Editor Guidelines

Editors (EIC, Associate Editors, Editorial Board members) will follow these policies:

Responsibilities: Editors must uphold the highest editorial standards. They will oversee the review process, make final publication decisions, and ensure published content is accurate and ethically sound. Editors must respond to submissions promptly, assign suitable reviewers, and maintain clear records of decisions. They should promote journal integrity, respond to misconduct allegations per COPE guidance, and be transparent in their actions.
Decision Workflow: Upon submission, the EIC or an Associate Editor performs an initial triage for scope and completeness. Manuscripts passing triage are assigned to one or more associate editors. The handling editor invites qualified reviewers (or uses editorial board reviewers), manages their deadlines, and collects reports. Based on reviewer feedback, the editor formulates a decision letter: accept, minor revisions, major revisions, or reject. Revised manuscripts undergo further review or editorial inspection as needed. Throughout, editors ensure consistent communication and documentation of decisions.
Handling Appeals: If authors contest a decision, they may submit a formal appeal (to the EIC) explaining grounds for reconsideration. Only one appeal per manuscript is permitted. The Editor-in-Chief (or designated senior editor not involved in the original decision) reviews the appeal and may consult additional reviewers or board members. The appeal decision (uphold or reverse) is final and communicated in writing. This process will be clearly described on the website. (For reference, Elsevier’s Journal of Business Research allows one appeal per submission, handled by senior editors, with a final decision communicated to authors.)
Conflicts of Interest: Editors must recuse themselves from handling papers in which they have a conflict (as noted in Editorial Board). The remaining editors will manage that submission to avoid bias.
Editorial Independence: The editorial process is independent of business or political pressures. Editors are committed to decisions based solely on scholarly merit. The journal will explicitly state that neither the publisher nor sponsors influence content choices, in line with DOAJ and COPE guidance.

These guidelines will be published on the site under Editor Roles and Policies, reflecting COPE’s Code of Conduct for Editors and Plan S demands for transparent decision processes.