Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

1. Ethical Framework and Standards

The Journal of International Business, Economics and Entrepreneurship (JIBE) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. The journal adheres to internationally recognized ethical principles in scholarly publishing.

JIBE follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and applies COPE guidelines and flowcharts in handling ethical issues throughout the editorial and publication process, including authorship disputes, plagiarism, redundant publication, data integrity concerns and post-publication corrections.

COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

All authors, reviewers and editors are required to comply with these standards.

2. Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting to JIBE must ensure that:

2.1 Originality and Plagiarism

  • Manuscripts are original and have not been previously published or submitted elsewhere.
  • All sources are properly cited.
  • Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable.

2.2 Multiple or Redundant Submission

  • Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously.

2.3 Authorship and Contribution

  • Authorship must accurately reflect individuals who made significant contributions to the research.
  • All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript.

2.4 Data Integrity and Reporting Standards

  • Authors must present accurate data and results.
  • Fabrication, falsification or selective reporting of data is unethical.

2.5 Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

  • Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that may influence the research.

2.6 Ethical Research Compliance

  • Research involving human participants, organizations or sensitive data must comply with relevant ethical standards and approvals.

3. Author Contributions (CRediT Taxonomy)

JIBE adopts the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to enhance transparency in authorship.

All submissions must include a structured Author Contribution Statement specifying each author's role, such as:

  • Conceptualization
  • Methodology
  • Formal Analysis
  • Investigation
  • Writing – Original Draft
  • Writing – Review & Editing
  • Supervision
  • Project Administration
  • Funding Acquisition

Full CRediT taxonomy definitions: https://credit.niso.org/

4. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the quality and integrity of the journal. Reviewers are expected to:

  • Provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations
  • Maintain confidentiality of manuscripts
  • Avoid using unpublished materials for personal advantage
  • Declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when necessary
  • Identify relevant published work not cited by the authors

5. Editor Responsibilities

Editors of JIBE are responsible for:

  • Making fair, unbiased and independent editorial decisions
  • Evaluating manuscripts solely on academic merit
  • Ensuring confidentiality of submissions
  • Managing conflicts of interest
  • Taking appropriate action when ethical concerns arise

Editors follow COPE guidelines in handling complaints, appeals and ethical issues.

6. Conflict of Interest Policy

All participants in the publication process must disclose any conflicts of interest:

  • Authors: Must declare all financial or personal relationships that could influence their work
  • Reviewers: Must decline reviews where conflicts exist
  • Editors: Must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts arise

7. Handling of Research Misconduct

JIBE takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and follows COPE procedures in investigating cases.

Misconduct includes but is not limited to:

  • Plagiarism
  • Data fabrication or falsification
  • Citation manipulation
  • Authorship disputes

Actions may include:

  • Rejection of manuscript
  • Retraction of published articles
  • Publication of corrections or expressions of concern
  • Notification to authors’ institutions where appropriate

All investigations are conducted fairly, transparently and confidentially.

8. Plagiarism Screening

All manuscripts submitted to JIBE are screened using plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts found to contain significant overlap or unethical similarities will be rejected.

9. Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern

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

  • Corrections (Erratum/ Corrigendum): Issued when minor errors are identified
  • Retractions: Issued in cases of major ethical violations or invalid findings
  • Expressions of Concern: Issued when serious concerns are under investigation

All actions follow COPE Retraction Guidelines.

COPE Retraction Guidelines: https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines

10. Copyright and Licensing Ethics

Authors retain copyright of their work. By submitting to JIBE, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish and disseminate the work.

All ethical obligations regarding proper attribution, reuse and citation must be observed.

11. Transparency and Best Practice Commitment

JIBE is committed to transparency in all aspects of scholarly publishing and continuously aligns its policies with international best practices, including:

  • COPE Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing
  • Ethical editorial decision-making
  • Responsible peer review practices