If you research in management, commerce or economics in India, someone has already asked you: 'Is it ABDC-listed?' The Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal Quality List has become the de facto quality yardstick in Indian business schools — for PhD requirements, faculty recruitment and promotions alike.
The four tiers
- A* — the elite of each field (roughly the top 5–7% of listed journals); extremely competitive, multi-round review, often 1–2 years to acceptance.
- A — high-quality journals with rigorous review; the realistic 'stretch' target for strong doctoral work.
- B — solid, respectable journals; where a large share of good PhD-derived papers land.
- C — listed and legitimate but less selective; useful for early work, though some institutions discount them.
The list is curated by panels of discipline experts and revised periodically (with interim reviews) — journals move tiers, enter and exit, so always check the current list on the ABDC website rather than an old PDF.
ABDC vs Scopus vs ABS — different questions
Scopus/Web of Science answer 'is this journal indexed in a citation database?' — an inclusion standard. ABDC and ABS (the UK's Academic Journal Guide) answer 'how prestigious is it within business disciplines?' — a ranking. A journal can be Scopus-indexed but unlisted in ABDC, or ABDC-C yet respected in a niche. Indian institutions increasingly ask for both: Scopus-indexed AND ABDC-listed. Know your institution's exact wording before you target anything — and see how to publish in a Scopus-indexed journal for the indexing side.
Building a realistic target list
- 1Filter the current ABDC list to your field-of-research code.
- 2Note where the papers you cite most were published — those journals are the conversation your paper naturally belongs to.
- 3Pick a ladder: one stretch (A/A*), two realistic (A/B), one safety (B/C) — all genuinely fitting your topic and method.
- 4Check each journal's scope statement and recent issues before deciding; tier fit without topic fit means desk rejection.
- 5Verify indexing claims independently — predatory journals routinely fake ABDC/Scopus claims.
A published B-tier paper beats an A* rejection cycle that eats eighteen months of your registration clock. Sequence submissions with your degree timeline in mind — our publication mentoring builds this ladder with you.
Frequently asked
Is ABDC a database like Scopus?+
No — ABDC is a quality-ranked list of business journals, not a citation database. Scopus indexes journals across all fields and provides citation data. Many institutions require target journals to satisfy both criteria.
How often is the ABDC list updated?+
Through periodic major reviews with interim updates in between — journals can be added, removed or re-tiered. Always download the current list from abdc.edu.au when planning submissions.
My field isn't business — does ABDC apply to me?+
ABDC covers business-related disciplines (management, marketing, finance, accounting, economics, IS and adjacent areas). Other fields use Scopus/WoS quartiles, ABS, or discipline-specific rankings instead.
phdguide's mentors are senior academics, former supervisors, statisticians and publication specialists with 25+ years of combined experience guiding MBA, MPhil and PhD scholars from topic to viva.
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