Instructions for Authors
This page sets out what to submit to Business Management Review and how to prepare it. The policies governing publication — open access, licensing, peer review, ethics, artificial intelligence and Sustainable Development Goals — are set out on the Policies & Author Guidelines page.
On this page
1. What to Submit
Submit the complete manuscript — including tables, figures and appendices — as a single file in Word, RTF or PDF format.
| Title page | Article title, and the contribution to Sustainable Development Goals in the form described below |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Maximum 250 words |
| Keywords | Including SDG numbers where relevant |
| Length | Maximum 8,000 words for the whole manuscript |
| Language | English, unless the journal expressly permits otherwise |
| File | One file containing everything; no separate table or figure files |
Do not include page numbers, headers or footers; these are added by the editors. Copyedit the manuscript before submitting, and ensure no coloured mark-up, comments or tracked changes remain in the final version.
Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals
Every manuscript must state its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals on the title page, after the abstract. The statement has two parts: the relevant goals, given by official SDG number and title; and a concise statement of approximately 50 to 100 words explaining how the research contributes to achieving them.
Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 8 — Decent work and economic growth; SDG 9 — Industry, innovation and infrastructure. The research provides empirical evidence and operational strategies to enhance productivity, expand employment opportunities, and ensure safe, inclusive labour markets.
2. Manuscript Format
Page setup
- Page size 8.5 × 11 inches.
- Margins of 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) on all four sides, including tables and figures.
- Single line spacing, single column, with both left and right margins justified.
- Where right justification produces awkward spacing within or between words, a ragged right margin is preferred.
Typeface
- Main body: 12 pt Times, or the closest comparable font.
- Footnotes: 10 pt Times, or the closest comparable font.
- Avoid any font smaller than 6 pt. For a second face, such as headings, use a sans serif font.
- Set body text in black. Colour may be used in figures and maps, but avoid colour where conversion to black and white would render the material illegible.
Paragraphs and headings
- Indent every paragraph except the first after a heading; an indent should be at least two em-spaces.
- Do not insert extra space between paragraphs, except around long quotations, theorems, propositions and similar set-off material.
- Avoid widows and orphans — a page should not end with the first line of a paragraph or begin with its last line.
- Distinguish headings from body text by font or small capitals, use one face for all headings, and show the hierarchy by reducing size. Leave space above and below.
- Aim to leave no page more than a quarter empty.
Emphasis and terms
- Use italics rather than underlining for emphasis, for foreign terms, and for titles of books and other works. Using colour for emphasis is discouraged.
- Apart from common foreign words and phrases, avoid foreign terms.
Footnotes
Footnotes appear at the foot of the page on which they are referenced, not at the end of the paper, set in 10 pt, single spaced, with a separator rule. Footnote numbers or symbols follow punctuation rather than preceding it. Excessively long footnotes are better placed in an appendix.
3. Tables, Figures and Mathematics
Tables and figures
- Place tables and figures near the point where they are referenced. Large items may occupy a page of their own.
- All tables and figures must fit within 1.5-inch margins on all sides, in both portrait and landscape orientation.
- Avoid overly small type. Use high-resolution figures, preferably encapsulated PostScript (EPS).
- Tables and figures must never be supplied in a separate document or file.
Mathematics
- Italicise Roman letters used as variables; do not italicise Roman letters forming part of multi-letter function names.
- Set subscripts and superscripts in a smaller size than the main text.
- Type short expressions inline; set longer expressions, multi-level expressions such as fractions, and important definitions as display maths.
- Number equations sequentially, placing numbers consistently on either the left or the right.
- Avoid symbols and notation in unusual fonts, and check that mathematics renders correctly in the PDF.
4. References and Citations
It is the author’s obligation to provide complete references. Begin the reference list immediately after the last sentence of the manuscript, following a line break rather than a page break, on the same page where possible. Use hanging indents, single spacing, and extra space between entries, with margins justified left and right.
Ordering
Order references by the last name of the first author, then the first name of the first author, then the last name of any second author, then the second author’s first name, then publication date, then order of citation in the text. Co-authored work is listed after solo-authored work by the same first author.
Information required
| Journal articles | Author name(s), article title, journal name, year (or “n.d.”), volume, page numbers. Issue number, month or season, and a hyperlink are desirable. For work in press, give the expected year and substitute “forthcoming” for volume and pages. |
|---|---|
| Books | Author name(s), book title, year (or “n.d.”), publisher, publisher’s address, edition if not the first. For books in press, give the expected year and add “forthcoming”. |
| Chapters | Chapter author(s), book editor(s), chapter title, book title, year (or “n.d.”), publisher, publisher’s address, edition if not the first. |
| Working papers | Author name(s), title, year (or “n.d.”), and location — for example the department and university, or the author’s website. Where the paper belongs to a series, give the series name and number. |
| Other works | Author name(s), title, year (or “n.d.”), and how a reader may obtain a copy. |
Formatting entries
Within the reference list, entries may be formatted as the author prefers, provided the formatting is consistent throughout and every entry begins with the last name of the first author. All of the following are acceptable:
Smith, Adam (1776) The Wealth of Nations, . . .
Smith, A., The Wealth of Nations, . . . , 1776.
Smith, Adam: The Wealth of Nations, 1776, . . .
Where consecutive entries share an author, replace the repeated name with an em-dash; where two names repeat, use “— and —”.
Smith, Adam: The Wealth of Nations, . . .
—: The Theory of Moral Sentiments, . . .
Edlin, A. and S. Reichelstein (1995) . . .
— and — (1996) . . .
Citations in the text
Use the author–date method throughout.
- One author: As noted by Smith (1776).
- Two authors, both last names: Edlin and Reichelstein (1996) claim . . .
- Three or more authors, first author and et al.: Abel et al. (1987).
- Same authors and date: distinguish with “a”, “b” and so on — Jones (1994b) provides a more general analysis of the model introduced in Example 3 of Jones (1994a).
- Within parentheses, separate the date with commas: . . . (see Smith, 1776, for an early discussion of this).
After a first citation in full, later citations may use last names alone where this is unambiguous; where another work by the same authors is cited, always attach the date.
5. Required Declarations
Place the following immediately before the reference list. Where a declaration does not apply, state that explicitly rather than omitting it.
| Use of AI | Name the tool and version and describe how it was used, or state that no generative AI tools were used. |
|---|---|
| Conflict of interest | Declare any financial or personal relationship that could be seen to bias the work, or state that none exists. |
| Funding | Name the funder and grant number, or state that the research received no specific funding. |
| Data availability | State how the data underlying the article may be obtained. |
| Acknowledgements | Enter in the cover page footnote field, not in the body of the manuscript. |
Declaration on the Use of AI: The authors used [tool, version] to [purpose]. All content was reviewed and edited by the authors, who take full responsibility for it. — or — The authors did not use generative AI tools in preparing this manuscript.
6. Submission Checklist
Confirm each of the following before submitting.
- The work is original, is not published or forthcoming elsewhere, and is not under review at another journal.
- All co-authors have approved the manuscript and agree to its submission.
- The manuscript is a single file in Word, RTF or PDF, no longer than 8,000 words.
- A title page is included, with the SDG contribution statement in the required form.
- The abstract is no longer than 250 words, and keywords are supplied.
- Page size is 8.5 × 11 inches with 1.5-inch margins on all sides.
- Text is single spaced, single column, justified, in 12 pt Times; footnotes are 10 pt.
- No page numbers, headers or footers have been added.
- Tables and figures sit within the margins and are embedded in the same file.
- References are complete, consistently formatted, and use author–date citation in the text.
- Declarations on AI use, conflicts of interest, funding and data availability are included.
- Permission has been obtained for any third-party material reproduced in the manuscript.
- No tracked changes, comments or coloured mark-up remain in the file.
7. Contact
Chief Editor, Business Management Review
University of Dar es Salaam Business School
P.O. Box 35046, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Email: [email protected]
Ready to submit? Use the Submit Article link in the sidebar.