It is a great honor to become managing editor of OR Spectrum. I would like to sincerely thank my predecessor Stefan Minner for managing the journal highly successful for the past 6 years and assisting me in taking over the journal. I would also like to thank Jen-Ming Chen for serving the journal as an editor for 9 years. Furthermore, I am happy to welcome the new editors Walter Gutjahr (University of Vienna, Austria), Johann Hurink (University of Twente, Netherlands), Jesper Larsen (Technical University of Denmark, Denmark) and Alec Morton (University of Strathclyde, UK).

The scope of the journal remains unchanged, to publish “applied and theoretical papers which contribute to Operations Research as a scientific instrument for the development and application of quantitative approaches for problem-solving and decision-making in management”. Papers published in OR Spectrum should fulfill three criteria: First, they should be relevant, addressing questions which are covered by the scope of the journal, quantitative approaches for problem-solving and decision-making in management. Second, they should be rigorous in applying state-of-the-art approaches in an appropriate manner. Third, they should be influential, addressing questions which are of great interest for our scientific community and for management. The third criterion is the most important of all as it impacts whether or not OR Spectrum is seen as a valuable journal which fosters research.

In order to assure that all papers fulfill the three criteria, each submitted manuscript will undergo a two-level reviewing process. Initially, it will be triaged by me and an editor, in particular with respect to its potential influence. Papers which pass the first level will then be send out to at least two qualified reviewers in order to obtain in-depth reviews. Based on the reviews, the handling editor will provide an assessment of the paper. Editors and reviewers will do their best to unfold the full potential of papers. Authors should expect fair and constructive yet also demanding reviews. In terms of review time, our aim is to return papers within 3 months.

I am excited at the prospect of working with all Operations Research scholars and I invite you to submit your best work to OR Spectrum.