exciting and challenging period as the journal will be applying for inclusion to the Thomson Reuters’ Social Sciences Citation Index and achieve IJEBR’s first Impact Factor. This is a key step towards increasing the journal reputation and standing of IJEBR to international audiences.

In conclusion, we thank all the authors and reviewers for their efforts in developing these studies to a satisfactory outcome. Looking forward, we draw readers attention to the open calls for papers for Special Issues on the IJEBR web site. We invite readers to submit contributions for these issues, as well as regular issues. Please do not hesitate to contact me or other members of the editorial team if you feel you can contribute to the further development of the journal.

Paul Jones