Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal Submission Guide

Source: SEJ on Wiley, Strategic Management Society, Clarivate JCR 2024, accessed April 2026.

The strategic implication: pure-entrepreneurship strategy fits SEJ; broader strategy fits SMJ; international strategy fits GSJ. Authors should articulate the SMS-journal choice in the cover letter.

Three operational signals govern editorial assessment:

1. Entrepreneurship + strategy substance. The journal requires substantive contribution at the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy.

2. Methodological rigor. Whether quantitative-empirical, qualitative, or modeling work, methods must be top-tier.

3. SMS-journal fit. Authors should articulate why SEJ vs SMJ or GSJ is the right SMS venue.

Recent issues span:

• New-venture formation and growth strategy

• Entrepreneurial finance and venture capital

• Innovation strategy in startups

• Family business strategy

• Corporate venturing and intrapreneurship

• International entrepreneurship strategy

• Social entrepreneurship strategy

• AI and digital entrepreneurship

For specific recent papers and DOIs, see SEJ on Wiley. Representative recent papers:

• 10.1002/sej.1467

• 10.1002/sej.1523

• 10.1002/sej.1589

• Initial decision: typically 6-10 weeks

• First decision after review: typically 12-16 weeks

• Revision rounds: typically 2-3 major revisions to acceptance

• Time to publication after acceptance: months (Early View available)

Use the guide for portal, routing, and policy details; use the manuscript check for the editor-facing fit call. The review tells you whether your paper clears the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal fit check before upload, especially around pure-entrepreneurship without strategy framing, wrong SMS journal chosen, and wrong entrepreneurship venue chosen. Paid Manusights reviews include a 60-day money-back guarantee, and we do not train models on submitted manuscripts.

Three patterns generate the most consistent rejections.

Pure-entrepreneurship without strategy framing

SEJ requires the entrepreneurship + strategy intersection. The fix is to articulate the strategy contribution.

Check pure entrepreneurship without strategy framing before submitting to Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal →

Wrong SMS journal chosen

SEJ competes with SMJ (broader strategy) and GSJ (international strategy). The fix is informed routing.

Check wrong sms journal chosen before submitting to Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal →

Wrong entrepreneurship venue chosen

SEJ competes with JBV, ETP, and Small Business Economics. The fix is informed routing. A SEJ manuscript readiness check can identify whether entrepreneurship-strategy framing, methodological rigor, and SMS-journal alignment align before submission.

Check wrong entrepreneurship venue chosen before submitting to Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal →

SEJ requires these at first submission:

• main manuscript file fully anonymized for double-blind peer review (Word or PDF acceptable at submission stage; Word required at acceptance for production)

• separate title page with author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, and contact information (uploaded separately so reviewers do not see it)

• cover letter establishing the strategy-and-entrepreneurship intersection contribution; authors may request specific Associate Editors or reviewers in the cover letter

• structured abstract per Wiley convention

• author CRediT contribution statement (uploaded with the title page, not the anonymized manuscript)

• competing-interests declaration

• ethics statement for human-subjects research (qualitative interviews, survey data, archival studies with identifiable individuals)

• declaration that the manuscript has not been previously published and is not under consideration elsewhere

• data and code availability statements with deposit references (OSF, Mendeley Data, SMS replication-package repository)

• suggested reviewers with institutional affiliations and email addresses (must avoid same-institution and recent-co-author conflicts for the double-blind review)

• $0 USD APC for subscription publication, or Wiley OnlineOpen Hybrid OA APC if opted in (typically $3,500-3,800 USD; many institutional Wiley transformative agreements cover the fee)

• declaration of generative AI use in the writing process per Wiley policy

• for revised submissions, point-by-point reviewer response and marked-up manuscript

For SEJ submissions, the most common artifact-related issue is pure-entrepreneurship submissions where the strategy contribution is asserted but not developed, or pure-strategy submissions where the entrepreneurship context is decorative. SEJ's editorial culture treats the entrepreneurship-AND-strategy intersection as a substantive editorial filter; submissions that read as pure-entrepreneurship work suitable for JBV / ETP / Small Business Economics or as pure-strategy work suitable for SMJ / GSJ face routine transfer recommendations or desk-rejections on the intersection-fit check.

Run a Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal pre-submission readiness check before clicking submit to verify the package meets the journal's entrepreneurship-strategy-intersection bar and full anonymization standard.

SEJ manuscripts move through a four-stage editorial timeline shaped by the SMS Co-editor and Associate Editor assignment process. The editorial triage pattern at SMS journals favors submissions where the cover letter names a failure pattern in current strategy-or-entrepreneurship practice that the manuscript addresses. Co-editors routinely reject pure-entrepreneurship or pure-strategy submissions without intersection contribution and consistently screen for cover letters that demonstrate awareness of the journal's recent editorial culture around entrepreneurship-strategy integration.

Day 0 to 5: ScholarOne intake and CrossCheck/iThenticate technical check

The Wiley platform performs format and anonymization checks (separate title-page upload, declarations, ORCID linking). All submissions are checked by CrossCheck/iThenticate for plagiarism detection. Submissions with substantial text overlap or formatting non-compliance are returned at this stage.

Day 5 to 21: SEJ Co-editor and Associate Editor assignment

SEJ Co-editors assign submitted manuscripts to Associate Editors based on expertise and workload (authors may request specific Associate Editors or reviewers in the cover letter). The Associate Editor performs the substantive desk-screen on intersection contribution and methods.

Week 4 to 14: External peer review (double-blind)

Manuscripts that pass desk-screen go to 2-3 reviewers under double-blind peer review. Reviewer turnaround in strategy and entrepreneurship research is slower than in laboratory life sciences; 10-14 week peer-review windows are typical.

Week 14 to 28: Decision and revision rounds

First decisions arrive at the 3-4 month median, typically as major revision. Revision cycles add 4-8 months each. SEJ rarely accepts at first decision; 2-3 revision rounds are typical for accepted papers.

• Is Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal a good journal?

• Strategic Management Journal Submission Guide

• Journal of Business Venturing Submission Guide

Before the reviewer-invitation stage, read the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal package against the same risks this guide flags in the Manusights section. The practical question is whether the abstract, cover letter, figures or tables, methods, reporting statements, supplementary files, and references all make the journal choice obvious.

• If the abstract still points toward pure-entrepreneurship without strategy framing, revise the central claim before upload.

• If the evidence package leaves wrong SMS journal chosen, strengthen the methods, controls, figures, or supplementary material rather than expecting reviewers to infer it.

• If the cover letter cannot resolve wrong entrepreneurship venue chosen, compare the target journal against the adjacent venues named above before submitting.

How do I submit to Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal?

Submit through Wiley's ScholarOne Manuscripts. SEJ is one of three SMS journals (alongside SMJ and GSJ), published by Wiley. The journal accepts Articles, Research Notes, and book reviews focused on entrepreneurship strategy.

What does Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal publish?

Entrepreneurship strategy: new-venture formation and growth, entrepreneurial strategy, technology and innovation entrepreneurship, family business strategy, entrepreneurial finance, international entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship, and emerging entrepreneurship-strategy topics.

What sets SEJ apart from sister SMS journals?

SEJ (SMS entrepreneurship-strategy specialist) is one of three SMS journals: SMJ (broad strategy), SEJ (entrepreneurship strategy), and GSJ (international strategy). All three share Wiley publishing and SMS sponsorship. Authors should match contribution focus to the right SMS journal: broad strategy to SMJ, entrepreneurship to SEJ, international to GSJ.

What sets SEJ apart from sister entrepreneurship venues?

SEJ (SMS entrepreneurship-strategy specialist, Wiley) competes with Journal of Business Venturing (JBV, Elsevier flagship for entrepreneurship), Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice (ETP, SAGE), Small Business Economics (Springer), and Strategic Management Journal (SMJ, broader strategy). SEJ distinguishes itself through the SMS strategy emphasis applied to entrepreneurship.

How long is an SEJ review?

Initial decision typically 6-10 weeks. Full review with revisions 12-18 months. SEJ's selectivity (~10% acceptance) means substantial revision rounds are common.

Or see example reports before you finalize.

Last verified: April 2026 against SEJ editorial pages.