JOURQUAL Journal Ranking

Note: In November 2024, the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) removed all information regarding the over 15-year history of the JOURQUAL journal ranking from its website. We provide the key results and information here.

 

About JOURQUAL

JOURQUAL is a journal ranking initiated by German business scholars with support from the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB), the umbrella organization for university professors in business administration. The ranking assesses journals relevant to business administration based on evaluations from VHB member scholars. The first version of the ranking was developed in 2003 by business scholars Thorsten Hennig-Thurau (now at the Marketing Center, University of Münster), Gianfranco Walsh (now at the University of Hanover), and Ulf Schrader (now at TU Berlin). Since version 2.1, which combined data from 2008 and 2011, Thorsten Hennig-Thurau has led the ranking alongside Henrik Sattler. The most recent version, JOURQUAL3, was released in 2015.

JOURQUAL offers a comparative assessment of international and German-language business journals in terms of their scholarly quality. It aims to guide researchers in evaluating the scientific quality of journal articles and is used for assessing the research performance of professors, junior professors, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral candidates in business administration. Applications include university appointment procedures, professor salaries, cumulative habilitations, and doctoral degrees. The ranking includes journals that are significantto German-speaking scholars in business administration, encompassing both international (particularly English-language) and German-language publications. It is considered a driving force for the international and research-oriented development of German business administration.

 

About JOURQUAL3

JOURQUAL3 is based on evaluations from 1,100 VHB members, who have collectively provided64,113 journal assessments. Out of 934 journals reviewed, 651 surpassed the threshold of 25evaluations and received a rating. The ratings distribution across different categories includes:

  • 22 top-tier, globally leading business journals (A+ = 3.4%),
  • 72 leading business journals (A = 11.1%),
  • 217 significant and respected businessjournals (B = 33.3%),
  • 273 recognized business journals (C = 41.9%),
  • 59 business journals (D = 9.1%).

 

With the median as the basis for ratings, intermediate categories emerge where the median value falls exactly between two categories: A/B (0.2%), B/C (0.8%), and C/D (0.3%).

Additionally, 210 journals received between 10 and 24 evaluations; these are listed with the notation "no rating" and an appropriate explanation. Twenty-six journals were deemed non-academic by over 50% of respondents (target audience being managers, politicians, etc.), andare labeled "not a scientific journal". Forty-seven journals received fewer than 10 evaluations and are only mentioned for informational purposes.

The correlation between VHB-JOURQUAL3 and the 2011 VHB-JOURQUAL2.1 stands at 0.89. Thecorrelation of VHB-JOURQUAL3 with the British Academic Journal Quality Guide (AJQG) is 0.66,and with the Impact Factor measure Scimago Journal Rank (SJR), it is 0.70. Both values arehigher than the corresponding correlations of VHB-JOURQUAL2.1 with AJQG and SJR. These results indicate a high consistency and quality of VHB-JOURQUAL3, though deviations suggest that journal ratings are not absolute truths but potentially flawed indications of trends. VHB thus recommends considering valid alternative ratings for desired guidance.

 

Scientific Directors of VHB-JOURQUAL3

  • Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, University of Münster
  • Prof. Dr. Henrik Sattler, University of Hamburg

JOURQUAL Advisory Board

  • Prof. Dr. Harald Dyckhoff, RWTH Aachen
  • Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Prof. Dr. Georg Schreyögg, Free University of Berlin

 

Detailed Results of JOURQUAL3

 

Further materials about JOURQUAL

Summary of the history, methodology, and results of JOURQUAL (presentation by Prof. Hennig-Thurau and Prof. Henrik Sattler from 2018): Read Here

 

Article on JOURQUAL Methodology and Quality

Published in Business Research by Prof. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau and Prof. Ulf Schrader: Read Article

 

Announcement on Discontinuation of JOURQUAL by Prof. Hennig-Thurau and Prof. Henrik Sattler: