Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The ASEAN Entrepreneurship Journal (AEJ) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, research integrity, editorial independence and transparency throughout the submission, peer review, publication and post publication processes.

AEJ expects authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members and the publisher to act with integrity, fairness, confidentiality and accountability. The journal takes concerns about research and publication integrity seriously and seeks to protect the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly record.

AEJ's publication ethics practices are informed by recognised principles of responsible scholarly publishing, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and relevant COPE guidelines and flowcharts. Where applicable, AEJ also recognises the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) for describing individual contributions.

• COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
• COPE Guidelines and Flowcharts: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts
• CRediT: https://credit.niso.org/

These principles are applied according to the nature of the manuscript, the circumstances of each case and the responsibilities of the individuals involved.

Purpose and Scope

This statement sets out the principles and procedures that guide ethical publishing in AEJ. It applies to authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members and the publisher.

The statement covers authorship and contributorship, peer review, conflicts of interest, research ethics, data sharing and reproducibility, intellectual property, plagiarism, publication malpractice, artificial intelligence, complaints and appeals, allegations of misconduct and post publication actions.

AEJ may update its policies when developments in research integrity and scholarly publishing require changes.

General Ethical Principles

AEJ expects all participants in the publication process to:

• conduct and report research honestly and responsibly;
• provide accurate information about research methods, data and findings;
• give appropriate credit for authorship and intellectual contributions;
• disclose relevant conflicts of interest and funding;
• protect confidential information obtained through the editorial and peer review process;
• comply with applicable research ethics requirements;
• cooperate with reasonable and appropriate investigations of suspected research or publication misconduct; and
• take appropriate action when errors or integrity concerns affect the scholarly record.

AEJ does not accept practices that knowingly or seriously compromise the integrity of research, peer review or publication.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the originality, accuracy and integrity of their submitted work.

Authors must:

• submit work that is original and has not been published previously;
• not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal;
• provide accurate and complete information about the research and its findings;
• ensure that all listed authors have made substantial contributions to the work;
• obtain the agreement of all authors before submission;
• acknowledge relevant sources, contributions, data and materials;
• disclose relevant conflicts of interest and sources of funding;
• provide information about ethical approval and informed consent where applicable;
• respond appropriately to reasonable editorial requests concerning research integrity; and
• promptly inform AEJ if a significant error is discovered in a published article.

Authors must not fabricate or falsify data, manipulate research findings, plagiarise or otherwise misrepresent research or publication information.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must reflect substantial contributions to the research and manuscript. All listed authors must have made meaningful contributions, approved the submitted version and agreed to be accountable for their contribution to the work.

Where appropriate, AEJ encourages authors to use the CRediT taxonomy to identify individual contributions.

Requests to add, remove or change authors after submission must be justified and agreed upon by all affected authors. AEJ may request supporting documentation before approving an authorship change.

Authorship disputes may be referred to the relevant institution or organisation for investigation where appropriate.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to provide independent, objective, constructive and evidence based assessments.

Reviewers must:

• evaluate manuscripts objectively and according to their scholarly merit;
• maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and unpublished information;
• disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest;
• decline a review if they cannot provide an impartial assessment;
• not use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage;
• provide comments that are relevant and supported by appropriate reasoning; and
• inform the editor of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data concerns or other ethical issues.

Reviewers must not disclose, copy, distribute or use unpublished manuscript content without appropriate permission.

Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are fair, consistent, confidential and based on scholarly considerations.

Editors must:

• assess submissions according to the journal's aims and scope and applicable editorial policies;
• maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts;
• appoint appropriate and independent reviewers where peer review is required;
• manage conflicts of interest appropriately;
• make editorial decisions without discrimination or undue influence;
• consider credible allegations of research or publication misconduct;
• maintain the integrity of the published scholarly record; and
• take appropriate action when corrections, expressions of concern or retractions are warranted.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by commercial interests, advertising, sponsorship, personal relationships, institutional affiliations or other inappropriate considerations.

Peer Review Integrity

AEJ uses peer review for manuscripts for which peer review is applicable, in accordance with the journal's Peer Review Policy.

Reviewers are selected according to relevant expertise and their ability to provide an independent assessment.

The journal manages peer review confidentially. Reviewers and editors must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal or professional advantage.

Peer reviewers must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and should decline assignments where a conflict could affect their impartiality.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose financial, professional, personal or other interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their judgement.

An editor or reviewer with a relevant conflict of interest should not participate in the evaluation or decision making process for the affected manuscript.

AEJ takes reasonable measures to ensure that conflicts of interest do not compromise editorial independence or the integrity of peer review.

Research Ethics and Ethical Oversight

Research involving human participants, personal data, animals or other ethically sensitive subjects must comply with applicable ethical requirements.

Where required, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review body before conducting the research.

Manuscripts should provide relevant information concerning ethical approval, informed consent, protection of participants and other applicable safeguards.

Where ethical approval is not required, authors may be asked to provide an appropriate explanation.

AEJ may request evidence of ethical approval or other supporting information when necessary to assess compliance with applicable ethical requirements.

Data Sharing and Reproducibility

AEJ supports responsible data sharing and reproducible research.

Authors are encouraged to make data, materials, code and other resources supporting their published findings available where ethically, legally and practically possible.

Authors should provide sufficient methodological information to enable readers and researchers to understand and, where appropriate, reproduce the reported research.

Where data cannot be publicly shared because of privacy, confidentiality, legal, contractual, ethical or other legitimate restrictions, authors should clearly state the applicable restrictions and, where possible, explain how qualified researchers may obtain access.

AEJ may request access to relevant underlying data, analytical procedures, research materials or supporting documentation when necessary to investigate credible concerns about the reliability or reproducibility of reported findings, subject to applicable restrictions.

Intellectual Property, Copyright and Licensing

AEJ respects intellectual property rights.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted and published material does not infringe the rights of others. Authors must obtain appropriate permission to reproduce copyrighted material, including text, figures, tables, photographs, instruments and other third party materials where permission is required.

Copyright and licensing arrangements are governed by the journal's applicable Copyright and Licensing Policy.

AEJ identifies the published Version of Record and takes reasonable measures to preserve and maintain the integrity of the published scholarly record.

Publication Malpractice

Publication malpractice refers to conduct that seriously compromises the integrity of research, peer review or publication.

Publication malpractice may include, but is not limited to:

• plagiarism or unattributed use of another person's work;
• fabrication or falsification of data or research findings;
• duplicate or redundant publication;
• simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals;
• inappropriate manipulation or misrepresentation of research findings;
• substantial undisclosed reuse of text, data or other research material;
• inappropriate authorship or manipulation of authorship;
• undisclosed conflicts of interest that may affect the integrity of the publication;
• manipulation or interference with the peer review process;
• false or misleading information provided to the journal; and
• other forms of research or publication misconduct that may compromise the scholarly record.

A concern or allegation does not by itself establish misconduct. AEJ will assess available information and, where appropriate, seek explanations or supporting evidence before taking an editorial action.

Allegations of Research or Publication Misconduct

AEJ takes credible allegations of research or publication misconduct seriously, whether they arise before or after publication.

When a concern is received, AEJ may:

1. assess whether the concern falls within the journal's publication ethics responsibilities;
2. review the available evidence and relevant publication records;
3. seek clarification or supporting information from the authors or other relevant parties;
4. consult editors, reviewers or independent experts where appropriate;
5. contact the relevant institution, employer, funder or other responsible organisation when institutional investigation is appropriate or necessary; and
6. determine and implement an appropriate editorial action based on the available evidence.

AEJ may refer to relevant COPE guidelines and flowcharts when handling allegations.

The nature of the action will depend on the seriousness and reliability of the evidence. Possible actions include requesting clarification, correcting the published record, rejecting or withdrawing a manuscript, publishing an expression of concern or retracting a published article.

AEJ will seek to handle allegations fairly, confidentially and proportionately.

Plagiarism and Redundant Publication

AEJ does not accept plagiarism or the inappropriate reuse of previously published material.

Authors must properly acknowledge and cite the work of others and must not present another person's ideas, words, data, images or other material as their own.

AEJ may use appropriate similarity checking tools and editorial assessment when plagiarism or substantial text overlap is suspected.

A similarity result alone does not establish plagiarism. The nature, extent, context and source of the overlap will be considered before an editorial decision is made.

Duplicate, redundant or overlapping publication may also be investigated where there is evidence that substantially similar work has been published or submitted elsewhere without appropriate disclosure.

Complaints and Appeals

AEJ provides authors and other relevant parties with an opportunity to raise legitimate complaints concerning editorial or publication processes.

Complaints may concern matters such as:

• editorial procedures;
• peer review;
• conflicts of interest;
• authorship;
• publication ethics;
• editorial conduct; or
• other matters affecting the integrity or fairness of the publication process.

Complaints should be submitted to the journal's editorial office with sufficient information and supporting evidence to allow the matter to be assessed.

AEJ will consider complaints fairly and confidentially and will seek to respond within a reasonable period.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the decision resulted from a significant procedural error, misunderstanding or relevant information that was not properly considered. An appeal should provide clear reasons and supporting information.

An appeal does not guarantee reversal of an editorial decision. AEJ may seek additional editorial or independent advice where appropriate. Decisions following an appeal are normally final unless new substantive information becomes available.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern and Retractions

AEJ is committed to maintaining an accurate and reliable scholarly record.

When an error or integrity concern affects a published article, AEJ may publish a correction, expression of concern or retraction, depending on the circumstances and available evidence.

Corrections may be issued when a published error affects the article but does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions.

An expression of concern may be published when there is a credible concern about a published article but the available information is insufficient for a final editorial conclusion.

A retraction may be issued when published findings are unreliable, invalid or otherwise seriously compromised.

Post publication notices will clearly identify the affected article and explain the reason for the action. Where technically possible, the notice will be linked to the affected article to maintain transparency in the scholarly record.

AEJ may refer to relevant COPE guidance when determining appropriate post publication action.

Artificial Intelligence and AI Assisted Technologies

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality and integrity of all content submitted to AEJ.

The use of artificial intelligence or AI assisted technologies in manuscript preparation must comply with AEJ's Artificial Intelligence Policy.

AI tools must not be listed as authors. Authors remain responsible for verifying AI assisted content, including references, factual statements, interpretations and other information.

Reviewers and editors must protect the confidentiality of manuscripts and should not upload confidential or unpublished manuscript content into AI systems where confidentiality and data protection cannot be assured.

Any required disclosure of AI use should follow the journal's Artificial Intelligence Policy.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts submitted to AEJ and information obtained during editorial and peer review must be treated as confidential.

Editors, reviewers and editorial staff must not disclose unpublished manuscript content or use information obtained through the editorial process for personal or professional advantage.

Confidential information may be disclosed only where necessary for legitimate editorial, ethical, legal or investigative purposes and where appropriate safeguards are applied.

Editorial Independence

AEJ maintains editorial independence in its scholarly decision making.

Editorial decisions are based on the scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness and contribution of the manuscript.

No financial, commercial, advertising, sponsorship or institutional interest should determine whether a manuscript is accepted, rejected, revised or published.

The publisher supports the journal's editorial processes while respecting the independence of editorial decision making.

Post Publication Discussion

AEJ recognises the importance of responsible post publication discussion concerning published research.

Readers and researchers who identify substantive concerns about a published article may communicate those concerns to the journal's editorial office with sufficient information and supporting evidence.

AEJ may assess credible concerns and, where appropriate, invite a response from the authors, seek expert advice or take further editorial action.

Post publication discussion should be evidence based, professional and focused on the research and scholarly record.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher supports AEJ in maintaining appropriate standards of publication ethics, editorial independence and research integrity.

The publisher and journal will cooperate, where appropriate, with authors, editors, institutions, funders and other relevant organisations in addressing credible concerns about research and publication integrity.

Where necessary, the publisher supports the publication of corrections, expressions of concern and retractions and the preservation of the published scholarly record.

Accountability and Review of this Policy

The Editor in Chief and Editorial Board, in cooperation with the publisher, are responsible for implementing and maintaining AEJ's publication ethics procedures.

AEJ reviews its publication ethics and malpractice policies periodically and may revise them when necessary to reflect developments in research integrity, publication ethics and scholarly publishing.

The journal may refer to relevant COPE guidance and other recognised standards when dealing with cases that are not specifically addressed in this statement.