About the Journal

The Journal of Sport Management and Development (JSMD) is a peer-reviewed, open-access quarterly journal published by the Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Guilan. Dedicated to advancing the interdisciplinary field of sport management, JSMD operates under a rigorous double-blind peer-review process.

Sport management integrates knowledge from the humanities, social sciences, and business to address complex challenges within the global sport industry. JSMD serves as a vital bridge between scholarly research and professional practice, welcoming submissions that present novel empirical findings, theoretical innovations, practical applications, and critical reviews. To ensure international accessibility, the primary language of publication is Persian, with all articles including an extended English abstract and full bibliography.

The journal's mission is to provide a premier platform for disseminating cutting-edge research, fostering scholarly debate, and sharing evidence-based practices that contribute to the sustainable development of sport organizations, communities, and policies, with a particular focus on contexts such as Iran and the Middle East.

Bibliographic Information

• Full Title:Journal of Sport Management and Development
• Journal Abbreviated Title: Sport Manag. Dev.
• Journal Title Acronym:JSMD
• Persian Title:مدیریت و توسعه ورزشی
• ISSN:
  • Print: 2322-4800
  • Online: 2538-5348
• Subject Area & Category: Social Sciences — Business, Management and Accounting (Sport Management), Social Sciences — Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
• Subject Coverage:
  • Sport Management
  • Sport Sociology
  • Sport Economics & Finance
  • Sport Marketing & Consumer Behavior
  • Sport Policy, Governance & Law
  • Sport for Development & Peace
  • Sport Tourism & Event Management
  • Organizational Behavior in Sport
  • Sport Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Sport Media & Communication
• Language: Persian (includes extended English abstract, titles, keywords, and references)
• Start Year:2012 - Vol. 1, No. 1 -
• Frequency: Quarterly
• Editor-in-Chief: Rahim Ramezaninejad, Professor of Sport Management
• Director-in-Charge: Farhad Rahmani-nia, Professor
• Place of Publication:Iran, Rasht
• Publisher: University of Guilan
• Status: Active
• Peer Review Type: Double-Blind Peer Review
• Primary Review (Initial Editorial Screening): 10 days, approximately.
• Average refereeing time (Full Peer-Review Process): 12 weeks
• Acceptance to Publication Time: 10-12 weeks
• Manuscript Acceptance Rate: 24%
• Reference Style: APA 7th Edition
• ORCID iDs: Required for all submitting authors
• URL:https://jsmd.guilan.ac.ir
• Type of Access: Open Access
• Article Processing Charge (APC): 4,000,000 IRR (for accepted manuscripts)
• License: Creative Commons — Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Open Access Statement

JSMD is a fully open-access journal. All articles are freely available to read, download, and share immediately upon publication under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license. We believe open access fosters greater democratization of knowledge, accelerates research impact, and increases the visibility and citation of authors' work. Authors retain copyright of their published work.

Publication Ethics Statement

JSMD is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. We strictly adhere to the guidelines and core practices outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved in the publishing process—editors, reviewers, and authors—are expected to comply with these ethical standards regarding plagiarism, data fabrication, authorship, conflicts of interest, and peer-review integrity.

Plagiarism Policy

All submitted manuscripts are screened for textual similarity using professional plagiarism detection software (iThenticate for English components, and approved Persian-language tools such as Hamyab and SamimNooor). Manuscripts found to contain unacceptable levels of similarity/plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, will be rejected immediately. In cases of post-publication discovery, articles will be retracted following COPE procedures.

Retraction Policy

Articles may be retracted if serious ethical breaches (e.g., plagiarism, data fabrication) or fundamental errors that invalidate the conclusions are identified post-publication. A formal retraction notice, linked bidirectionally to the original article, will be published to maintain the scholarly record's integrity.

Complaint & Appeal Process

Authors or readers may submit formal complaints regarding the editorial process, ethical concerns, or other issues to the Editor-in-Chief at jsmd@guilan.ac.ir. All complaints will be handled confidentially, promptly, and in accordance with COPE guidelines. We view constructive feedback as an opportunity to improve our editorial processes.

Copyright & Author Rights

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Authors may distribute and build upon their work for non-commercial purposes, with proper attribution to its initial publication in JSMD.

Authorship Criteria

All listed authors must have made significant intellectual contributions to the work. Changes to authorship after submission require written consent from all authors. Corresponding authors are responsible for ensuring all co-authors have approved the final manuscript.

Digital Archiving Policy

JSMD ensures long-term digital preservation and accessibility of its content through partnerships with national and institutional repositories, including the Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc), the University of Guilan Digital Repository, and indexing in databases such as ISC and SID.

Data Sharing & Citation Policy

JSMD encourages authors to share data, code, and other research artifacts supporting their results in public repositories (e.g., Figshare, Zenodo) and to cite these datasets in their references. A Data Availability Statement is recommended for empirical articles.

Informed Consent & Privacy

For studies involving human participants, authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained. Privacy rights must be strictly observed; identifying information should only be included if essential and with explicit participant permission.

Policy on Generative AI in Manuscript Preparation

The use of generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) must be transparently disclosed in a dedicated section of the manuscript. AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors are solely responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of their work, including any AI-assisted content.

Advertising Policy

JSMD maintains a strict policy of academic independence and does not accept or host commercial advertising. This ensures editorial content remains free from commercial influence.

Contact

For all inquiries, please contact the editorial office at:
jsmd@guilan.ac.ir

Salient Features

• Rigorous Peer Review:Double-blind review by field experts
• Rapid Publication Cycle:Efficient process from submission to online publication
• Open Access & High Visibility:Immediate free access maximizes readership and impact
• Transparent Fee Structure:Clear Article Processing Charge supports sustainable open access publishing
• Comprehensive Author Support:Formal acceptance letters, detailed reviewer feedback, and publication certificates
• Strong Ethical Foundation:Full adherence to COPE, WAME, and international ethics guidelines
• Regional Focus:Special interest in sport management challenges and opportunities in Iran and the Middle East