Submission Preflight (jim-submission)

When to trigger

• Submission is planned within days and the package needs a final audit
• Nobody is sure what ScholarOne will ask for or how the files must be split
• Anonymization, formatting caps, or declarations have not been verified against current rules
• An Insight paper or special-issue submission has extra constraints to confirm

Facts below were checked 2026-07-16 against the AMA journal pages (ama.org) and the SAGE author instructions (journals.sagepub.com/author-instructions/jig). Limits, fees, and mastheads move — re-check the official pages the week you submit.

Verified JIM specifications

• Journal: Journal of International Marketing, an American Marketing Association journal published by SAGE; quarterly; ISSN 1069-031X (print) / 1547-7215 (online); Editor-in-Chief Ayşegül Özsomer (Koç University), since 2024.
• Portal: ScholarOne at mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ama_jim (linked from the AMA JIM page). Online submission only.
• Review model: double-anonymized. The submission is split into at least two files: (1) a title page with authors, affiliations, contact details, acknowledgments, funding; (2) a main document with no identifying information anywhere — including the Web Appendix files.
• Format: 12-pt Times New Roman (or 12-pt LaTeX font), double-spaced text (tables/references may be single-spaced), 1-inch margins, no page numbers, line numbers, headers, or footers — ScholarOne stamps page/line numbers onto its PDF.
• Length: maximum 50 pages, properly formatted, inclusive of title, abstract, keywords, text, footnotes, references, tables, figures, and print appendices.
• Abstract: 200 words, unstructured, third person, placed between title and body.
• Keywords: minimum 3, specific to the topic; ScholarOne accepts up to 8 primary keywords.
• Insight papers: short manuscripts under 4,000 words including all components, designed for expedited review — confirm current scope on the AMA guidelines page.
• Fees / OA: no submission fee reported on the official pages; open-access options and any APC follow SAGE's current terms — re-check on the official site rather than assuming.

Anonymization audit

• Main document and Web Appendix free of names, affiliations, acknowledgments, grant numbers
• Self-citations neutralized ("prior research shows (Author 2021)") — no "our earlier study"
• File metadata scrubbed (PDF/DOCX author properties, tracked-changes identities)
• Data/preregistration links routed through anonymized views (no personal OSF handles)
• Country-partner details that identify the team (a named university's panel in one country) generalized

Package assembly

• Title page file: full author block, ORCIDs, correspondence, acknowledgments, funding, ethics/IRB note
• Main document: title, 200-word abstract, keywords, body, references, exhibits — inside 50 pages
• Web Appendix file(s): translations/items, extra analyses; anonymized; cited in text
• Cover letter: the JIM fit claim (international dimension as theoretical core), the sibling-boundary sentence, confirmation of no concurrent submission, special-issue name if applicable
• Keyword set chosen to route to the right associate editor (e.g., "export performance," "measurement invariance," "global branding")
• Declarations ready: conflicts of interest, funding, human-subjects approval, AI-use disclosure per current AMA/SAGE policy

Portal walk-through notes

Create/verify the ScholarOne account with ORCID linked before submission day; the form asks for manuscript type (regular vs. Insight vs. special issue), keywords, and suggested/opposed reviewers. Paste the abstract as plain text and check that symbols survived. Build the proof PDF and read it once fully — exhibit rendering, no orphaned identity strings, reference list intact. Only then approve. Save the manuscript ID; jim-review-process tracks it from here.

Anti-patterns

• One merged file with the author block on page 1 — instant administrative bounce
• "Fitting" 52 pages by shrinking margins or line spacing; the format spec is checked
• An abstract of 240 words because "it's close enough"
• Identity leakage through the Web Appendix, file properties, or a personal repository link
• A cover letter that summarizes the paper but never argues JIM fit
• Submitting the medical-AMA numeric reference style unconverted
• Trusting these specs next year without re-checking the official pages

Output format

【Files】title page / main doc / web appendix / cover letter: ready?
【Anonymization】text + metadata + links audit: pass/fix
【Caps】pages __ / 50; abstract __ / 200; keywords __ (3–8)
【Format】12-pt TNR, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, no page numbers: pass/fix
【Type】regular / Insight (<4,000 words) / special issue: [which]
【Declarations】COI / funding / ethics / AI use: complete?
【Fact status】portal + limits re-checked on ama.org & SAGE (date)
【Next step】submit at mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ama_jim → jim-review-process

Templates

• templates/checklist.md — printable preflight list
• templates/manuscript_template.md — JIM-shaped skeleton