Journal rankings · indicator year 2025
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Field ranking · 2025
Business, Management and Accounting journal rankings 2025
711 ranked journals · Field in Social Sciences
Business, Management and Accounting has 711 ranked journals in 2025. The median OJR rose 0.05 on 2024 to 1.62, above the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 2.99. No journal’s likely rank range stays within the top 8, so the intro names none.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2025. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2022–2024, the window the 2025 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields in Business, Management and Accounting (9)
Up to Social Sciences711 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. The small range under it is the likely rank range: in 95% of 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers, it ranked inside that range. Journals whose ranges overlap are not clearly different. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2024. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2022–2024, the window the 2025 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2022–2024 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2016 to 2025. A label compares the 2022→2025 change with the median change of the journal’s field or domain. Rising needs a relative change of +10% or more that is at least 2 standard errors above zero; Falling needs -9.1% or less (rounded), at least 2 standard errors below zero. Sorting uses that relative change. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank 1; likely between #1 and #9 of 711Academy of Management AnnalsRoutledge · United States | 9.73Q1 | 15.00 1.05 down from 2024 | 64 | 46% | — | ||
Rank 2; likely between #1 and #71 of 711Accounting in EuropeRoutledge · United Kingdom | 8.01Q1 | 9.50 3.41 up from 2024 | 54 | 35% | — | ||
Rank 3; likely between #2 and #10 of 711Journal of Retailing and Consumer ServicesElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 7.93Q1 | 16.09 0.13 down from 2024 | 1,143 | 26% | $4,510 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 4; likely between #1 and #40 of 711Journal of Accounting ResearchWiley · United Kingdom | 7.91Q1 | 10.67 3.71 up from 2024 | 128 | 63% | $4,420 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 5; likely between #3 and #12 of 711Business Strategy and the EnvironmentWiley · United Kingdom | 7.71Q1 | 14.99 1.60 down from 2024 | 1,106 | 70% | $4,480 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 6; likely between #2 and #24 of 711Journal of Business VenturingElsevier BV · Netherlands | 7.50Q1 | 8.86 2.06 down from 2024 | 139 | 75% | $4,130 | ||
Rank 7; likely between #2 and #32 of 711Human Resource ManagementWiley · United States | 7.33Q1 | 10.08 1.51 down from 2024 | 152 | 60% | $4,150 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 8; likely between #4 and #33 of 711Supply Chain Management An International JournalEmerald Publishing Limited · United Kingdom | 6.93Q1 | 12.34 2.04 up from 2024 | 130 | 32% | — | ||
Rank 9; likely between #2 and #44 of 711Academy of Management JournalAcademy of Management · United States | 6.90Q1 | 12.20 2.97 up from 2024 | 153 | 17% | — | ||
Rank 10; likely between #8 and #22 of 711Journal of Business ResearchElsevier BV · United States | 6.78Q1 | 13.04 0.35 up from 2024 | 2,192 | 45% | $4,440 | ||
Rank 11; likely between #2 and #81 of 711Journal of International Financial Management and AccountingWiley · United Kingdom | 6.69Q1 | 6.40 3.78 down from 2024 | 67 | 39% | $3,010 | ||
Rank 12; likely between #3 and #56 of 711Review of Accounting StudiesSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 6.69Q1 | 5.13 1.47 down from 2024 | 208 | 82% | $3,190 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 13; likely between #4 and #51 of 711Journal of the Academy of Marketing ScienceSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 6.68Q1 | 9.41 3.53 down from 2024 | 235 | 57% | $4,790 | ||
Rank 14; likely between #3 and #78 of 711Journal of Supply Chain ManagementWiley · United Kingdom | 6.28Q1 | 12.25 2.29 up from 2024 | 42 | 72% | $3,700 | ||
Rank 15; likely between #2 and #108 of 711Organizational Research MethodsSAGE Publishing · United States | 6.28Q1 | 7.82 1.75 down from 2024 | 62 | 56% | $3,900 | ||
Rank 16; likely between #9 and #44 of 711Journal of ManagementSAGE Publishing · United States | 6.26Q1 | 9.10 0.22 down from 2024 | 293 | 65% | $3,900 | ||
Rank 17; likely between #4 and #68 of 711Journal of MarketingSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 6.24Q1 | 11.81 1.06 up from 2024 | 141 | 57% | $5,400 | ||
Rank 18; likely between #8 and #55 of 711Journal of Operations ManagementWiley · United States | 6.22Q1 | 9.83 1.18 down from 2024 | 151 | 64% | $3,520 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 19; likely between #8 and #54 of 711Journal of Accounting and EconomicsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 6.21Q1 | 6.64 0.22 down from 2024 | 161 | 34% | $4,170 | ||
Rank 20; likely between #5 and #67 of 711Academy of Management ReviewAcademy of Management · United States | 6.20Q1 | 8.74 1.12 up from 2024 | 148 | 10% | — | ||
Rank 21; likely between #10 and #45 of 711Journal of Corporate FinanceElsevier BV · Netherlands | 6.17Q1 | 7.02 0.31 up from 2024 | 400 | 48% | $4,140 | ||
Rank 22; likely between #5 and #73 of 711Organization TheoryOASAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 6.16Q1 | 8.20 0.07 down from 2024 | 69 | 100% | $0 listed | ||
Rank 23; likely between #2 and #96 of 711Human Resource Management ReviewElsevier BV · United States | 6.08Q1 | 9.42 9.43 down from 2024 | 94 | 45% | $5,170 | ||
Rank 24; likely between #8 and #51 of 711Strategic Management JournalWiley · United States | 6.06Q1 | 8.36 0.52 up from 2024 | 268 | 76% | $4,250 | ||
Rank 25; likely between #12 and #48 of 711TechnovationElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 6.00Q1 | 13.02 0.71 down from 2024 | 461 | 52% | $3,890 | ||
Rank 26; likely between #11 and #51 of 711Entrepreneurship Theory and PracticeSAGE Publishing · United States | 5.97Q1 | 7.59 1.18 down from 2024 | 137 | 45% | $3,900 | ||
Rank 27; likely between #9 and #60 of 711Journal of Service ResearchSAGE Publishing · United States | 5.97Q1 | 9.80 0.55 down from 2024 | 114 | 55% | $3,900 | ||
Rank 28; likely between #3 and #101 of 711International Journal of Accounting Information SystemsElsevier BV · United States | 5.95Q1 | 9.66 1.30 down from 2024 | 84 | 46% | $4,130 | ||
Rank 29; likely between #2 and #164 of 711Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational BehaviorAnnual Reviews · United States | 5.94Q1 | 32.74 1.36 up from 2024 | 59 | 90% | — | ||
Rank 30; likely between #18 and #41 of 711Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental ManagementWiley · United Kingdom | 5.94Q1 | 11.64 0.32 up from 2024 | 827 | 60% | $4,100 | ||
Rank 31; likely between #12 and #55 of 711Journal of International Business StudiesPalgrave Macmillan · United Kingdom | 5.88Q1 | 9.04 0.15 up from 2024 | 260 | 60% | $4,790 | ||
Rank 32; likely between #12 and #70 of 711Strategic Entrepreneurship JournalWiley · United States | 5.63Q1 | 7.05 0.36 up from 2024 | 93 | 71% | $4,100 | ||
Rank 33; likely between #21 and #54 of 711International Journal of Production EconomicsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 5.60Q1 | 12.39 0.69 up from 2024 | 805 | 35% | $4,420 | ||
Rank 34; likely between #15 and #66 of 711Psychology and MarketingWiley · United States | 5.59Q1 | 9.81 2.12 down from 2024 | 503 | 67% | $3,800 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 35; likely between #12 and #78 of 711Review of Managerial ScienceSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 5.57Q1 | 13.68 1.45 up from 2024 | 311 | 74% | $3,190 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 36; likely between #1 and #274 of 711Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ)SAGE Publishing · Australia | 5.56Q1 | 12.90 8.74 up from 2024 | 82 | 58% | $3,900 | ||
Rank 37; likely between #19 and #85 of 711The Journal of Strategic Information SystemsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 5.34Q1 | 8.42 3.25 down from 2024 | 78 | 49% | $4,160 | ||
Rank 38; likely between #19 and #77 of 711British Journal of ManagementWiley · United Kingdom | 5.30Q1 | 7.38 0.56 up from 2024 | 285 | 80% | $3,900 | ||
Rank 39; likely between #21 and #76 of 711Sustainability Accounting Management and Policy JournalEmerald Publishing Limited · United Kingdom | 5.29Q1 | 10.07 0.21 up from 2024 | 186 | 33% | — | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 40; likely between #12 and #90 of 711Journal of Organizational BehaviorWiley · United Kingdom | 5.28Q1 | 9.54 1.84 up from 2024 | 225 | 67% | $4,250 | ||
Rank 41; likely between #7 and #108 of 711The British Accounting ReviewElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 5.26Q1 | 5.38 1.88 down from 2024 | 242 | 49% | $3,770 | ||
Rank 42; likely between #12 and #97 of 711Journal of Product Innovation ManagementWiley · United States | 5.25Q1 | 12.38 3.18 up from 2024 | 142 | 79% | $3,400 | ||
Rank 43; likely between #24 and #72 of 711Journal of Innovation and EntrepreneurshipOASpringer Nature · Germany | 5.23Q1 | 9.80 1.04 up from 2024 | 244 | 100% | $1,790 | ||
Rank 44; likely between #1 and #624 of 711Journal of Information Technology Case and Application ResearchTaylor & Francis · United States | 5.21Q1 | 18.19 3.35 up from 2024 | 44 | 38% | — | ||
Rank 45; likely between #21 and #86 of 711Digital BusinessOAElsevier BV · Netherlands | 5.20Q1 | 10.40 1.23 down from 2024 | 84 | 100% | $1,630 | ||
Rank 46; likely between #10 and #133 of 711Human Resource Management JournalWiley · United Kingdom | 5.17Q1 | 9.57 1.20 up from 2024 | 143 | 76% | $4,250 | ||
Rank 47; likely between #31 and #70 of 711Journal of Open Innovation Technology Market and ComplexityOASpringer Science+Business Media · Switzerland | 5.14Q1 | 11.38 0.74 down from 2024 | 667 | 100% | $1,250 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 48; likely between #16 and #85 of 711The International Journal of Management EducationElsevier BV · Netherlands | 5.14Q1 | 9.46 1.42 down from 2024 | 445 | 40% | $4,130 | ||
Rank 49; likely between #1 and #275 of 711Asia Pacific Journal of ManagementSpringer Science+Business Media · Singapore | 5.14Q1 | 10.88 3.97 up from 2024 | 190 | 23% | $3,590 | ||
Rank 50; likely between #10 and #119 of 711International Journal of Management ReviewsWiley · United Kingdom | 5.13Q1 | 15.36 2.84 up from 2024 | 94 | 73% | $4,220 |
44 Business, Management and Accounting journals are labelled rising: their OJR moved up between 2022 and 2025 clearly faster than the median journal of their field or domain.
A journal is rising when its OJR grew from 2022 to 2025 faster than the median journal of its field (or domain, when the field is small), by two tests: the relative change is +10% or more, and it is at least 2 standard errors above zero. So the range of the change at 2 standard errors stays above zero, though not necessarily above +10%.
The bar is that range on a ratio scale; the shaded band, -9.1% to +10%, holds changes too small for a label. The list is ordered by the low end of the range, so the surest rises come first.
Full rising list for Business, Management and Accounting
- 1Global Business and Organizational ExcellenceOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management+204% vs groupOJR 1.56 → 4.80range +97% to +370%
- 2International Journal of Computer Trends and TechnologyManagement Information Systems+198% vs groupOJR 0.17 → 0.50range +75% to +408%
- 3Development in Learning Organizations An International JournalOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management+157% vs groupOJR 0.34 → 0.87range +65% to +298%
- 4Personnel PsychologyOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management+138% vs groupOJR 1.84 → 4.41range +62% to +250%
- 5Journal of Family Business ManagementOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management+86% vs groupOJR 1.59 → 2.97range +44% to +139%
- 6Business Strategy & DevelopmentStrategy and Management+87% vs groupOJR 1.82 → 3.43range +39% to +152%
- 7Organizational DynamicsOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management+126% vs groupOJR 1.70 → 3.87range +37% to +272%
- 8Sustainability Accounting Management and Policy JournalStrategy and Management+80% vs groupOJR 2.91 → 5.29range +35% to +141%
- 9Journal of Accounting ResearchAccounting+111% vs groupOJR 3.71 → 7.91range +35% to +231%
- 10Psychology and MarketingMarketing+67% vs groupOJR 3.31 → 5.59range +34% to +110%
- 11Human Resource ManagementOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management+78% vs groupOJR 4.09 → 7.33range +32% to +138%
- 12European Financial ManagementAccounting+95% vs groupOJR 1.68 → 3.32range +26% to +203%
- 13International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable DevelopmentMarketing+106% vs groupOJR 0.16 → 0.34range +24% to +242%
- 14Administrative SciencesOAStrategy and Management+49% vs groupOJR 2.39 → 3.58range +23% to +80%
- 15Journal of Accounting in Emerging EconomiesAccounting+66% vs groupOJR 2.82 → 4.72range +20% to +130%
- 16Qualitative Market Research An International JournalMarketing+73% vs groupOJR 1.43 → 2.49range +18% to +154%
- 17KybernetesStrategy and Management+37% vs groupOJR 1.46 → 2.02range +14% to +65%
- 18Journal of Consumer BehaviourMarketing+40% vs groupOJR 2.60 → 3.67range +13% to +74%
- 19IEEE Transactions on Engineering ManagementStrategy and Management+29% vs groupOJR 2.21 → 2.88range +12% to +49%
- 20Journal of financial reporting & accountingAccounting+40% vs groupOJR 3.02 → 4.25range +11% to +75%
No-label zone, -9.1% to +10%Group median changeBar scale -82% to +451% (ratio scale)
38 Business, Management and Accounting journals are labelled falling: their OJR moved between 2022 and 2025 clearly behind the median journal of their field or domain.
A journal is falling when its OJR changed from 2022 to 2025 by less than the median journal of its field (or domain, when the field is small), by two tests: the relative change is -9.1% or less (rounded), and it is at least 2 standard errors below zero. So the range of the change at 2 standard errors stays below zero, though not necessarily below -9.1%.
The bar is that range on a ratio scale; the shaded band, -9.1% to +10%, holds changes too small for a label. The list is ordered by the high end of the range, so the surest falls come first.
- 1Journal of CompetitivenessOAStrategy and Management-60% vs groupOJR 4.28 → 1.72range -70% to -47%
- 2Journal of global entrepreneurship researchManagement of Technology and Innovation-63% vs groupOJR 4.25 → 1.58range -75% to -47%
- 3International Journal of Agile Systems and ManagementManagement of Technology and Innovation-66% vs groupOJR 0.63 → 0.21range -81% to -41%
- 4International Journal of Innovation ManagementStrategy and Management-47% vs groupOJR 1.33 → 0.72range -58% to -32%
- 5Revista de Administração de EmpresasOAStrategy and Management-57% vs groupOJR 0.95 → 0.42range -73% to -31%
- 6Afro-Asian J of Finance and AccountingAccounting-53% vs groupOJR 0.34 → 0.16range -70% to -26%
- 7International Journal of Hospitality ManagementOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management-34% vs groupOJR 7.15 → 4.74range -43% to -25%
- 8Journal of Social EntrepreneurshipManagement of Technology and Innovation-44% vs groupOJR 2.81 → 1.60range -58% to -25%
- 9Journal of Vocational BehaviorOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management-43% vs groupOJR 7.16 → 4.09range -58% to -24%
- 10International Journal of Technology ManagementStrategy and Management-49% vs groupOJR 0.68 → 0.35range -66% to -22%
- 11Operations and Supply Chain Management An International JournalOAStrategy and Management-47% vs groupOJR 1.54 → 0.82range -64% to -22%
- 12Sustainable Production and ConsumptionStrategy and Management-32% vs groupOJR 4.81 → 3.32range -41% to -21%
- 13Queueing SystemsManagement Information Systems-46% vs groupOJR 0.55 → 0.30range -64% to -19%
- 14Transnational Corporation ReviewOAStrategy and Management-43% vs groupOJR 2.78 → 1.60range -60% to -19%
- 15Journal of Revenue and Pricing ManagementMarketing-47% vs groupOJR 0.93 → 0.49range -66% to -19%
- 16Business Perspectives and ResearchAccounting-45% vs groupOJR 1.58 → 0.88range -64% to -15%
- 17Journal of Behavioral and Experimental FinanceAccounting-47% vs groupOJR 5.13 → 2.74range -68% to -14%
- 18LogforumOAStrategy and Management-40% vs groupOJR 1.37 → 0.83range -58% to -14%
- 19International Journal of Web Based CommunitiesBusiness and International Management-59% vs groupOJR 0.53 → 0.22range -81% to -13%
- 20International Small Business Journal Researching EntrepreneurshipManagement of Technology and Innovation-37% vs groupOJR 5.50 → 3.48range -55% to -13%
No-label zone, -9.1% to +10%Group median changeBar scale -83% to +475% (ratio scale)
Subfields of Business, Management and Accounting, compared.
- Strategy and Management213
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management136
- Accounting132
- Marketing80
- Management Information Systems76
- Management of Technology and Innovation60
- Business and International Management7
- Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management7
- Industrial relations0
Journals
The endpoints below each rank show its likely range. How rank ranges are calculated
Citations made in 2025. Corpus-wide, 84.3% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
147 additional Business, Management and Accounting journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2022–2024, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2025. Publication window: 2022–2024. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 711
- Window papers (baseline)
- 540,006 +22.4% from indicator year 2022
- Median OJR
- 1.62 +5.9% from indicator year 2022
- Rising journals (2025)
- 44Comparison-group list (44)
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2022–2024 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 301 | 319 | 337 | 362 | 379 | 393 | 410 | 444 | 472 | 504 | 533 | 564 | 603 | 631 | 654 | 679 | 699 | 723 | 732 | 731 | 736 | 728 | 732 | 746 | 736 | 711 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 77,554 | 86,596 | 96,328 | 108,450 | 120,666 | 134,917 | 150,748 | 168,846 | 187,138 | 204,210 | 221,221 | 236,993 | 260,265 | 277,202 | 296,178 | 310,557 | 324,663 | 331,972 | 338,869 | 352,446 | 378,348 | 410,151 | 441,053 | 455,118 | 483,546 | 540,006 | |
| Median OJR | 0.94 | 1.0005 | 1.05 | 1.11 | 1.15 | 1.29 | 1.38 | 1.429 | 1.45 | 1.35 | 1.402 | 1.396 | 1.388 | 1.3697 | 1.42 | 1.33 | 1.426 | 1.374 | 1.3699 | 1.390 | 1.49 | 1.56 | 1.53 | 1.48 | 1.57 | 1.62 |
| Measure | Category statistic | Eligible population |
|---|---|---|
| Journal self-citation share | Median: 6.2% | 535 journals |
| Retracted papers per 1,000 | Pooled rate: 1.041 per 1,000 | 391 journals |
| Output growth | Median: 0.0% | 662 journals |
| Open access share | Median: 44.9% | 711 journals |
| Listed APC (USD) | Median including $0 listed prices: $3,400 | 278 ranked journals with a known listed price, including $0 listed prices |
| International collaboration share | Median: 29.9% | 665 journals |
| Review share | Median: 1.1% | 711 journals |
| Articles-only OJR | Median: 1.70 | 705 journals |
| Uncited share | Median: 26.8% | 711 journals |
| Citation concentration | Median: 45.6% | 710 journals |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.