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Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation (JSCAN)

Starting a new journal today has significant challenges and we have no illusions about the effort required for success. However, we strongly believe that we have the foundations in place for success – to develop an important, thriving and active community of scholarship that will build, broaden and sustain a thriving JSCAN. In this inaugural editorial we outline our passion and vision for the journal, its strengths and challenges, and warmly invite you to join its future – for without you, and people like you, submitting manuscripts, or reviewing for the journal, or even joining the board, we cannot succeed. Many argue that the market within which we, as scholars and curious practitioners, operate today is rapidly changing. However, we can reasonably argue that the pace of change has not been that rapid. Rather than rapid change, pressures on scholars emerge from greater expectations on our roles as academics and as researchers, and from uncertainty and complexity in the academic systems within which we work. Administrators and evaluators expect young academics to perform as all-rounders who teach, research, publish, get grants, administer and make an impact through doing these five activities well, and in a global context. For example, academics have ‘lists’ of desirable places in which to publish research. Also, each discipline has such official or unofficial