European Journal of Operational Research

EJOR is a major player in the world of operations research, with a wide range of research streams that sometimes feel like a collection of sub-journals, each managed by different editors with their own styles. My latest run-in with them was eye-opening, to say the least—especially when it became clear that our group of lesser-known authors was having a tough time making a mark in the European OR network. Out of three reviews, we received one enthusiastic thumbs-up, one flat rejection, and a lukewarm maybe that the editor deftly transformed into a definitive “no.” One reviewer even had the audacity to suggest our manuscript might be better suited for a journal with “somewhat lower requirements than EJOR.” Really? If that comment had come from the editor or an associate editor, I could understand, but from a reviewer? It’s puzzling. It seems like someone is keen to guard their territory at EJOR—maybe the editor himself!