All in the Same Boat: Consolidating Established Journals
Bryan Hibbard · Science Editor · 2024
For many journal portfolios, the focus is on ever-increasing expansion, launching new journals to reach new markets, and capturing niche audiences. But what happens when those niche journals cannibalize each other and fight for prominence—when one journal emerges as the de facto flagship journal, and your research community begins to see the others as second string? As Sr Editorial Operations Manager, this was the main problem I faced at the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and, rather than fight against this trend, I proposed merging our 4 journals into one robust title that covers all aspects of petroleum engineering. One year later, the results are promising: Submissions to the new, consolidated journal are up 20% compared with total submissions for the previous journal portfolio. I believe this new journal will allow SPE to remain competitive within our field of research and offer new opportunities for research in a rapidly changing industry. How Did We Get Here? In the early years of the Society (60–70 years ago), SPE had only one research journal. As that journal grew, it made logical sense to offer new, individualized journals that covered specific disciplines within petroleum engineering. At its height, SPE had 9 journals that were published simultaneously. In the 1990s and 2000s, interest and submissions to some of those journals dwindled, and they had to be sunset; many authors and readers were lost. In early 2022, the situation was not much better. SPE’s general interest journal, SPE Journal (focused on fundamental research), was expanding […]