2023 GUIDELINES TO SUBMIT A COMPETITIVE PAPER
Papers representing completed research and dealing with theoretical, substantive, or methodological consumer research issues are invited as Competitive Paper submissions. Submission of conceptual and review papers are also encouraged.
In addition to the items under “General Guidelines,” Competitive Papers should include:
Paper title. This is the title that will be published in the conference program.
Abstract (50-words). This abstract will be published in the conference program and should concentrate on the big picture contribution(s) of the paper.
Authors. Provide name, email address and affiliation for each author. Please indicate the author order and whether each author will serve as corresponding author, presenter or both.
Paper (2500 words; 12-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, single-spaced). Please note that the title page should not identify the author names or affiliations. The paper must include full references, a single table summarizing all results, and up to one figure (optional). References, table, and optional figure are not included in the word limit.
Initial submission should be de-identified and in pdf format. To make sure your file is de-identified, please check the document properties (Choose File > Properties and remove author information under 'Description' tab).
Honor code statements. At the time of submission, you will be asked to make the following pledges: (a) that the paper being submitted represents accurately the data and phenomena observed, (b) that the paper submitted to the conference is your own original work, and (c) that your research received an approval or a waiver, as appropriate, from your Institutional Review Board (IRB) and consent of participants. Please also confirm (a) that the presenting author is not listed as a presenter in more than two sessions in total, and (b) that the paper has not been submitted as a working paper or as part of a special session, has not been previously presented at ACR, and has not been published or accepted for publication in any journal (including online publications and ACR Proceedings).
Submissions should include a brief introduction explaining what the research question is, why it is important, and how it fits with and advances current knowledge. Detailed descriptions of the methodology and data should follow, and a brief general discussion should list limitations and highlight why (and to whom) the findings make a difference. Descriptions of the methodology and analysis should be transparent. Empirical results should be summarized in a single table/page.
ACR reserves the right to run the submission through anti-plagiarism software.
Publishing options for a Competitive Paper
Option 1: Publish the full paper in the ACR Proceedings. Authors choosing Option 1 must upload a 50-word abstract and the 2500-word paper for review (Initial submission pdf format), along with references, one table summarizing the results, and one figure (optional). Choosing this option implies that, if accepted, the copyright for the paper transfers to ACR and cannot be submitted for publication elsewhere. Authors will upload their final accepted submissions via the submission system in MS Word format.
Option 2: If authors wish to submit their accepted paper elsewhere for publication, they may choose to publish a 750 to 1000-word abstract in the ACR Proceedings. This abstract is not required upon original submission; authors of accepted papers will upload their extended abstracts via the submission system in MS Word format.
Submission Procedure http://acr2023.exordo.com
The submission file for Competitive Papers should not include authors’ names or affiliations and should be a de-identified pdf, as described in point 4. Author names and affiliations should only be entered in the submission website where specified.
Submissions should follow the current style sheet of the Journal of Consumer Research (http://www.ejcr.org/stylesheet.pdf), except that the entire text of the submission should be single-spaced. Subheadings should be bolded or italicized and capitalized, but it is unnecessary to add a hard return before or after them.
Please adhere to high standards of spelling and grammar and consider having a copyeditor or peer review your paper and abstract prior to submission.
Evaluation
Reviewing will be blind. Evaluation will be based on a) the quality of the research and novelty of findings; b) theoretical/empirical contribution; c) clarity of presentation; and d) completeness of the research.
Authors of accepted papers agree to revise their paper/abstract based on reviewers’ comments and upload their final paper/abstract in MS Word format by early July 2023. The most recent version submitted by the July due date will be published “as is” in the ACR Proceedings.
Presentation
Competitive Papers will be organized into thematic tracks for live moderated 75-minute sessions during the conference. In your submission, you will identify the author who will present the paper and be available to discuss your research with members of the ACR community. Authors will find their session date and time in the conference program.