brycewang-stanford JCF Manuscript Workflow (jcf-workflow)
When to trigger
- Starting a new empirical or theoretical corporate-finance paper aimed at JCF
- Deciding which jcf-* skill to invoke next at a given stage
- Sanity-checking that the project fits JCF's scope and process before investing
What JCF is (verified; re-confirm on the official guide)
The Journal of Corporate Finance is an Elsevier journal publishing original manuscripts or shorter format papers in empirical and theoretical corporate finance — financial structure, governance, payout, financial contracting, risk management, innovation, M&A, and international corporate finance, including intersections with macro, asset pricing, household/behavioral finance, fintech/blockchain, law, financial intermediation, and market microstructure.
Stage map (route to the named skill)
- Fit & question →
jcf-topic-selection(scope fit, "shorter format" option) - Positioning →
jcf-literature-positioning(corporate-finance lineage) - Design →
jcf-identification-strategy(causal credibility for firm data) - Evidence →
jcf-data-analysis(WRDS-era panels, robustness) - Exhibits →
jcf-tables-figures(self-contained tables, event-study plots) - Pitch →
jcf-contribution-framing(what is new and why it matters) - Prose →
jcf-writing-style(≤250-word abstract, author-date) - Data →
jcf-replication-and-data-policy(Elsevier Option C) - Process →
jcf-review-process(single-anonymized, two+ reviewers) - Submit →
jcf-submission(Editorial Manager, US$340 fee preflight) - Revise →
jcf-rebuttal(point-by-point R&R)
Key process facts
- US$340 non-refundable submission fee, paid up front; not refunded on desk reject.
- Active desk-rejection policy — clear the editor screen first.
- No fixed length ceiling (待核实); shorter formats welcome.
Anti-patterns
- Treating JCF like a double-blind journal (it is single-anonymized).
- Skipping identification because "it's a finance journal" — credibility still gates.
- Ignoring the up-front fee in planning.
Stop-and-repair gates
Pause the route before submission if any of these are true:
- the paper cannot name the corporate-finance decision or friction affected by the result;
- the design depends on firm panels but sample construction, links, or event dates are not reproducible;
- robustness tables exist but economic magnitudes are absent;
- the contribution is "new data" without a mechanism, policy implication, or theory revision;
- the manuscript treats the fee/process checklist as ready while identification or data availability is still unresolved.
The fastest route through JCF is not more tables; it is a coherent chain from corporate-finance question to credible design, magnitude, and reproducible evidence.
Stage gates and deliverables
Each stage exits with an artifact; missing artifacts predict where JCF projects stall:
Stage | Exit artifact | Stalls when…
Fit | Viability-matrix row + format call | The topic is data-first, question-second
Positioning | Closest-paper contrasts (2–3) | A gap is claimed without a recent-paper sweep
Design | One-paragraph variation defense + diagnostics | The shock grades low; the selection story is unwritten
Evidence | Audit ledger + magnitudes per main claim | Robustness grows while magnitudes stay absent
Exhibits | Self-contained main tables + an ID figure | FE/clustering undisclosed; no event-study bands
Pitch/Prose | ≤250-word abstract carrying a number | The abstract restates regressions
Data | Option C statement + run_all archive | The archive is deferred to acceptance
Submit | EM package + US$340 budgeted | Metadata or PDF mismatches surface at upload
Revise | Conflict table + per-comment change map | The letter argues instead of changing the paper
Worked routing: a payout project through the pipeline
Hypothetical, dates illustrative: a team spots a dividend-tax reform. Weeks 1–2, jcf-topic-selection grades the shock and calls shorter format. Weeks 3–4, jcf-literature-positioning finds the closest two papers and the composition-versus-level gap. Weeks 5–8, jcf-identification-strategy and jcf-data-analysis run in tandem: treated/exempt definitions, firm and year FE, firm clustering, pre-trend leads, an illustrative headline of a 0.6-point repurchase rise. Weeks 9–10, jcf-tables-figures and jcf-contribution-framing build five exhibits and the one-sentence claim. Week 11, jcf-writing-style trims the abstract to 198 words while jcf-replication-and-data-policy finalizes the Option C statement and archive. Week 12, jcf-submission runs the EM preflight. The discipline is the order: no exhibit work before the design survives shock grading, and no submission while any stop-and-repair gate stays open.
Output
【Stage】<current> → next skill: jcf-<role>
【Fit】scope/format OK? [Y/N] 【Blockers】<list>