We re-examine and advance the landscape of academic journal publishing, specifically focusing on international business (IB) journals. While previous journal rankings have identified sixteen domain-specific IB journals, a renewed look at the journal space shows that the landscape of publications for IB has grown, while at the same time, mostly, retained or even improved its quality propositions. Utilizing state-of-the art machine learning methods including Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and random forests next to data envelopment analysis (DEA) for performance evaluation as well as fuzzy clustering methods, our meta-ranking identifies opportunities for mid-range journals with potential for ascension to higher quality clusters. Comparative analysis further suggests Journal of World Business (JWB) as a candidate for future inclusion in elite journal lists such as the FT50 list, alongside the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS). Overall, our results show the IB journal landscape is developing towards a quality-based growth trajectory. This advancement has the potential to bolster the long-term competitiveness of the discipline by expanding the scope of its scholarship. Furthermore, it enhances the discipline's influence within the broader management and business ecosystem.

中文翻译：

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不断扩大的国际商业领域的高级元排名 – 期刊现状和未来轨迹


我们重新审视并推进学术期刊出版的前景，特别是国际商务 （IB） 期刊。虽然之前的期刊排名已经确定了 16 种特定领域的 IB 期刊，但重新审视期刊领域表明，IB 的出版物格局有所增长，同时，大多数情况下，它保持甚至提高了其质量主张。利用最先进的机器学习方法，包括分类和回归树 （CART） 和随机森林以及数据包络分析 （DEA） 进行绩效评估，以及模糊聚类方法，我们的元排名为中档期刊确定了有可能提升到更高质量聚类的机会。比较分析进一步表明，Journal of World Business （JWB） 是未来与《国际商业研究杂志》（JIBS） 一起被列入 FT50 名单等精英期刊名单的候选者。总体而言，我们的结果表明，IB 期刊格局正在朝着基于质量的增长轨迹发展。这一进步有可能通过扩大其学术范围来增强该学科的长期竞争力。此外，它还增强了该学科在更广泛的管理和商业生态系统中的影响力。