The mission of Journal of Operations Management is to publish original, high quality, operations management empirical research that will have a significant impact on OM theory and practice. Regular articles accepted for publication in JOM must have clear implications for operations managers based on one or more of a variety of rigorous research methodologies. JOM also publishes insightful meta-analyses of the OM literature, conceptual/theoretical studies with clear implications for practice, comments on past articles, studies concerning the OM field itself, and other such matters relevant to OM.

Manuscripts accepted for publication meet one or more of the following characteristics:

1. Rigorous studies that use various forms of empirical methodologies: case studies, sample surveys, laboratory experiments, econometric analysis, and ethnographic studies
 2. Papers that use multiple methods for triangulation purposes
3. Papers with relevant and refreshing results and perspectives
4. Empirically-grounded analytical modeling studies
5. Conceptual/theoretical papers that provide a reality check for how practice has evolved or how it might evolve

The primary audience includes researchers who are interested in advancing the OM/SCM field and practitioners who have a concern for keeping abreast of the state of the art in operations management. The journal presents to this audience the concepts, theories, and managerial perspectives that address currently cutting-edge issues in operations management and supply chain management.

Policies, Aims and Scope
JOM's distinctive emphasis is on the management of operations and supply chains. Accordingly, the aim of JOM is to enhance the field of OM/SCM and develop generalizable theory, typically through the identification, analysis, and theorization of real OM/SCM problems.

JOM seeks research that can help the audience develop a better conceptual base for understanding OM/SCM. The focus of articles for JOM should be on the managerial situation or the theory being studied rather than the solution techniques being developed or used. Highest priority is thus given to studies that are anchored in the real world and build, extend or test generalizable theories or frameworks of managerial significance. Most often such studies result from identifying an actual, new managerial situation for which existing theory is inadequate, thereby resulting in an addition to theory or testing multiple theories against actual managerial situations to determine their relevance.

General topics covered by the journal, while not exclusive, include the following:

 Operations processes in manufacturing and service organizations;
 Upstream supply management;
 Downstream demand management;
 Operations strategy and policy;
 Product and service design and development;
 Manufacturing and service systems design;
 Technology management for operations;
 Multi-site operations management;
 Capacity planning and analysis;
 Operations planning, scheduling and control;
 Project management;
 Human resource management for operations;
 Work design, measurement and improvement;
 Performance measurement and productivity;
 Quality management;
 Purchasing/sourcing management;
 Materials and inventory management;
 Logistics, transportation, distribution, and materials handling;
 International and comparative operations;
 Operations and information management;
 Sustainable supply chain operations;
 Humanitarian/disaster relief operations;
 Regulatory and environmental issues in operations.