Business and Publication Model of Cardiology Journals

Abstract

Objective: Traditional and open-access publishing strategies have been reviewed more recently, notably in light of the recent standoff between Elsevier and the University of California over cost and access. Although peer-reviewed publications are the primary means of disseminating science, the industry remains a mystery to many. We aimed to determine cardiology publisher market share, access type, geographic distribution, and relative research impact to better understand the traditionally opaque realm of academic publishing.

Methods: Scopus was queried in October 2022 to retrieve all items in the "Medicine" subcategory "Cardiology." The following information was cataloged: journal name, publisher, SCImago Journal Ranking (SJR) score, nation, and publication model. Journals were grouped by publication model, while publishers were grouped by ownership type. Overall trends were examined regarding publisher type, publication model, and geographic location.

Results: Over half of all cardiology journals commercial entities publish 73.6% (231/314). Elsevier and Springer Nature published 36.3%(114/314) of the journal titles within the category. Universities provided 8% (25/314) of cardiology publications in the marketplace, while professional societies contributed 18.5 % (58/314). Europe and North America publish more than two-thirds of all cardiology journals together. SJRs were most significant for commercially published papers on average.

Conclusion: The publication of cardiology journals is substantially centralized within a few multinational commercial corporations. Although most cardiology journals were open-access, their influence was comparable to subscription journals. Further disagreements between universities and publishers could impact future manuscript submissions, reviews, and citations, destabilizing existing publishing arrangements.