Sage Publishing
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Academic publishing |
| Founded | 1 January 1965 in New York City, United States |
| Founder | Sara Miller McCune |
| Headquarters | Thousand Oaks, California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Sara Miller McCune (Executive Chairman) |
| Products | Scholarly journals, books, reference materials, digital products |
| Website | us |
Sage Publishing, originally known as SAGE Publications, is a privately held American academic publisher established in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune. The company's headquarters are now located in the Newbury Park area of Thousand Oaks, California.
With a global presence, Sage maintains offices throughout North America, including locations in Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Toronto. Its European operations are centered in London, UK, while the Asia Pacific region is served by branches in Melbourne, India, and Singapore.
Annually, Sage produces over 1,000 scholarly journals and more than 800 books, alongside reference materials and digital products covering fields such as business, humanities, social sciences, science, technology, and medicine. The publisher’s catalog features imprints like Corwin Press (acquired in 1990), CQ Press (2008), Learning Matters (2011), and Adam Matthew Digital (2012), broadening its reach within academic publishing and digital content markets.
History
Founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller (later Sara Miller McCune), with mentorship from Macmillan Inc. executive George D. McCune, the company’s name is derived from an acronym of their first names. The firm moved to Southern California in 1966 following Miller and McCune’s marriage; George McCune left his role at Macmillan to join the venture. Sara Miller McCune held the presidency for 18 years before becoming board chair in 1984 and continues to serve as executive chairman. The couple jointly managed the company until George McCune’s passing in 1990.
In 2008, SAGE joined two other publishers in filing a lawsuit against Georgia State University, accusing the institution of copyright violations related to faculty sharing of excerpts; the dispute concluded in 2020 with a ruling against the publishers.
SAGE disclosed a gender pay gap within its UK workforce in 2018, reporting an average difference of 13.1% and a median gap of 10.3%.
That same year, SAGE acquired Lean Library—a browser extension offering discovery services—which attracted some criticism from academic circles for being a commercial product rather than an open-source alternative such as Unpaywall.
OASPA affiliation
In 2008, SAGE Publishing played a key role as an original member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA). However, in 2013, OASPA conducted a membership review after the Journal of International Medical Research accepted a purposely flawed manuscript submitted during a sting operation aimed at evaluating the robustness of peer review in open access journals. After SAGE implemented enhancements to its editorial procedures, its membership was restored following a six-month evaluation period.
Legal actions
In September 2024, UCLA neuroscience professor Lucina Uddin initiated a proposed class-action lawsuit targeting SAGE Publishing along with five other academic journal publishers. The complaint accuses these publishers of antitrust breaches by conspiring to avoid competing for manuscript submissions and withholding compensation from researchers for peer review work.
Academic misconduct
In July 2014, Sage Publishing exposed fraudulent activities involving fabricated peer reviews in journals such as the Journal of Vibration and Control (JVC), following an investigation lasting over a year. The scheme was orchestrated by physicist Peter Chen from Taiwan's National Pingtung University of Education, who exploited weak editorial oversight by creating false identities to manipulate the peer review process and facilitate publication of numerous articles with minimal examination. This "peer review ring" consisted of a small cohort of authors who reviewed each other's submissions and frequently appeared as co-authors.
The inquiry resulted in the withdrawal of 60 articles published over four years. Taiwan's Education Minister Chiang Wei-ling was implicated due to his association with several retracted papers and subsequently resigned. In response, Sage strengthened its peer review protocols and editorial policies to safeguard the integrity of its publications.
Corporate entities
Sage conducts business through multiple subsidiaries, including:
- Sage Publications Inc
- Sage Publications Ltd
- Sage Publications India PVT LTD
- Sage Publications Asia‐Pacific PTE LTD
Strategic acquisitions
Sage has broadened its international presence via several acquisitions:
- Pion Limited, established in 1959 by Adam Gelbtuch and John Ashby, known for publishing the Environment and Planning series, acquired in May 2015.
- Global Village Publishing, which specializes in electronic publishing platforms and related services, acquired in May 2018.
- Talis Group, an educational technology firm recognized for the Talis Aspire learning management system, acquired in August 2018.
- Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publisher of more than 100 peer-reviewed journals in biotechnology and life sciences.
These acquisitions support Sage’s strategic objectives to diversify its offerings, expand market presence, and reinforce its competitive position within scholarly publishing.
Journals
- Improving Schools, a scholarly journal dedicated to education research
- Journal of Developing Societies, an academic publication addressing development issues