Author Guidelines

Improvement: Journal of Management and Business (Improvement: Jurnal Manajemen dan Bisnis) UMSurabaya Publishing, Management Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya

1. About the Journal

Improvement: Journal of Management and Business is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published twice a year, in March and September, by UMSurabaya Publishing. The journal is managed by the Management Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya. It publishes original scholarly work that advances theory and practice in management and business.

The journal accepts two types of manuscripts: research articles (empirical studies) and conceptual articles. Only original manuscripts are accepted. A manuscript must not have been published in any print or electronic medium, and must not be under consideration by another journal. Manuscripts that do not follow these guidelines and the official manuscript template may be returned to the authors without review.

2. Article Types

Research Article. An empirical study (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods) that addresses a clearly defined research problem, is grounded in relevant theory, and reports findings through a transparent and replicable method.

Conceptual Article. A theory-driven article that develops, integrates, or critiques concepts, frameworks, or propositions. It must go beyond a narrative review and offer a clear theoretical or practical contribution supported by systematic argumentation and current literature.

Both types must follow the same formatting rules in Section 4 and the reference rules in Section 7.

3. How to Submit

1. Submit the manuscript through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform of Improvement. Submission by email to improvement@fe.um-surabaya.ac.id is also accepted.
2. Prepare the manuscript using the official journal template (Template Improvement: Journal of Management and Business). Delete the formatting guidelines box at the top of the template before submitting.
3. Submit the file in Microsoft Word format (.docx). PDF files are not accepted, and the file must not be protected by a password or document protection.
4. The journal applies blind peer review. If the OJS requests an anonymised file, remove author names, affiliations, the acknowledgement, the funding statement, and any self-identifying citations from the main file, and provide this information in the submission metadata or a separate title page.
5. Where available, provide the DOI or URL of every reference.
6. Complete the submission checklist in Section 10 before sending the manuscript.

4. Manuscript Formatting

Use the built-in Heading 1 and Heading 2 styles of the template for section titles. Do not change the font type or size manually.

Text must not be underlined, except for URL addresses. Italics are used only for emphasis, foreign terms, journal and book titles in the reference list, and statistical symbols where required by APA 7th edition.

5. Manuscript Structure

5.1 Front Matter (Research and Conceptual Articles)

Article title. The title must be concise, informative, and reflective of the key variables or concepts of the study. It should not exceed 15 words.

Author names and affiliations. Write the full name of every author without academic titles. Mark each author with a superscript number linked to the affiliation, which should state the department, faculty, institution, city, and country. Indicate one corresponding author and provide a valid institutional email address. An ORCID iD for each author is strongly encouraged.

Structured abstract. The abstract must be written in English, in 11 pt single spacing, with the following five labelled components, and should not exceed 250 words in total:

• Purpose: the research purpose and the research question(s) the article answers.
• Design/Methodology: the research approach, type of data, population or sample, data collection technique, and analysis method (for example, PLS-SEM, regression, or case study). For conceptual articles, describe the conceptual approach and the body of literature on which it draws.
• Findings: the main results, including the relationships between variables or the patterns identified. For conceptual articles, state the main arguments or propositions.
• Practical Implications: the benefits or applications of the findings for practitioners, policymakers, or the relevant industry.
• Originality/Value: the contribution or novelty of the study relative to prior research.

Keywords. Provide three to five keywords or short phrases, separated by commas, that reflect the core concepts of the article.

Paper type. State the paper type, for example Research Paper or Conceptual Paper.

Licence, funding, and dates. The template includes a copyright and licence statement (Creative Commons Attribution, CC BY 4.0), a funding statement, and the Received, Revised, and Accepted dates. Authors complete the funding statement. The editorial office completes the dates and the licence details at the production stage.

5.2 Research Article

1. Introduction. Open with the general context of the research problem, then narrow down to the specific phenomenon or gap that motivates the study. Support the argument with current data (statistics, industry trends) and key literature. Explain the theoretical, empirical, or contextual research gap left by prior studies, state the research objective explicitly, and close with the main contribution of the study and the organisation of the paper.
2. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development. Present the theoretical foundation of the main variables, their conceptual definitions, and the dimensions or indicators used, citing relevant prior research. Build a logical argument for the relationships between variables on the basis of theory and prior empirical findings, and formulate the hypotheses (H1, H2, and so on) at the end of the relevant sub-section. Number the sub-sections decimally (2.1, 2.2). Studies that do not test hypotheses may rename this section Literature Review or Theoretical Background and replace the hypotheses with research questions.
3. Research Method. Describe the research design, the population and sample, the sampling technique, and the respondent or participant characteristics. Explain the measurement instrument for each variable and the source of its adaptation, the data collection procedure, and the data analysis technique together with the validity and reliability criteria (for qualitative studies, the trustworthiness criteria). Where relevant, report ethical clearance and informed consent.
4. Results and Discussion. Organise this section into sub-sections, for example:

• 1 Respondent Characteristics: the demographic profile and descriptive statistics of the study variables.
• 2 Hypothesis Testing: the model fit results and the result of each hypothesis test, supported by a summary table of path coefficients, test statistics, and decisions (supported or not supported).
• 3 Discussion: an interpretation of the findings in relation to theory and prior research, an explanation of why the results align with or contradict the hypotheses or previous studies, and the theoretical implications.

5. Managerial Implications. Provide concrete and actionable recommendations for managers, policymakers, or industry practitioners that follow directly from the findings.
6. Conclusion, Limitations, and Suggestions. Summarise the main findings and the contribution of the study, explain its limitations (for example, sample scope, method, or context), and provide suggestions for future research.

Acknowledgement. Acknowledge institutions, funders, and individuals who contributed to the study but do not meet the criteria for authorship. State whether the research received a specific grant.

References. List only the sources cited in the text, following Section 7.

5.3 Conceptual Article

Conceptual articles use the same front matter as research articles. The main text follows this structure:

1. Introduction. Attract the reader's attention, provide the context of the problem under study, state the problem, and state the objective of the article and its contribution.
2. Theoretical Background. Review the key concepts, theories, and prior studies that underpin the discussion, and explain how the article selected and evaluated the literature.
3. Discussion. Present the analysis, argumentation, comparison of perspectives, and the author's position on the issue under study. Develop the conceptual framework or propositions here, and integrate theory, existing findings, and the author's own reasoning.
4. Implications. Explain the theoretical and practical implications of the argument.
5. Conclusion, Limitations, and Suggestions. Restate the author's position on the issue, acknowledge the limitations of the conceptual analysis, and provide suggestions or alternative perspectives for future research.

Acknowledgement and References follow the same rules as for research articles.

6. Tables and Figures

Place all tables and figures in the text at the appropriate point, not at the end of the manuscript. Cite each of them in the text in the order of first mention.

Tables

• Build tables with the native table tool of Word. Do not use tabs or spaces for alignment, screenshots of spreadsheets, or pasted images.
• Number tables consecutively with Arabic numerals (Table 1, Table 2). Do not split a table into 1A and 1B; use two separate tables instead.
• Place the caption above the table. The label ("Table 1.") is bold, and the caption text is in sentence case, capitalising only the first word and proper nouns.
• Use horizontal rules only: one above the column headings, one below the column headings, and one closing the table. Do not use vertical rules or cell shading.
• State each unit of measurement once, in the column heading, rather than repeating it in every cell.
• Add a "Note(s):" or "Source(s):" line below the table in 10 pt, giving the data source, sample size, or significance markers (for example, p < .05, p < .01).

Figures

• Number figures consecutively with Arabic numerals (Figure 1, Figure 2).
• Place the caption below the figure. The label ("Figure 1.") is bold, and the caption text is in sentence case.
• Supply figures at the highest resolution available, at least 300 dpi for photographs and halftones, with all axis labels and text clearly legible. Keep the original editable file (for example, the Excel chart or PowerPoint diagram) for the production stage.
• Caption photographs as "Plate 1.", "Plate 2.", and so on.

Reproduced or adapted material. If a table or figure is reproduced or adapted from another source, add a credit line in the caption (for example, "Source: adapted from Author, Year") and obtain written permission from the copyright holder before submission.

7. Citations and References

The journal follows the APA 7th edition author-date style. Using a reference manager such as Mendeley or Zotero is recommended. Every in-text citation must appear in the reference list, and every entry in the reference list must be cited in the text.

7.1 In-text citations

• Narrative citation: Author (Year) argued that …
• Parenthetical citation: … (Author, Year).
• Two authors: cite both names every time, as in (Author A & Author B, Year) or "Author A and Author B (Year)" in narrative text.
• Three or more authors: cite the first author followed by "et al." from the first citation, as in (Author A et al., Year).
• Organisation as author: spell out the full name with its abbreviation at first mention, as in (Badan Pusat Statistik [BPS], 2024), then use the abbreviation only, as in (BPS, 2024).
• Direct quotations of fewer than 40 words stay in double quotation marks with a page number, as in (Author, Year, p. 15). Quotations of 40 words or more are set as a freestanding indented block without quotation marks.

7.2 Reference list

List references alphabetically by the surname of the first author, in 12 pt single spacing with a 1.27 cm hanging indent. Provide the DOI as a full URL (https://doi.org/xxxxx) whenever one exists. Authors are strongly encouraged to cite recent, peer-reviewed international journal articles, and to ensure that the majority of references were published within the last ten years, unless a classic source is essential to the argument.

Journal article Last Name, I. (Year). Title of the journal article in sentence case. Title of the Journal in Title Case and Italics, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Book Last Name, I., & Last Name, I. (Year). Title of the book in italics. Publisher.

Book chapter Last Name, I., Last Name, I., & Last Name, I. (Year). Title of the book chapter. In I. Editor (Ed.), Title of the edited book in italics (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

Conference paper Last Name, I., Last Name, I., & Last Name, I. (Year). Title of the conference paper. In I. Editor (Ed.), Proceedings of the Name of the Conference (pp. xx–xx). Publisher/Organiser. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Thesis or dissertation Last Name, I. (Year). Title of the thesis or dissertation in italics [Unpublished doctoral dissertation/master's thesis]. Name of University.

Report or working paper Name of Organisation. (Year). Title of the report or working paper in italics (Report No. xx). Publisher. URL

Webpage or online article Last Name, I. (Year, Month Day). Title of the webpage or online article in sentence case. Site Name. URL

8. Publication Ethics and Policies

Originality and plagiarism. The manuscript must be the authors' own work and must properly acknowledge the work of others. The editorial office screens all submissions with similarity detection software, and manuscripts with excessive textual overlap will be rejected.

Authorship. All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution to the study and must have approved the final manuscript. Changes to the author list after submission require written agreement from all authors and approval from the editors.

Use of generative AI. AI tools cannot be listed as authors. If generative AI tools were used in writing or editing, authors must disclose the tool and its purpose in the acknowledgement. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the manuscript.

Research ethics. Studies involving human participants must follow recognised ethical standards, including informed consent and the confidentiality of participants. Authors should report ethical approval where it applies.

Conflict of interest and funding. Authors must disclose any financial or personal relationship that could influence the study, and must state the sources of funding in the funding statement.

Data and image integrity. Authors must not fabricate, falsify, or selectively report data. Editors may ask authors to provide the underlying data or instruments for verification.

Open access and licence. Published articles are open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate, and create derivative works of the article, for both commercial and non-commercial purposes, provided that the original publication and authors are fully attributed.

Publication ethics. The journal follows the principles of publication ethics for authors, reviewers, and editors, in line with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

9. Review Process

1. Editorial screening. The editors check the scope, originality, similarity index, and compliance with the template and these guidelines. Manuscripts that do not comply may be returned or rejected at this stage.
2. Blind peer review. Manuscripts that pass screening are sent to at least two independent reviewers with expertise in the field. The identities of authors and reviewers are kept confidential.
3. Editorial decision. The decision is one of the following: accept, accept with minor revision, major revision, or reject.
4. Authors submit the revised manuscript together with a point-by-point response to the reviewers' comments, indicating where each change was made. The revised manuscript may be sent for another round of review.
5. Accepted manuscripts undergo copyediting and proofreading. Authors must check the proofs and respond promptly to queries from the editorial office.

10. Submission Checklist

Before submitting, authors should confirm that every item below is satisfied. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements may be returned to the authors.

☐ The manuscript is original, has not been published before, and is not under consideration by another journal (or an explanation has been provided in the comments to the editor).

☐ The manuscript was prepared with the latest official template, and the formatting guidelines box was deleted.

☐ The file is in Microsoft Word (.docx) format, without protection or password lock.

☐ The title does not exceed 15 words, and the authors' names are written in full without academic titles, with affiliations and a corresponding author email.

☐ The structured abstract contains all five components, does not exceed 250 words, and is followed by three to five keywords.

☐ The text follows the required typeface, font sizes, line spacing, margins, alignment, and heading numbering.

☐ All tables, figures, and illustrations are placed in the text at the appropriate point, are numbered and captioned correctly, and are cited in the text. Permissions for reproduced material have been obtained.

☐ All in-text citations and the reference list follow APA 7th edition, every citation has a matching entry in the reference list and vice versa, and DOIs or URLs are provided where available.

☐ The manuscript length is within the approximate range of 5,000–7,000 words, excluding references and appendices.

☐ For blind review, identifying information has been removed from the main file as required by OJS, and self-citations are written neutrally.

☐ The ethical, funding, conflict of interest, and AI use statements are complete.

11. Contact

Editorial Office, Improvement: Journal of Management and Business Management Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya Email: improvement@fe.um-surabaya.ac.id