Who/what determines the order of articles appearing in an issue of an academic journal? Who/what determines the order of articles appearing in an issue of an academic journal? Does the editor or the publisher decide this? A few examples reveal that it is not alphabetical by author or title. Is order determined by time (i.e. when each paper is accepted), or does the order indicate how the editor/publisher perceives the potential impact of each piece?
It is the editor, that determines the order. Other than that there are no general rules. Typically, they just pick the order that "makes sense". Maybe a topical article first if one is available. Maybe there are a couple of articles that fit nicely together, and (s)he wants to emphasize that, etc. etc.