Gold Open Access Journal Focused on Head and Neck Surgery: Analysis of Business Model and Level of Article Processing Charges during the First 31 Months of Publishing

Abstract

Purpose: The goal of this retrospective study was 1) to analyze the results of a gold open access (OA) business model on the example of 31-month-old journal Otolaryngology Case Reports (OCR) related with head neck surgery and 2) to understand ‘pro and contra’ of this business model. Materials and Methods: Editorial board, publication history, indexation, and assumed revenue/profit margin were scrupulously investigated. We analyzed the data of articles` portfolio (which included 117 papers) of a gold OA journal focused on head neck surgery, the official journal’s and publisher`s website pages. The publication is analyzed from the first to the eleventh volume. Results: The entire study showed that during 2 years and 7 months of OCR existence totally 117 case report articles have been published. The assumed revenue reached 83,550 US dollars (mean revenue, USD 2,695.16 per month) and profit margin is 30,913.50 US dollars (a 37% profit margin was used upon calculation, as the official data reported by Elsevier`s for its OA products). The editorial board, abstracting and indexation are analyzed, and the 31-month publication history compared with a 33-month history of another gold OA journal Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Cases. Conclusions about 31-month OCR publishing results are presented.