Jcf Literature Positioning

---
name: jcf-literature-positioning
description: Use when positioning a manuscript within the corporate-finance literature for the Journal of Corporate Finance (JCF) — locating the paper in the right strand (capital structure, governance, payout, contracting, M&A, international) and stating the marginal contribution. It frames citations and gap statements; it does not draft full sections.
---

# Literature Positioning (jcf-literature-positioning)

## When to trigger

- Writing the related-literature paragraphs and the "we contribute by…" sentence
- Mapping which corporate-finance strand the paper extends
- Ensuring the cited lineage matches JCF's empirical/theoretical corporate-finance remit

## How JCF positioning works

JCF readers expect a paper to sit inside a recognizable **corporate-finance** conversation, not a generic finance one. Identify the precise strand:

- Capital structure / debt design / leverage dynamics
- Corporate governance / ownership / monitoring / control
- Payout policy (dividends, repurchases)
- Financial contracting (covenants, syndication, security design)
- Risk management, innovation financing, M&A, international corporate finance

Then state the **marginal contribution** against the closest two or three papers, not a wall of citations.

## Reference handling (verified)

- In-text citations are **author-date (Harvard-style)**, name and year in parentheses, e.g., (Campbell and Peden, 2005).
- At first submission JCF runs **"your paper, your way"** — references may be in **any consistent style** as long as required elements (authors, titles, year, volume, pages/article number) are present; **DOIs encouraged**. Full Elsevier reference styling applies at revision/acceptance.

## Positioning checklist

- [ ] The paper's strand and sub-question are named explicitly
- [ ] The 2–3 closest papers are cited and **differentiated**, not just listed
- [ ] The gap is a real, current gap (not closed by a recent paper you missed)
- [ ] Cross-area links (asset pricing, law, fintech, household finance) are drawn **only** where they sharpen the corporate-finance point

## Anti-patterns

- A literature dump that never says what is new here.
- Positioning against an old paper while ignoring recent work — invites a referee's "already done" rejection.
- Borrowing an asset-pricing framing that obscures the corporate-finance question.

## Output

```
【Strand】<capital structure / governance / …>
【Closest work】<2–3 cites> — differentiation: <one line each>
【Gap】<one sentence>  【Contribution】<one sentence>
```