Imagine submitting your hard-earned research, only to have it held hostage by a journal demanding payment for its release. This is the shocking reality faced by one researcher, who inadvertently fell victim to a predatory publishing scheme. But here's where it gets even more alarming...
A researcher, wishing to remain anonymous, submitted a manuscript in August to what they believed was the prestigious Academy of Management Journal. However, due to a simple oversight, the paper landed in the hands of the Academy of Strategic Management Journal, a publication with a questionable reputation. The researcher quickly realized the mistake and requested to withdraw the manuscript. What happened next is nothing short of astonishing.
The Academy of Strategic Management Journal demanded a staggering €1,519 (approximately $1,770) to "remove the article from their database." This blatant ransom attempt raises serious ethical concerns about the journal's practices. And this is the part most people miss: the journal claims to be indexed in Scopus, but a quick check reveals it was delisted in 2021. It also lacks inclusion in Clarivate’s Web of Science, further casting doubt on its legitimacy.
Digging deeper, the journal’s most recent volume features five single-author articles from seemingly nonexistent universities. None of these articles has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or provides contact information for the authors, raising red flags about their authenticity. Despite the researcher’s repeated attempts to withdraw the manuscript, including a formal "cease and desist" letter, the journal continues to ignore their requests.
But here's where it gets controversial: the journal lists three editors-in-chief on its website, but one of them, Sang-Bing Tsai, claims no affiliation with the publication. Tsai asserts his name is being used without permission and that he has tried to distance himself from the journal for years. The other two editors, Shawn Carraher and Roberto Cerchione, also have questionable credentials. Carraher claims to be pursuing a post-doctoral certificate at Harvard University, but Harvard confirms no such enrollment exists. Cerchione, a professor at the University of Naples, Parthenope, has not responded to requests for comment.
The journal is published by Allied Business Academies (ABA), a company notorious for organizing fake conferences and journals, as reported by CBC News and La Presse. ABA was even included on Beall’s list of predatory publishers before the site shut down in 2017. Adding insult to injury, ABA dissolved in 2024, leaving researchers like our anonymous victim in a precarious position.
This case highlights the growing issue of predatory publishing, where unscrupulous entities exploit researchers for financial gain. It raises important questions: How can researchers protect themselves from such schemes? What role should academic institutions play in vetting legitimate journals? And most controversially, should there be stricter regulations to hold predatory publishers accountable?
We invite you to share your thoughts in the comments. Have you or someone you know encountered a similar situation? What steps do you think the academic community should take to combat predatory publishing? Let’s start a conversation that could lead to meaningful change.
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