Journal Mission
About IJoPP
The International Journal of Public Procurement (IJoPP) is an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to advancing both theoretical development and practical improvements in public procurement research worldwide. As a key academic platform within the International Public Procurement Conference (IPPC) network, IJoPP strives to maintain a rigorous scholarly standard while ensuring practical relevance and real-world impact.
About the manuscript subjects and types
The journal welcomes interdisciplinary research contributions covering topics such as procurement policy, strategy and process management, contract and supply chain management, procurement regulations, as well as emerging issues related to new technologies and public procurement, green and sustainable procurement, public procurement for innovation, and transparency.
The journal accepts a wide range of manuscript types, including original research articles, theoretical and practical reviews, in-depth case studies, commentaries, book reviews, and occasionally, reprints of selected government-published research reports. Academic manuscripts should be analytical in nature, demonstrating theoretical development, empirical investigation, or policy analysis, with a clear articulation of the original contribution to the field of public procurement. The journal particularly encourages research that draws on diverse disciplinary perspectives, including public administration, law, economics, political science, behavioral sciences, information systems, and supply chain management. For practice-oriented submissions, authors are encouraged to provide empirically grounded analyses and policy reflections on procurement reforms, institutional design, performance evaluation, and related areas, as well as theoretical frameworks.
For more information about manuscript preparation and submission, please see INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS at the end of each Journal issue.
Mission. The International Journal of Public Procurement (IJoPP) seeks to advance public procurement globally by exploring theories and sharing best practices of public procurement keyed to:
- Functional areas, including but not limited to procurement policy, procurement strategic planning and scheduling, contract formation, contract administration,evaluation, and procurement methods and techniques;
- Substantive areas such as government procurement laws and regulations, procurement economics and politics, and procurement ethics; and - Topical issues such as e-Procurement, procurement transparency, and green procurement.
IJoPP covers government procurement in developed and developing nations. It will include research studies, narrative essays, exemplar cases--both good and bad–from past experiences, commentaries, book reviews, and occasionally, reprints of informative published government reports.
Background. IJoPP provides research-based, in-depth analysis of government procurement by some of the world's leading educators, executives, and practitioners.
Audience. IJoPP serves procurement officials in all areas of the public sector, vendors and contractors who provide goods and services to public entities, researchers, the general public, and particularly members of the International Public Procurement Conference network, and libraries.
Information for Contributors and Manuscript Guidelines (click here to download .pdf file)
INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS
TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS. IJoPP publishes research studies, narrative essays, exemplar cases, commentaries, book reviews, and on occasion, reprints of informative published government reports. Although IJoPP is read by both academicians and practitioners, a majority of readers are members of professional bodies such as NIGP and CIPS who are purchasing officers and managers in the public sector.
Thus, IJoPP is particularly interested in:
- Exemplar procurement practices in various government entities, and non-profit organizations in the United States and other countries; and
- Academic manuscripts, including applied and theoretical research.
Academic manuscripts should be analytical in nature and may discuss theories, principles, and applications; report relevant research; analyze procurement-related issues; or describe procurement techniques and practices. IJoPP particularly welcomes manuscripts dealing with concepts from various academic disciplines including public policy/administration, economics, law, management, political science, information systems, behavioral sciences, supply chain management, and other disciplines which contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the various areas of public procurement.
MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS
Electronic submissions are required. A cover letter must accompany each submission indicating the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author.
For questions concerning journal policies, manuscript submissions, book review proposals/submissions, and symposium proposals/submissions, please contact appropriate editors as follows.
Regular Manuscripts, Symposium Proposals/Submissions and other Inquiries should be e-mailed to:
Professor Fuguo CAO, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
REVIEW PROCEDURE. All manuscripts are reviewed by three peer reviewers, who are selected on the basis of their specialized expertise by the editorial staff. Manuscripts are assigned a code number before being mailed to peer reviewers so the author(s) remain anonymous. The IJoPP Editorial Board and peer reviewers consist of both academicians and practitioners, with national and international representation. Reviewers make suggestions to the editorial staff if and when a rewrite is needed. Rewrites are requested for approximately 70 to 80 percent of accepted articles.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION. All accepted manuscripts will be copy-edited by a professional copy editor.
COPYRIGHT. Only original papers will be accepted, and copyright of published manuscripts will be vested in the publisher.
WRITING TIPS FOR BOOK REVIEWS
Book reviews in IJoPP generally run three to six double-spaced pages. Occasionally, a slightly longer review is appropriate, but as a rule, readers prefer getting right to the heart of the matter without too much editorializing by the reviewer.
Major points that should be covered in a review include the following:
- The purpose of the book;
- The book's intended audience;
- The basic thrust of the book;
- A brief discussion of the scope and breadth of coverage of material in the book;
- Discussion on the depth of coverage and balance of topics covered, possibly including some analysis of the important parts or topics; and - Identification and discussion of the book's strengths and weaknesses.
WRITING TIPS FOR ARTICLES.
Manuscript preparation
a. Language
The journal publishes articles in English. Authors may use either British or American spelling and terminology, but the chosen convention must be applied consistently throughout the manuscript. The language should be clear, idiomatic, and grammatically correct. Authors must carefully avoid spelling and grammatical errors to ensure that the manuscript meets accepted standards of professional written English. The journal's editors are not responsible for correcting grammatical or spelling errors. Manuscripts requiring substantial English revision may be rejected without peer review.
b. Manuscript Length
There is no strict page limit for research articles or review papers. However, authors are encouraged to be concise and keep the manuscript length within 4,000 to 10,000 words, excluding tables, figures, and references.
c. Text Formatting
Authors are advised to prepare their manuscript drafts using Microsoft Word. Please use a standard font (e.g., 12-point Times New Roman), double-spacing, and a single-column layout. Page numbers should be added using the automatic page numbering function. Do not use field codes. Indentation should be done using tab characters or formatting commands, not the spacebar. Tables should be created using the table function in Word, rather than importing from spreadsheet software. Mathematical equations should be prepared using the Equation Editor or MathType.
d. Order and content of sections
Manuscripts should be arranged in the following order: title page, abstract, keywords, main text (including tables and figures), appendices (if any), acknowledgments, declaration of competing interests, references, author biographies, graphical abstract, and electronic supplementary materials (if applicable).
d.1. Title Page
The title page should include the following:
• A concise and informative title. The title should be brief, objective, engaging, and grammatically correct. The use of abbreviations, acronyms, or formulas in the title is strongly discouraged. All letters must be capitalized.
• Author names, with superscript numbers indicating institutional affiliations and an asterisk (*) identifying the corresponding author. The author list should include only those who have made substantial scientific contributions to the manuscript. Individuals who contributed in other ways should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section.
• Author affiliations and postal codes. All affiliations should be clearly indicated using superscript numbers placed after each author’s name and before the corresponding institution. Provide the full postal address for each institution, including the country name.
• The email address of the corresponding author.
Any changes to the author list between initial submission and revision must be explained in the cover letter accompanying the revised manuscript, along with a completed “Authorship Change Request Form” provided by the editorial office. Such changes are subject to editorial approval and may lead to rejection of the manuscript. No changes to authorship or author order will be accepted after the manuscript has been accepted for publication.
d.2. Abstract and Keywords
Regular research articles and review papers must include a concise, factual abstract that clearly states the main objective and research question, methodology, key results, and principal conclusions of the study. The abstract should be between 120 and 250 words in length. Footnotes, references, figures, and tables are not permitted in the abstract. Immediately following the abstract, please provide 4 to 6 keywords that can be used for indexing purposes.
d.3. Main Text
Manuscripts describing original research typically include the following sections: Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion. Submissions with significant theoretical or mathematical components may require an additional section to present analytical developments.
d.4. Headings and Section Numbering
For research and review articles, a decimal numbering system for headings is required. Divide the manuscript into clearly defined and consecutively numbered sections and subsections. Sections should be numbered as 1, 2, etc., and subsections as 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc. These numbers should also be used for internal cross-referencing—avoid vague references like “in the text”. Each section and subsection must have a brief, descriptive heading placed on a separate line. Review articles should begin with an Introduction and end with a Conclusion or Summary.
d.5. Abbreviations
All abbreviations must be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter. Abbreviations defined in the abstract should be redefined when first used in the main text.
d.6. Footnotes
Necessary footnotes to the main text should be numbered consecutively and placed at the bottom of the page on which they appear. Footnotes in tables should be indicated using superscript lowercase letters (or asterisks) and placed immediately below the table.
d.7. Units
Follow internationally accepted standards and conventions, such as those defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). If non-standard units are used, provide their equivalents in internationally recognized units.
d.8. Mathematical Symbols and Notation
All formulas, symbols, subscripts, superscripts, Greek letters, and special characters must be clearly distinguishable and carefully checked. Use standard mathematical notation. All symbols must be clearly defined. If needed, a list of symbols may be provided before the Introduction.
d.9. Equations
Equations that are displayed separately from the text and are referenced explicitly should be numbered consecutively and cited as Eq. (1), Eq. (2), etc. Simple inline equations should use a slash (/) to denote small fractional terms (e.g., x/y) instead of a horizontal line. Exponential functions involving e should be written using “exp” for clarity. In general, variables should be set in italic type.
d.10. Figures
All figures, including graphs, photographs, diagrams, and flowcharts—should be embedded in the text close to where they are first mentioned, and not placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Figures must be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals (e.g., Fig. 1, Fig. 2), and each figure must include a descriptive caption. All elements within a figure should be clearly labeled and referenced in the caption. Figures must be cited in the text in numerical order. Color figures will be reproduced in color in both the print and online versions at no charge. Authors are encouraged to use color figures in their submissions.
d.11. Tables
All tables should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals and accompanied by a concise title that clearly explains their content. Tables should not duplicate results presented elsewhere in the manuscript, such as in figures. Tables must be cited in the text in numerical order (e.g., Table 1, Table 2).
d.12. Appendices
If appendices are included, they should be presented without numbering or, if multiple, labeled consecutively (e.g., Appendix A, Appendix B). Equations in appendices should be numbered separately from those in the main text, using the appendix letter (e.g., Eq. A1, Eq. A2), and each appendix should have its own numbering scheme.
d.13. Acknowledgments
The Acknowledgments section should include individuals who contributed to the work but are not listed as authors, as well as a full list of funding sources that supported the research. Funding agency names should be written in full. Acknowledgments should not appear on the title page, as a title footnote, or be placed in any alternative location.
d.14. Citations & references
Citations in the text are numbered in square brackets at appropriate locations (before a period, comma, etc.). Some examples: (i) Negotiation research spans many disciplines [3]. (ii) This result was later contradicted by Becker and Seligman [5], who… (iii) This effect has been widely studied [1–3,7].
The list of references should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned in the text. Papers accepted for publication are cited by their DOIs. Do not use footnotes or endnotes as a substitute for a reference list.
References are compiled in a numbered list in the order of their first citation in the text. Each numbered reference may contain only one literature citation. Please ensure references are given in the correct format, including titles of journal articles/book chapters with initial and final page numbers, in order to avoid delays in typesetting your article. The examples below illustrate different reference types.
Journal articles (if the number of authors exceeds 10, after the tenth author we use et al.)
[1] Chen, X., Zhu W. Y., Zhang Q. M. (2023). Electrocaloric cooling technologies for a sustainable world. iEnergy, 2(2): 100–108.
[2] Slifka M K, Whitton J L. (2000). Clinical implications of dysregulated cytokine production. J Mol Med, https://doi.org/10.1007/s001090000086.
Books and articles in books
[3] Peyret, R., Taylor, T. D. (1983). Computational Methods for Fluid Flow, 2nd edn. New York: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
[4] Volpe, R. (1994). Techniques for collision prevention, impact stability, and force control by space manipulators. In: Teleoperation and Robotics in Space. Skaar, S. B., Ruoff, C. F., Eds. Washington DC: The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Articles in proceedings
[5] Poirazis H, Kragh M, Hogg C. (2009). Energy modelling of ETFE membranes in building applications. In: Proceedings of the 11th International IBPSA Building Simulation Conference, Glasgow, UK.
Reports, theses, and individual papers
[6] Chapman, G. T., Tobak, M. (1984). nonlinear problems in flight dynamics. NASA TM-85940. 6
[7] Steger, J. L., Nietubicz, C. J., Heavey, J. E. (1981). A general curvilinear grid generation program for projectile configurations. Report No. ARBRL-MR03142. U.S. Army Ballistic Research Lab., Aberdeen Proving Ground MD.
[8] Yang, X. (1999). Study of building material emissions and indoor air quality. PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
Patent style
[9] Lenz, J. R. (2004). Compact tribology tester. U.S. Patent 6 817 223, Nov. 2004.
Standard
[10] US-ASTM. (2014). ASTM D974-2014 Standard test method for acid and base number by color-indicator titration.
Non-English publication style
[11] Jia, W., Zhang, Q., Bai, Z., Ma, S. Y., Yao, D. Wang, Y. (2007). Progress on manufacturing techniques of shaped charge liners. Rare Metal Mater Eng, 36(9): 1511–1516 (in Chinese).
Others
[12] Information on http://www.adobe.com/technology/projects.html. [13] Mishra, A., Sefene, E. M., Tsegaw, A. A. (2021) Process parameter optimization of friction stir welding on 6061AA using supervised machine learning regression-based algorithms. arXiv preprint: arXiv: 2109.00570 [cs.LG].
If electronic supplementary materials (ESM) are submitted, they will be published exactly as provided by the authors, without any conversion, editing, or reformatting. ESM should consist of peer-reviewed content that is directly relevant to the conclusions of the paper. Please note that the purpose of ESM is to provide additional, not essential, support for the article’s conclusions. Authors are strongly encouraged to integrate all critical information into the main manuscript to ensure that the content can be fully understood without referring to the ESM. If ESM is provided, it must be explicitly cited in the main text in the same manner as figures or tables (e.g., “Fig. S1 in the ESM”). Additionally, a separate paragraph should be inserted before the References section, such as:
Electronic Supplementary Materials: Supplementary materials (brief description) are available in the online version of this article.
Submission
a. Ways of submission
Authors must submit their manuscripts via email directly to the Editor-in-Chief (Dr. Fuguo Cao) at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
b. Documents to include in submissions.
• Cover letter (mandatory)
• Manuscript formatted according to the journal’s template (mandatory)
• Author biographies (mandatory)
• Declaration of Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no competing interests related to the content of this article.Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that may be directly or indirectly related to the submitted work. Please note: If there are no competing interests to declare, authors must include the following statement:
• Electronic supplementary materials (optional)
• Other necessary materials not intended for peer review (optional)
c. Legal Responsibility
Submission to the International Journal of Public Procurement (IJoPP) confirms that the work described has not been published previously in any form, including in languages other than English, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; furthermore, it confirms that the sender(s) is/are the sole and exclusive authors of the paper, and will bear responsibility for any plagiarism, breach of intellectual property, or academic ethics violation (including inappropriate AI use). Authors must explicitly declare the use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in the writing process (excluding basic tools like grammar checkers) via a dedicated statement titled "Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process" placed before the references in both submitted and published manuscripts if such tools were used solely to improve readability/language, requiring human oversight, review, and full author accountability for final content – AI must not be listed as an author. Submission and publication require consent from all co-authors and institutional approval where applicable, and the publisher assumes no legal responsibility for claims arising from the submission.
Peer Review Process
The journal follows a double-blind peer review procedure. The standard review process for each submission consists of three stages: initial screening, preliminary evaluation, and peer review.
a. Initial Screening
All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial screening by the Editor-in-Chief. At this stage, manuscripts that do not comply with the guidelines outlined in this document will be desk-rejected without external review. In addition, all submissions are subject to a text similarity check. Manuscripts with a high level of text similarity may also be rejected at this stage without further evaluation. Please note that the journal does not provide detailed reports of the similarity check.
b. Preliminary Evaluation
Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are then subject to a preliminary evaluation by the Editor-in-Chief, followed by assessment by the Editor. At this stage, the Editor-in-Chief has full discretion to decide whether a manuscript will proceed to external peer review or be rejected without review. Special emphasis is placed on the readability and appeal of the manuscript. Submissions with unengaging abstracts and/or lacking a comprehensive and compelling introduction are likely to be rejected at this stage without detailed comments.
c. Peer Review
IJoPP implements a rigorous peer review process. All submissions first undergo an editorial assessment to determine whether the manuscript aligns with the journal’s scope, focus, and minimum academic quality standards. Manuscripts that pass this initial screening are then to be sent to three anonymous reviewers with relevant expertise for double-blind peer review. The typical review period is 8 to 12 weeks.
Once a submission has received at least two usable review reports (or in exceptional cases, at least one), Editor will make a publication decision based on the reviewers’ evaluations. Possible outcomes include acceptance, revision (major or minor), or rejection. The key evaluation criteria include alignment with the journal’s mission, the perceived quality and originality of the work, its potential interest to IJoPP’s readership, and the overall presentation—particularly the standard of written academic English and the clarity of figures and tables.
In rare cases, after multiple rounds of reviewer invitations, the journal may still be unable to receive any peer review reports. Under such circumstances, the manuscript may be rejected at the editor’s discretion.
Post-Acceptance Information
a. Publication Fee
A publication fee of USD 200 is payable via bank transfer upon acceptance of the article. Please note: Articles based on papers presented at IPPC conferences are exempt from this fee.
b. Copyright Agreement
Authors will be required to sign an Open Access (OA) copyright agreement. This ensures the broadest possible dissemination and legal protection of the work under applicable copyright laws.
c. Proofreading
Proofs are provided to allow authors to check for typesetting errors and verify the completeness and accuracy of the content, including text, tables, and figures. Substantive changes, such as new results, corrections to data, changes in titles, or modifications to the author list, are not permitted at this stage unless approved by the Editor-in-Chief. After online publication, any further corrections must be made in the form of a formal corrigendum, which will be linked to the original article.
d. Online First Publication
Articles will be published online as soon as the corrected proofs are received. When citing the article, please use the recommended citation format.
Authorship Principles
These guidelines outline the principles of authorship and good authorship practices that are expected of all contributors to the journal.
Authorship Clarification
The journal and publisher assume that all listed authors have agreed to the content of the manuscript, have explicitly consented to its submission, and have obtained approval from the relevant institutional authority prior to submission.
The publisher does not prescribe specific types of contributions that qualify an individual for authorship. Authors are encouraged to follow authorship guidelines relevant to their specific research disciplines. In the absence of field-specific standards, the following criteria are recommended:
All individuals listed as authors should meet all of the following conditions:
Have made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work; or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or to the creation of new software used in the work;
Have drafted the manuscript or revised it critically for important intellectual content;
Have approved the version to be published; and
Agree to be responsible for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Disclosures and Declarations
All authors are required to include the following information, where applicable: sources of funding, any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest, a statement confirming ethical approval from a relevant committee for research involving humans and/or animals, a statement of informed consent for studies involving human participants, and an animal welfare statement for studies involving animals.
The inclusion of such information depends not only on the journal’s scope but also on the nature of the article itself. If the submitted work has potential implications for public health or welfare, it is the responsibility of all authors to provide the appropriate disclosures and declarations.
Data Transparency
All authors are expected to ensure that all data, materials, software applications, or custom code that support their published findings are available and in compliance with the standards of their respective disciplines.
Role of the Corresponding Author
One author must be designated as the corresponding author, acting on behalf of all co-authors and ensuring that any issues related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately addressed.
The corresponding author is responsible for the following duties:
Ensuring that all listed authors have approved the manuscript prior to submission, including agreement on the author names and their order of appearance;
Managing all communication between the journal and the co-authors before and after publication;
Providing transparency regarding any reuse of materials in the cover letter to the editor, and disclosing any unpublished content included in the manuscript (e.g., manuscripts under review or in press);
Ensuring that all required author disclosures, declarations, and data transparency statements (as outlined above) are properly included in the manuscript, where applicable.
Author Contributions
In disciplines where individual contributions can be clearly described and no specific authorship guidelines exist, the publisher encourages authors to include a contribution statement in the manuscript to promote transparency. This statement should be listed on a separate title page.
Examples of such statements include:
Conceptualization: [Full Name], …; Methodology: [Full Name], …; Formal analysis and investigation: [Full Name], …; Writing – original draft: [Full Name], …; Writing – review & editing: [Full Name], …; Funding acquisition: [Full Name], …; Resources: [Full Name], …; Supervision: [Full Name], …
For review articles where contribution descriptions may not follow the standard structure, authors should specify who initiated the idea for the article, who conducted the literature search and data analysis, and who drafted and/or critically revised the manuscript.
Affiliations
Each author’s primary affiliation should reflect the institution where the majority of their research work was conducted. If an author has since moved to a different institution, their current address may be noted separately. Addresses will not be updated or changed after publication.
Changes to Authorship
Authors are strongly advised to confirm the author list, corresponding author designation, and the order of authors at the time of submission. Changes to authorship, including adding or removing authors, changing the corresponding author, or rearranging the author order, will not be permitted after the manuscript has been accepted.
Please note: Author names will be published exactly as they appear in the accepted manuscript. It is the authors’ responsibility to ensure that all names are accurate and correctly spelled, and that all addresses and affiliations are up to date.
Adding or removing authors during the revision stage is generally not allowed, but may be considered in exceptional cases. In such cases, the reasons for the authorship change must be clearly explained, and final approval is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.
Confidentiality
Authors must treat all communications with the journal as confidential. This includes correspondence with journal representatives (e.g., the Editor-in-Chief or Managing Editor) and reviewer reports, unless explicit permission has been granted to share such information.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure the objectivity and transparency of research, and to confirm adherence to recognized standards of ethical and professional conduct, authors must include relevant statements regarding funding sources, potential conflicts of interest (both financial and non-financial), informed consent for studies involving human participants, and animal welfare for studies involving animals, where applicable.
At the time of submission, authors must provide the following declarations, under a separate section titled “Compliance with Ethical Standards”, as applicable:
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Statement on research involving human participants and/or animals
Statement of informed consent
The corresponding author must be prepared to collect and, if requested, provide documentation verifying compliance with ethical standards, either during peer review or after publication.
The editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with these guidelines. Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of these statements and for any failure to meet the stated requirements.
