Editors' introduction.

Simmons, Rob ; Frick, Bernd ; Humphreys, Brad R. 等

The International Journal of Sport Finance begins a new era with the publication of this issue (Volume 4, Issue 1). Dennis Howard, the founding editor of IJSF, and Fitness Information Technology, the publishers of the journal, envisioned a change in the IJSF editorial leadership in three-year cycles to keep the field of sport finance moving forward and the journal vital. With the publication of this issue we are following through with that policy with Robert Simmons assuming duties as editor and Bernd Frick and Brad R. Humphreys assuming the roles of associate editors.

Dr. Howard provided exceptional guidance, leadership, vision, and energy for the IJSF from its inception, and we are deeply indebted to him for his efforts the previous three years. Bill Gerrard also provided outstanding leadership as associate editor, and his contributions to the journal will be sorely missed. The first three volumes of the IJSF were tremendously successful for a new journal. The quality and quantity of submissions have grown steadily, and Dr. Howard's tenure as editor ended on a high note with the inclusion of the IJSF in the Social Science Citation Index, an important milestone in the establishment of a high quality journal. We hope to build on Dr. Howard's successes and continue to strive for excellence as the IJSF enters its fourth year of publication.

All three of us have been deeply involved in the IJSF during its first three years, as editorial board members, guest editors, and contributing authors. We are committed to the continuing success and growth of the IJSF, and to Dr. Howard's original vision for the journal. We do not have any radical changes in mind for the journal; our goals are to keep the journal on the course charted by Dr. Howard, and to continue to build upon the esteemed reputation and stature of the IJSF.

One important change that has taken place with the new editorial regime is the establishment of a web-based system for handling submissions to the IJSF. Web-based submissions, referee requests, and manuscript handling are currently revolutionizing the process of academic publishing, and we are excited to be among the early adopters of this new technology. While we are continuing to learn our way around the new interface, we are confident that this will speed up the editorial process and raise the quality of referee reports. The URL for IJSF manuscript submissions is http://editorialexpress.com/ijsf.

With the aid of this new electronic system, we aim to provide quick turnaround of submitted articles so that the time lag between initial submission and final production is much lower than most economics and finance journals. We are acutely aware of the widespread problems associated with long delays in the editorial process at journals in sport management, economics, finance, and other related disciplines. The IJSF has established an excellent track record in providing timely and high quality referee reports and editorial decisions. We intend to continue to provide timely editorial decisions and high quality referee reports. We expect a shorter lead time to be an attractive feature of the journal for both authors and readers, as published research is kept topical and fresh.

We aim to address key issues in sport economics and finance as they unfold, maintaining the strong relationship between academic research and practice in sports that the previous editorial team has done so well to establish. Theme-based issues of the journal are being planned, again providing opportunities to bridge academic research with practice and policy in the sport industry.

As with any new journal, the most important issue facing the IJSF is to increase the flow of high quality submissions. The most important way to accomplish this goal is through you, the current subscribers to the IJSF. We strongly encourage you to continue to submit high quality manuscripts, and to encourage colleagues, collaborators, and acquaintances working on research in sport finance to consider the IJSF as an outlet for their research. Under the guidance of Dr. Howard, the IJSF has consistently shown an interest in papers written by exceptional graduate students, and we encourage you to make any graduate students you encounter, including your own, aware of this interest. Encouraging outstanding graduate student research in sport finance is an important way of ensuring the continued growth and success of the field.

We are excited about the prospects for the IJSF over the coming three volumes, and invite you to joins us in continuing to make the journal a high quality outlet for sport finance research. We welcome any suggestions for improving the IJSF.

Rob Simmons

Editor

Lancaster University

Bernd Frick

Associate Editor

University of Paderborn

Brad R. Humphreys

Associate Editor

University of Alberta