Influence of the top 10 journal publishers listed in Journal Citation Reports based on six indicators

Abstract

Purpose An accurate evaluation of the influence of the largest publishers in world journal publishing is a starting point for negotiating journal subscriptions and an important issue for research libraries. This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of the largest publishers based on Journal Citation Reports (JCR) indicators. Methods From JCR 2014 to 2018 data, a unique journal list by publisher was created in Excel. The top 10 publishers were selected and evaluated in terms of the average share of six JCR indicators including the impact factor, Eigenfactor score, and article influence score, along with the number of journals, articles, and citations. Results The top three publishers accounted for about 50% of the JCR indicators, the top five for 60%, and the top 10 for 70%. Therefore, the concentration of the top three publishers, with a share exceeding 50% for five indicators, was more intensive than has been reported in previous studies. For the top 10 publishers, not only the number of journals and articles, but also citations and the impact factor, which reflect the practical use of journals, were increasing. Conclusion These evaluation results will be important to research libraries and librarians in deciding upon journal subscriptions using publisher information, to journal publishers trying to list their journals in JCR, and to consortium operators to negotiate strategically. Using the unique journal list created in this research process, various follow-up studies are possible. However, it is also urgent to build a standardized world journal list with accurate information.