Information for Editors
Editor Roles and Responsibilities
The Editorial Board serves as the primary guardian of the journal’s academic quality and integrity. Editors are tasked with Manuscript Oversight, which involves managing the end-to-end peer review process for all assigned submissions. They exercise strict Quality Control to ensure that every published piece is original, of high quality, and perfectly aligned with the journal’s scope. Beyond daily operations, editors provide Strategic Direction by identifying emerging research trends, proposing special issues, and acting as global ambassadors for the publication. Furthermore, they are responsible for Timeliness, monitoring the review cycle to ensure authors receive feedback within specified windows, and Confidentiality, ensuring that unpublished manuscripts and reviewer identities remain strictly protected.
Criteria for Selecting Reviewers
Reviewers are the backbone of the evaluation process and are selected based on their specific expertise and objective standing. Candidates must demonstrate Subject Expertise, typically evidenced by a PhD or equivalent professional standing and a proven publication record in the manuscript’s specific sub-field. To maintain Objectivity, reviewers must be entirely independent of the authors and their respective institutions. The journal also prioritizes Reliability, seeking individuals with a history of providing detailed, constructive, and timely feedback. Additionally, a commitment to Diversity is central to our selection process, ensuring a broad range of global perspectives on modern business and management challenges.
Conflict of Interest Policy for Editors
To guarantee unbiased judgment, all editors must adhere to a rigorous Conflict of Interest Policy. This includes a mandatory Disclosure process where editors must recuse themselves from handling any manuscript involving financial, personal, or professional connections to the authors. They are also prohibited from managing papers that represent Competitive Interests related to their own ongoing research or commercial ventures. In cases of Submissions by Editors, the entire process is managed by an independent editor to ensure that no preferential treatment is granted and that the double-blind standard is upheld.
Guidelines for Initial Desk Rejection
To respect the time of both authors and volunteer reviewers, the Editorial Team performs a preliminary screening. A manuscript may face an Initial Desk Rejection if the topic is deemed Out of Scope or if it exhibits Insufficient Quality, such as a lack of methodological rigor or a failure to provide a clear contribution to the field. Ethical Breaches, including high similarity scores flagged by Turnitin or a lack of ethical clearances, are also grounds for immediate rejection. Finally, significant Formatting Issues or failure to meet basic language requirements may result in the paper being returned without formal review.
The Editorial Decision-Making Process
Code of Conduct for Editorial Board Members
Editorial Board members are expected to uphold the highest ethical standards as defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This includes Integrity, acting with honesty and impartiality in every interaction, and Fairness, ensuring manuscripts are evaluated solely on intellectual content without regard to the author’s race, gender, religious beliefs, or political philosophy. Editors must maintain professional Communication, providing helpful and clear guidance to all stakeholders. Finally, they maintain Accountability for their editorial decisions, remaining prepared to publish corrections, clarifications, or retractions whenever errors are identified in the published record.
