Target Journals for Fast-Tracking an IS Faculty Job

Practical target order (for academic jobs)

1. A+ hits (best signal)
   • MIS Quarterly (MISQ)
   • Information Systems Research (ISR)
   • Also strong cross-disciplinary A+: Management Science (IS area), Organization Science (IS-adjacent).
2. A journals (very helpful, esp. in combination)
   • JMIS, JAIS, JIT, EJIS, JSIS, Information & Organization
   • Rule of thumb: 2–3 solid A’s here (plus a pipeline) can offset not having an A+ yet—especially at balanced teaching/research schools.
3. Plus signals that committees count
   • Late-stage R&Rs at the above journals (showing you can land the plane)
   • Top-conference full papers (ICIS, ECIS; HICSS selective tracks) + best-paper noms
   • A coherent research pipeline (working papers, under review, R&Rs) aligned to one identity

Aim by your “on-market” year

• Best case: 1 A+ accepted (MISQ/ISR) or 1 late-stage R&R + 1–2 A’s (JMIS/JAIS/EJIS/JIT/JSIS/I&O).
• Competitive case: 2–3 A’s + visible conference papers + strong letters; show clear path to A+.

Where to send based on method

• Econ/analytics/computational: ISR, MISQ, Management Science.
• Behavioral/experiment/survey: MISQ, JMIS, JAIS, EJIS, JIT.
• Qual/process/ethnography: I&O, ISJ, EJIS, JIT, JAIS (also MISQ for high-theory qual).
• Design Science (DSR): MISQ, JMIS, JAIS, EJIS, JIT (target clear artifact + evaluation).

Fastest path tips (reality-checked)

• No journal is “fast.” Hiring committees heavily weight accepted papers and mature R&Rs.
• Use ICIS/ECIS/HICSS to build visibility and sharpen the paper before A+/A submission.
• Keep one paper aimed at A+ while parallel-processing 1–2 papers to A journals.

If you tell me which of your projects is closest to submission (CRS design paper, AI adoption sequences, quantum collab, etc.), I’ll give you a journal-by-journal targeting plan and cover letters.