It’s a bit of a circular problem. Certain journals have a reputation of publishing higher quality work, so if you see where it’s published, you’re more likely to read it. Since it draws in readers, it leads to more citations. More citations means more people want to publish there, meaning that the journal gets to be more selective and gets to choose the cream of the crop. Thus maintaining their reputation of publishing higher quality work.
It’s a bit of a circular problem. Certain journals have a reputation of publishing higher quality work, so if you see where it’s published, you’re more likely to read it. Since it draws in readers, it leads to more citations. More citations means more people want to publish there, meaning that the journal gets to be more selective and gets to choose the cream of the crop. Thus maintaining their reputation of publishing higher quality work.