Article Types

Article Types

1. Original Research Article

PRIMARY ARTICLE TYPE

Original Research Articles report new findings or insights generated through systematic and transparent research. They constitute the journal's principal manuscript category.

Appropriate approaches include quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, comparative, archival, institutional, survey-based, and policy-oriented research.

A research article should include:

  • A clearly articulated problem and its scholarly significance.
  • Relevant theoretical and empirical literature.
  • An explicit research gap and statement of novelty.
  • Research questions or objectives.
  • A rigorous research design and appropriate analytical methods.
  • Credible data or evidence and transparent analytical procedures.
  • Critical discussion of findings in relation to existing scholarship.
  • Conclusions identifying academic and, where appropriate, policy implications.
Recommended Structure: Introduction → Method → Result and Discussion → Conclusion → Declarations → References

2. Review Article

SELECTIVE CONSIDERATION

Review Articles may be considered when they provide a rigorous, critical, and original synthesis of published scholarship relevant to the journal's academic scope.

Reviews may address developments in business and economics.

A Review Article should:

  • State a clearly defined review question or analytical objective.
  • Explain the literature-search and selection approach.
  • Use credible and relevant scholarly sources.
  • Compare previous findings, theoretical positions, and methodological approaches critically.
  • Identify gaps, contradictions, limitations, and emerging directions.
  • Offer a clear analytical synthesis or theoretical contribution.
Editorial Requirement: A descriptive summary of earlier publications without critical analysis or an original synthesis does not constitute an adequate Review Article.

3. Case Study

Case Studies examine a specific institution or administrative practice through a systematic research approach.

A Case Study must move beyond descriptive reporting and provide theoretically or empirically significant findings.

  • Clearly defined research objectives and case boundaries.
  • Justification for selecting the case.
  • Appropriate theoretical or conceptual framing.
  • Transparent data collection and analytical procedures.
  • Systematic analysis of business and economics.
  • Comparison with relevant research and explanation of scholarly implications.
Not Acceptable: Descriptive government profiles, routine administrative reports  that lack research questions, systematic analysis, and scholarly contribution.

4. Technical or Methodological Paper

Technical or Methodological Papers present research instruments, analytical techniques, methodological innovations, evaluation frameworks, or other procedures that advance scholarly research and practice within the journal's scope.

Relevant examples include governance assessment tools, public-policy evaluation methods, data coding procedures, administrative-performance measurement models, and comparative institutional analysis frameworks.

Submissions must demonstrate:

  • The scholarly or practical problem addressed by the method.
  • Theoretical or methodological justification.
  • Clear description of the proposed instrument, model, or procedure.
  • Appropriate testing, illustration, validation, or reasoned evaluation.
  • A meaningful contribution beyond established approaches.

5. Conceptual or Theoretical Paper

Conceptual or Theoretical Papers develop, refine, integrate, or critically evaluate ideas and frameworks relevant to business and economics.

Such papers must offer a substantive scholarly argument rather than merely repeating established theories or summarizing published literature.

  • Identify a clearly defined conceptual or theoretical problem.
  • Engage critically with relevant scholarly debates.
  • Establish the limitations or unresolved issues in existing approaches.
  • Develop a coherent original argument, model, or conceptual framework.
  • Explain the implications for future research, theory, or policy analysis.
Scholarly Contribution: Theoretical originality must be demonstrated through a clear argument and rigorous engagement with previous scholarship, even when the paper does not report a new empirical dataset.

6. Short Communication

EXCEPTIONAL CONSIDERATION

Short Communications may be considered for concise, original, and timely scholarly findings of particular relevance to business and economics.

They must report sufficient evidence and analysis to support an identifiable contribution, notwithstanding their concise presentation.

Essential Scholarly Elements Objective • Method • Evidence or Results • Analysis • Conclusion

Manuscript Preparation Requirements

Manuscripts must comply with the journal's current Author Guidelines and official manuscript template, including applicable requirements for language, article length, abstract, keywords, references, declarations, and ethical compliance.

The standard journal submission requirements include:

  • English-language scholarly manuscripts.
  • Use of the official MBER manuscript template.
  • Standard manuscript length of 6,000–10,000 words unless a different requirement is explicitly authorized.
  • APA 7th Edition citation and reference style.
  • Required originality screening and publication-ethics declarations.
  • Adequate and current scholarly references.

Manuscripts Not Considered

  • Articles outside the journal's Focus and Scope.
  • Purely descriptive writing without substantive scholarly analysis.
  • Unsupported opinions or advocacy presented as independent research.
  • Routine government, institutional, or administrative reports without analytical contribution.
  • Literature summaries without critical synthesis.
  • Case descriptions lacking a clear research objective or method.
  • Conference abstracts without substantial development into a full scholarly manuscript.
  • Previously published work submitted as original research.
  • Manuscripts simultaneously under consideration by another journal.