Free journals to publish research papers in business and management (no APC)

Publishing fees have become a real barrier for PhD students and early career researchers. Many open access journals in business now ask for several thousand dollars per accepted paper, and few doctoral budgets stretch that far. The good news is that plenty of respected journals still cost authors nothing. Some are fully open access and paid for by a society, a university or a sponsor. Others are traditional journals where the standard route is free and only the optional open access upgrade carries a charge.

This list covers both kinds. The first group is free to publish and free to read. The second group is free to publish but sits behind a paywall unless you or your funder pays for open access. Each journal’s fee policy was checked on its own site or publisher page. Policies change, so confirm the current terms before you submit.

Free and open to read

These journals follow what is often called the diamond open access model. Authors pay no article processing charge (APC) and no submission fee, and every article is free to read from the day it appears. Costs are carried by an academic association, a business school or a sponsor.

1. M@n@gement is run by the French strategic management association AIMS and describes itself as free to submit, free to publish and free to read. The first editorial decision usually comes within about 10 days, though the full path to publication is long.
2. RAE Revista de Administração de Empresas is published by FGV EAESP in Brazil and states that it charges no submission or publication fees. It is indexed in SSCI and Scopus, which makes it one of the few free journals in this group with Web of Science citation index coverage.
3. Digital Enterprise Studies is a new quarterly journal on decisions and conduct in digital markets, open to work from management, marketing, economics, information systems and tourism. It charges no APC or submission fee, uses double-anonymous review, and is not yet indexed in Scopus or Web of Science.
4. Technology Innovation Management Review comes out of Carleton University in Ottawa and states plainly that it does not charge authors any fees. It suits applied work on innovation, technology entrepreneurship and growth.
5. Spanish Journal of Marketing ESIC is published by Emerald, with publication costs covered by the Spanish marketing association AEMARK. The publisher reports an average of 63 days to first decision.
6. European Journal of Management and Business Economics is also hosted by Emerald and funded by the Academia Europea de Dirección y Economía de la Empresa, so authors pay no APC. The publisher lists an average of 42 days to first decision.

Free through the subscription route

The journals below are hybrid. Most of their articles are published under a standard copyright or license agreement and read through library subscriptions. That route costs authors nothing. If you want your paper open to everyone on publication, you can choose open access and pay an APC, or use an agreement your institution has with the publisher.

7. Strategic Management Journal is the flagship journal of the Strategic Management Society, published by Wiley. Authors can publish under the journal’s standard copyright agreement at no cost, or choose a paid Creative Commons license.
8. Journal of Management covers strategy, entrepreneurship, human resources, organizational behavior and research methods, and its submission guidelines list no author fees. The editors aim for a decision in under 90 days, and Sage offers paid open access through its Sage Choice option.
9. Journal of Business Venturing gives authors a choice between open access and subscription, and the subscription route has no publication fee. Open access costs USD 4,210 before any institutional discount.
10. Research Policy publishes work on innovation, technology and science policy, with the same two options at Elsevier. The subscription route is free, while the open access APC is USD 4,500.
11. Journal of Management Studies welcomes empirical and conceptual papers with a clear theoretical contribution to management and organization studies. Publishing under the standard copyright agreement is free, and open access under a Creative Commons license is optional.
12. Journal of International Business Studies is the official journal of the Academy of International Business. Springer Nature states that no APC applies under the subscription model, while open access costs USD 4,990.
13. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science is another Springer Nature hybrid title with no fees for subscription publication. Its open access APC is also USD 4,990.

What an APC is and when hybrid journals charge

An article processing charge is a fee paid once a paper is accepted, so that the publisher can make the final version free to read without a subscription. It is usually paid by the author, the author’s institution or a research funder. Among the hybrid journals above, the listed APCs run from USD 4,210 to USD 4,990, before any discounts or institutional deals.

A fully open access journal that charges an APC has no free route. If you are accepted, the fee applies, although many publishers offer waivers for authors from lower income countries. Diamond open access journals solve this by moving the cost elsewhere. A society, university or sponsor pays, and neither authors nor readers are billed.

Hybrid journals work differently. The default is still the subscription model, and that route is free for authors. The APC only applies if you actively choose open access, usually after acceptance. Some situations push authors toward that choice. Certain funders require immediate open access under a specific Creative Commons license. Some universities have read and publish agreements that cover the APC for their staff, in which case open access may cost you nothing either.

If you choose the free subscription route, you can still share your work. Most publishers let you post the accepted manuscript in an institutional repository after an embargo. Elsevier, for example, lists a 36 month embargo for self-archiving in the Journal of Business Venturing. Check each journal’s self-archiving policy so you know what you can post and when.

Also watch for fees that are not called APCs. Some journals charge submission fees, page charges or color figure charges. None of the journals on this list mention a submission fee on the pages we checked.

Frequently asked questions

Are free journals lower quality than journals that charge APCs?

No. Fees say nothing about quality on their own. Several journals on this list are indexed in SSCI, and some diamond open access titles are run by leading academic associations.

What is the difference between diamond and hybrid journals?

A diamond open access journal charges authors nothing and makes every article free to read. A hybrid journal is free to publish in through the subscription route but charges an APC if you want your article open to everyone.

Can my university pay the APC in a hybrid journal?

Often, yes. Many institutions have agreements with Elsevier, Wiley, Sage or Springer Nature that cover open access charges, so ask your library before you assume you will need to pay.