JOM's distinctive emphasis is on the management of operations: manufacturing operations, service operations, supply chain operations, et cetera. The scope encompasses both for-profit and non-profit operations. Whatever the topic and context, operations must be at the heart of the research question, not just in the context. For example, work on charismatic leadership at a manufacturing plant is within the scope only if the research question links clearly to the management of operations (the vast majority of work on charismatic leadership does not); the fact that the empirical context is manufacturing does not constitute a sufficient condition. Papers published in JOM must be about operations management, and they have to link to authentic practical operational questions and challenges. This does not mean all work must be motivated by practical considerations, it means the link to practice must be credible, and something that is considered at the outset of the research endeavor, not merely as an implication. Authors cannot simply assume or declare that knowledge produced strictly for academic purposes can be "translated" or "implemented" to make it practically relevant.

We encourage primarily empirical research that is grounded in relevant operations management problems. Non-empirical work is not categorically excluded, but because demonstrating both academic and practical relevance is difficult in typical conceptual work (e.g., literature reviews, theory development), we invite prospective authors to focus on empirical submissions. We also welcome empirically-grounded analytic models, the guidelines for which can be found here.

We promote no specific methodology or epistemology. We encourage diversity both in terms of theoretical bases and empirical approaches. On methodological matters, the key considerations are rigor and fit: Is the work methodologically transparent? Do the claims plausibly follow from the premises? Is there a fit between the research question and the methodology used? All these questions are agnostic to the kind of methodology used or the epistemological foundation embraced. Finally, while some of JOM's departments may be more suitable to interdisciplinary work, it makes no sense to discourage paradigmatically more focused, unidisciplinary work, if it provides good fit with the research question.

General topics covered by the journal are divided into eleven departments. Click here to read the departmental mission statements.