Whereas the number of submissions was fairly constant
during the first decade, it increased substantially (i.e., by
69%) during the second decade, and the increase was particularly
marked in the latter part of the decade. Whereas
there were 72 submissions in 2000, they had risen to 122
in 2009. As the size of the journal and the number of
papers published have been relatively constant, the acceptance
rate has inevitably fallen. The average acceptance rate
was 17% over the whole of the second decade, and 15%
in the second half (2005–2009) which contrasts with the
rate of 26% in the second half of the 1990s (1995–1999).
Given the growth in the number of papers, one possible
explanation for the lower acceptance rate is that an increasing
number of papers are being submitted far too early.
Such papers are not fully developed. They have probably
not been sufficiently discussed at conferences and workshops,
and they have clearly not received critical comments
from colleagues. It is important that authors do not rely on
reviewers to help them to develop their papers. As Editors
we want to continue publishing high quality papers
in Management Accounting Research, but we do not necessarily
want the acceptance rate to decline. On the contrary,
we would welcome an increase in the acceptance rate, provided
the papers submitted are of a high quality.
Table 1 indicates the geographical regions in which the
authors are located and consequently the regional origins
of the papers published in Management Accounting
Research. In the first decade 50% of the papers came from
the U.K., with a further 19% from other countries in Europe.
In the second decade, however, the number originating
from the U.K. declined to 29%, but this was compensated by
papers from other European countries. In total, the proportion
from Europe remained surprisingly constant at 69%.
The small decline in papers from the U.S. and Asia has been
compensated by an increase in papers from Australia and
New Zealand. The quite low number of papers from the
U.S. may be due to the way U.S. universities, especially the
top schools, rank journals—see Merchant (2010). On the
positive side, one factor which has helped to increase the
number of accepted papers originating from countries in
continental Europe and Asia, where English is not the first
language, is the increasing use of English language editing
services and proof reading by colleagues who are native
English speakers.