This document is based on and follows the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for good practices related to ethical issues and rules to prevent misconduct in the publishing process.
The document regulates the basic duties and responsibilities of the publisher, editors, editorial boards, independent reviewers, and authors.
The main responsibility of the publisher is to ensure and facilitate the publication of scientific products without violating ethical principles in the publishing process. The publisher aims to popularize and disseminate scientific products and ensures their proper reflection in the post-publication process, including correct representation and inclusion in repositories and databases with scientific and educational content.
Together with the responsible individuals in a specific scientific publication (editor and editorial board), the publisher takes necessary measures to prevent scientific conflicts, plagiarism, or scientific fraud in the publication process. In the event of such cases, the publisher, along with the responsible individuals in a specific scientific publication (editor and editorial board), takes the necessary steps to clarify the situations.
Upon the identification of scientific conflicts, plagiarism, or scientific fraud, the publisher has the right to retract the published manuscript according to COPE guidelines (Retraction Guidelines, ver. 2: November 2019). Violations of the integrity of scientific research are determined according to the established FFP classification, as described in the revised edition of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (Chapter 3).
Editors of the publications at the International Business School (IBS) accept and evaluate manuscripts based on the proper adherence to Author Guidelines, the relevance of the researched issues, and the academic and scientific value of the manuscript (originality, innovation, clarity, methodology, objectives, etc.). In case of non-compliance with the specified requirements, editors and editorial boards have the right to reject the manuscript without advancing it to the peer review process.
Editors at IBS publications evaluate manuscripts without consideration of gender, race, ethnicity, political views, religious beliefs, social or institutional affiliation, and adhere to the rules for the protection of personal data. Editors follow the guidelines of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) regarding gender data reporting – SAGER Guidelines, approved in 2018 by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Editors guarantee and oversee the adherence to good peer review practices. They participate in the distribution of manuscripts and ensure their evaluation by independent reviewers outside the author’s institution, strictly adhering to the double-blind peer review process.
Editors at IBS publications declare that in the event of a conflict of interest with authors and/or reviewers, the manuscript is redistributed to other members of the editorial board, ensuring compliance with all ethical procedures in the publishing process as regulated in the official regulatory provisions of COPE.
Editors and members of editorial boards do not have the right to use or disclose to third parties manuscripts that have been submitted to the publisher and have not been published or are in the process of publication without the explicit written consent of the author.
All manuscripts accepted by the editor and editorial board and meeting the formal requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines are subjected to double-blind peer review.
Upon accepting a manuscript for review, reviewers for IBS publications agree to adhere to the Guidelines for Reviewers.
Reviewers are obligated to confirm their acceptance of review requests, ensuring the submission of a completed, high-quality review within the timeframe specified by the editor.
Reviewers assess manuscripts within their area of expertise, scholarly activity, and interests. They maintain the anonymity of the review process and commit not to reproduce or distribute the material provided for review or any parts of it.
Reviewers are required to be objective and constructively critical in evaluating the presented manuscript, refraining from hostile, provocative, or other comments that violate the proper tone of scholarly communication.
In the event of a conflict of interest (e.g., recognizing authorship of the manuscript), the reviewer promptly declares a potential conflict of interest to the editor. If ethical violations are identified in the manuscript provided for review, the reviewer immediately informs the editor and/or the editorial board.
All manuscripts submitted for publication in IBS editions must be original research works that have not been published elsewhere or are under consideration or review by another journal (including within other IBS editions).
When submitting manuscripts, authors are obligated to adhere to all requirements of the respective publication, as outlined in the Author Guidelines. They must also adhere to the established citation standard and formatting of bibliographic content.
Any form of plagiarism is considered unethical and unacceptable. Detected cases of plagiarism lead to manuscript rejection, and the author’s institution is notified according to COPE instructions and procedures.
Authors follow the EASE guidelines regarding gender data reporting (SAGER Guidelines, approved in 2018 by COPE).
Authors declare authorship of the submitted manuscript, strictly adhering to criteria for authorship, data/meta-data processing and dissemination, and interpretation of research results.
Authors explicitly specify the authorship and contribution of each participant in the manuscript’s development, using the CrediT system (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) when possible.
Authors must disclose and provide accurate and complete information about all individuals who contributed to the research but are not considered co-authors, as well as information about research funding if applicable. Such information is reflected in the Acknowledgment section.
IBS publications strive to enforce a strict policy against abuses such as gift authorship and ghost authorship. In case of such violations, the publisher has the right to:
- Refuse to publish the manuscript if the manuscript is in “active” status in any of the publication processes – “editor” or “review” levels.
- Retract the manuscript if it has already been published, following COPE guidelines (Retraction Guidelines, ver. 2: November 2019).
Authors promptly inform the editor of any inaccuracies found in their own text, including a willingness to provide additional information required by reviewers.
By submitting material to an IBS edition, authors agree that the data from their research will be publicly accessible under the established open-access license (CC) chosen by the Publisher.
By providing a manuscript to IBS editions, authors agree to provide raw data/meta-data and other relevant information related to the research results if requested by the editor of the edition. Such data provision is conditional on the confidentiality of research participants being protected and/or a process of data pseudonymization being implemented.
