Aims and Scope
The Journal of Ocean Business and Innovation (JOBI) is a double-blind, peer-reviewed, open-access journal committed to advancing theory and practice at the intersection of ocean sustainability, business strategy, technological innovation, and coastal community resilience.
It serves academic, industry, nonprofit, and policy audiences by publishing high-quality, multidisciplinary research and applied insights that support a regenerative and inclusive blue economy.
JOBI provides a scholarly platform for work that informs the sustainable and equitable development of ocean-based industries, including fisheries and aquaculture, marine tourism, renewable ocean energy, maritime logistics, coastal infrastructure, and blue biotechnology.
The journal welcomes research exploring innovations in governance, tourism, finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, and organizational practices that support both ecological health and economic opportunity in coastal and ocean systems.
Three interconnected pillars guide JOBI's editorial mission, ensuring a holistic understanding of ocean business dynamics.
1. Environmental and Ecological Stewardship
Research focused on how ocean-based enterprises can contribute to ocean health and operate within planetary boundaries.
Topics may include:
- Marine spatial planning
- Blue carbon strategies
- Plastic and pollution reduction
- Circular economy models in ocean industries
- Marine biodiversity protection through responsible business practices
2. Social Equity and Coastal Community Well-being
Work that promotes inclusive and just blue economy approaches, including:
- Community-based entrepreneurship
- Indigenous and local knowledge integration
- Workforce development and coastal livelihoods
- Equitable benefit-sharing from marine resource use
- Social resilience and adaptation in vulnerable coastal regions
3. Economic and Innovation Viability
Research exploring the long-term viability and innovation capacity of ocean-oriented businesses, including:
- Blue finance and investment vehicles
- Commercialization of marine technologies
- Business model innovation in ocean sectors
- Market creation for underutilized ocean resources
- Cost-benefit and ROI analysis of sustainable ocean practices
Types of Submissions
- Empirical research (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods)
- Conceptual and theoretical contributions
- Policy and regulatory analyses
- Practice-based case studies
- Practitioner-oriented commentaries
- Replication studies that extend existing blue economy research
Topics of Interest
- Sustainable business models in blue economy sectors
- Marine ecotourism innovation and sustainable branding
- Blue supply chains and traceability systems
- Climate resilience strategies for ports and ocean infrastructure
- Ocean impact investing and blended finance
- Gender and equity in ocean entrepreneurship
- Behavioral insights and social marketing for marine conservation
- Governance of emerging ocean technologies (e.g., seabed mining, ocean AI)
- University-industry-government collaboration in marine innovation hubs
- Ethical frameworks for sustainable ocean business practices
- Marine biotech and life sciences commercialization pathways
What JOBI Does Not Publish
- Technical marine science or engineering research without clear business or policy relevance
- General business, economics, or entrepreneurship studies not grounded in ocean or coastal contexts
- Localized or exploratory work with minimal generalizability or theoretical contribution
- Manuscripts lacking actionable insight into real-world innovation or sustainable ocean business practices
