Publication Ethics

PEER REVIEW PROCESS All manuscripts submitted to the International Journal of Economics, Management, Business, and Accounting (IJECOMBA) must adhere to the journal's focus and scope and author guidelines. Submitted manuscripts must demonstrate scientific merit or novelty appropriate to the fields of economics, management, business, and accounting. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject articles that do not align with the journal’s theme or the author guidelines. All manuscripts must be free from plagiarism. Authors are strongly encouraged to use plagiarism detection software to perform a similarity check before submission. The Editorial Board utilizes plagiarism detection software (e.g., iThenticate/Turnitin) to screen all articles.

Research articles submitted to this journal undergo a double-blind peer review process. Quality is ensured through rigorous, anonymous evaluation by at least two independent referees who are experts in the relevant discipline. Reviewers provide scientific comments that aid in improving the content and quality of the manuscript.

The final decision regarding article acceptance is made by the Editor, on behalf of the Editorial Board, based on the reviewers' comments. The publication of accepted articles, including the sequence of publication, is managed by the Editor-in-Chief, taking into account the date of acceptance, the relevance of the thematic issue, and the geographical distribution of authors.

Review Outcomes: Based on feedback from the peer review process, the Editor will communicate a final publication decision. The review process typically takes 4 to 12 weeks. Decision categories include:

  • Reject: Rejected manuscripts will not be published, and authors cannot resubmit a revised version of the same manuscript to IJECOMBA.
  • Resubmit for Review: The submission requires significant re-working. While it may be accepted eventually, it must undergo a second round of review after major revisions.
  • Accept with Revisions: Manuscripts receiving this decision will be published in IJECOMBA provided that minor or major modifications are made. Revisions will be reviewed by an editor to ensure necessary updates are completed prior to publication.
  • Accept: Accepted manuscripts will be published in their current form without further modifications.

Following the review, all correspondence and decision information are sent to the corresponding author. Authors are typically given one to two weeks to finalize the article and return the final version to the editorial office. If the article is not returned within this period (and no delay extension is requested), the manuscript may be considered withdrawn.

PUBLICATION ETHICS AND PUBLICATION MALPRACTICE STATEMENT

The International Journal of Economics, Management, Business, and Accounting (IJECOMBA) is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic ethics and publication quality. Plagiarism in any form is strictly forbidden; papers found to contain plagiarized content will be rejected or removed. Consequently, all received papers are screened using plagiarism detection software before the review process begins.

By signing the publication agreement, author(s) warrant that the article and associated materials are original and do not infringe upon any copyright. Authors also warrant that there was full consensus among all authors and that the work has not been previously submitted or published elsewhere.

In accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers, IJECOMBA adheres to the highest ethical standards for all parties involved, including authors, editors, and peer reviewers. We actively prevent conflicts of interest and require that any potential or emerging conflicts be reported directly to the editor.

Editors, authors, and reviewers within IJECOMBA are committed to good publication practice and accept the following duties and responsibilities:

Section A: Publication and Authorship

  1. All articles submitted are subject to a rigorous double-blind peer-review procedure by at least two independent reviewers who are experts in the field.
  2. Criteria for review include relevance, theoretical soundness, practical importance, originality, readability, and clarity of language.
  3. Possible determinations include: Rejection, Acceptance with Changes, or Acceptance.
  4. There is no guarantee that a revised contribution will be accepted; articles that are rejected will not be re-evaluated.
  5. The publication of the paper must comply with all legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

Section B: Authors’ Responsibilities

  1. Authors must declare that their submissions are their own unique work and have not been previously published.
  2. Authors are required to participate actively in the peer review process and respond to editorial requests in a timely manner.
  3. Each author listed on the manuscript must have made a substantial contribution to the research (e.g., conception, design, analysis, or drafting).
  4. Authors must affirm that all data presented in the publication is true, accurate, and has not been manipulated.
  5. Authors must disclose any financial or interpersonal conflicts of interest to the Editors.
  6. All sources utilized in the preparation of the work must be properly cited and identified.
  7. Authors must promptly notify the Editors of any significant errors or inaccuracies found in their published manuscript and cooperate in retracting or correcting the paper if necessary.

Section C: Reviewers’ Responsibilities

  1. Reviewers must treat all manuscripts received as confidential documents; they must not be discussed with others or exploited for personal gain.
  2. Reviews should be conducted objectively, avoiding personal insults or criticism of the author.
  3. Reviewers must explain their opinions clearly with supporting arguments and evidence.
  4. Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
  5. Reviewers must alert the Editor-in-Chief to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper with which they are familiar.
  6. Reviewers must decline to review submissions if they have a competing interest, a collaborative relationship, or a close connection with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the paper.

Section D: Editors’ Responsibilities

  1. Editors have the final authority to accept or reject an article.
  2. Editors are responsible for the overall quality of the publication and its content.
  3. Editors should strive to meet the needs of readers and authors, ensuring that articles are of high quality and that the academic record is preserved.
  4. Editors should issue corrections or retractions when necessary and make decisions based solely on the importance, originality, clarity, and relevance of the article to the journal's scope.
  5. Editors should be aware of funding sources for the research they publish.
  6. Editors should not reverse previous editorial decisions unless a serious error is identified.
  7. Editors must protect the anonymity of reviewers.
  8. Editors must ensure that published research follows internationally recognized ethical guidelines.
  9. Editors must act if they suspect misconduct in a manuscript, whether published or unpublished, and make reasonable efforts to resolve the issue.
  10. Editors should not reject articles based solely on suspicion; concrete evidence of misconduct is required.
  11. There should be no conflicts of interest between staff, writers, reviewers, and editors.

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION ETHICS

All submissions should be produced in strict accordance with the Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (Committee on Publication Ethics, 2018).

1. Authorship and Contributorship Authors must clearly state their specific contributions to the work, typically in the cover letter. Only those who meet the following authorship criteria should be listed: (i) Made substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, or analysis/interpretation of the study; (ii) Drafted the manuscript or critically revised it for important intellectual content; (iii) Have seen and approved the final version and agreed to its submission. All persons who made significant contributions but do not meet authorship criteria (e.g., technical assistance) must be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgements" section with their written permission. The corresponding author ensures that all appropriate co-authors are included and that all co-authors have approved the final version.

2. Conflict of Interest The corresponding author must notify the Editor of any potential conflicts of interest (e.g., financial relationships, personal affiliations, or pressures from interest groups) that could influence the interpretation of data. Even if the authors believe their judgment was unaffected, potential conflicts must be stated in the cover letter. The Editor will determine if this information needs to be included in the final manuscript. All sources of funding must be fully acknowledged.

3. Redundant Publication Redundant (or duplicate) publication is defined as publishing the same work more than once without attribution. This includes: a) Shared authors across reports; b) The same or similar research populations; c) Identical or nearly identical methodologies; d) Little to no difference in results and interpretation. When submitting, authors must attach a note advising the editor of any overlap with previous work and explaining how the current submission differs significantly.

4. Process for Managing Research and Publication Misconduct IJECOMBA follows the flowcharts provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when handling reports of misconduct, such as duplicate publication, plagiarism, fabricated data, undisclosed conflicts, or reviewer appropriation. The editorial board will investigate allegations thoroughly before reaching a conclusion.

5. Handling Complaints and Appeals The journal’s policy is designed to protect authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher. The process for complaints and appeals is governed by COPE rules available at: https://publicationethics.org/appeals

6. Journal Policies on Data Sharing and Reproducibility Authors are encouraged to share their research data to promote transparency. If authors choose to disseminate their work after publication, they must acknowledge that it was initially published in IJECOMBA.

7. Journal’s Options For Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections Post-publication discussion is accessible via correspondence. Readers with concerns may write a letter to the editor. Errors or faults identified in articles may be addressed via Errata, corrigenda, or retractions. Authors are responsible for requesting corrections for inaccuracies in their published works.

8. Journal’s Policy on Intellectual Property To satisfy the conditions of Open Access publishing, IJECOMBA requires authors to declare their paper open access under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

9. Plagiarism and Retraction Plagiarism—representing someone else's work or ideas as one's own—is strictly prohibited. All received papers are screened for plagiarism. Text borrowed from other sources must be in quotation marks with proper citations. If plagiarism is discovered during peer review, the paper will be rejected. If discovered after publication, the journal may issue a Correction or retract the paper, in accordance with COPE guidelines.

10. Author Guidelines for Use of Generative AI Authors are required to disclose any use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard) in the preparation of their manuscripts. This disclosure must appear in the Acknowledgments section. The specific AI tool used and the sections of the manuscript where AI was employed (e.g., literature review search, language editing) must be clearly named. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

11. Ethical Guidelines for the Use of Human Participants in Research Research involving human participants (e.g., surveys, interviews, experiments in management or economics) must be conducted ethically.

  • Research must have a clear scientific goal.
  • Informed consent must be obtained from all participants. They must be informed of the study's purpose and any potential risks.
  • Investigators have a primary obligation to protect participants from physical and psychological harm.
  • For studies involving human subjects, authors must include a statement in the manuscript confirming that ethical approval was obtained from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or ethics committee, and that informed consent was secured. Failure to provide this information may lead to rejection.

Sources:

  • COPE: Responsible research publication: international standards for authors
  • COPE: Code of Conduct for Journal Editors
  • COPE: Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers
  • Elsevier: Publishing Ethics Resource Kit