Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Introduction

Management Research Journal (MRJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity in scholarly publishing. The journal adheres to the principles and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and follows the COPE Core Practices, guidelines, and recommendations in handling ethical issues, complaints, and allegations of misconduct.

All parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher, are expected to comply with the ethical standards outlined in this statement.

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions

The Editor-in-Chief has full responsibility and authority for deciding which submitted manuscripts are accepted, revised, or rejected for publication. Editorial decisions are based exclusively on:

  • Originality and scholarly contribution;
  • Research quality and methodological rigor;
  • Relevance to the scope of the journal;
  • Significance of findings;
  • Compliance with ethical and publication standards.

Editorial decisions are not influenced by commercial interests or by the authors’ race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religious belief, institutional affiliation, or political views.

Fairness and Editorial Independence

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit and maintain complete editorial independence throughout the review and publication process.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information regarding submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, editorial advisors, and publisher, as appropriate.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors shall recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have any personal, professional, financial, or institutional conflict of interest.

Ethical Oversight

Editors will investigate allegations of research misconduct, plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, authorship disputes, and other ethical concerns in accordance with COPE guidelines. Appropriate actions may include correction, retraction, expression of concern, or rejection of manuscripts.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts through constructive feedback.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and must not be shared, discussed, or used for personal advantage.

Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively, professionally, and respectfully. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors and notify editors of any substantial similarity between the manuscript under review and other published works.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest and decline review assignments when such conflicts could affect their impartiality.

Timeliness

Reviewers should complete reviews within the specified timeframe and promptly notify editors if they are unable to do so.

Duties of Authors

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must submit original work and appropriately cite or quote the work of others. Plagiarism in all its forms, including self-plagiarism, is unacceptable and constitutes unethical publishing behavior.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

Authors should not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal or publish substantially similar research in multiple publications without proper disclosure.

Data Integrity

Authors must present accurate data and findings. Fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, images, or results is considered serious misconduct.

Authors should retain research data and be prepared to provide access to supporting data upon reasonable request.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to:

  • Research conception and design;
  • Data collection or analysis;
  • Manuscript preparation and revision;
  • Approval of the final version for publication.

All authors must approve the submitted manuscript and agree to its submission.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Authors must properly acknowledge all sources of information, ideas, data, and funding used in the research.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that may influence the interpretation of the research findings.

Human Participants and Ethical Approval

Research involving human participants must comply with recognized ethical standards and obtain approval from the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board.

Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained where applicable.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Authors must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in manuscript preparation. AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the content. Authors remain fully accountable for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the submitted work.

Duties of the Publisher

The publisher is committed to:

  • Supporting editorial independence;
  • Maintaining academic integrity;
  • Preventing publication misconduct;
  • Preserving the scholarly record;
  • Providing transparency in editorial processes;
  • Supporting corrections, retractions, and ethical investigations when necessary.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written explanation to the Editor-in-Chief.

The journal will investigate complaints concerning:

  • Editorial decisions;
  • Peer review processes;
  • Publication ethics;
  • Alleged misconduct;
  • Conflicts of interest.

All complaints will be handled fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with COPE recommendations.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

MRJ is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

Where necessary, the journal may publish:

Corrections

For minor errors that do not affect the validity of the research findings.

Retractions

For cases involving:

  • Plagiarism;
  • Duplicate publication;
  • Data fabrication or falsification;
  • Major ethical violations;
  • Unreliable findings.

Expressions of Concern

When serious concerns arise but conclusive evidence is not yet available.

Such actions will follow COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Research Misconduct

The following practices constitute research and publication misconduct:

  • Plagiarism;
  • Self-plagiarism;
  • Data fabrication;
  • Data falsification;
  • Citation manipulation;
  • Authorship manipulation;
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest;
  • Peer review manipulation;
  • Duplicate or redundant publication.

Confirmed cases may result in manuscript rejection, publication retraction, notification to authors’ institutions, and prohibition from future submissions.

Ethical Commitment

Management Research Journal is committed to promoting ethical scholarship, transparency, academic integrity, and responsible research practices. All participants in the publication process are expected to uphold these principles to ensure the credibility and quality of the scholarly record.

This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.