Economic: Journal Economic and Business (EJEB) is committed to maintaining transparency, independence, objectivity, and integrity throughout the research and scholarly publication process.

A conflict of interest, also referred to as a competing interest, arises when financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the conduct, interpretation, evaluation, or publication of scholarly research.

EJEB follows the principles of publication ethics promoted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals involved in the journal's editorial and publication activities.

1. General Principles

All individuals involved in the publication process must disclose relationships or interests that could compromise, or appear to compromise, their professional judgment.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically indicate misconduct or disqualify a manuscript from publication. However, transparency and appropriate management of competing interests are essential to maintaining confidence in the scholarly record.

Disclosures must be accurate, complete, and updated whenever relevant circumstances change.

2. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

Financial Interests: Research funding, employment, consulting fees, honoraria, investments, business ownership, paid advisory roles, or other financial relationships related to the research.

Personal Relationships: Family relationships, close friendships, personal disputes, or other relationships that may affect professional objectivity.

Professional and Academic Relationships: Current or recent research collaborations, supervisory relationships, academic competition, or professional associations that could influence editorial or research decisions.

Institutional Interests: Relationships involving the same institution, department, research center, or organization where impartiality may reasonably be questioned.

Intellectual Interests: Strongly held academic positions, theoretical commitments, or direct involvement in competing research that could affect an objective assessment.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial competing interests associated with their submitted manuscripts.

Authors are responsible for:

1. Identifying and disclosing relevant competing interests before manuscript submission.

2. Providing accurate information about research funding and sponsorship.

3. Explaining any role played by funders or sponsors in research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decisions.

4. Informing the editorial team if a new competing interest arises during editorial processing.

5. Confirming the accuracy of conflict of interest statements included in the published article.

The corresponding author is responsible for collecting relevant disclosures from all co-authors and communicating them to the editorial office.

If no competing interests exist, authors should include the following statement:

"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to this study."

Where competing interests exist, authors must provide a clear description of their nature and relevance.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, confidentially, and independently.

Before accepting a review invitation, reviewers must disclose any relationships or circumstances that could affect their impartiality.

Potential reviewer conflicts include:

• Close personal or professional relationships with the authors.

• Current or recent research collaborations with the authors.

• Direct academic or commercial competition related to the manuscript.

• Financial or institutional interests associated with the research.

• Other circumstances that could reasonably compromise an impartial review.

Reviewers should decline the invitation or inform the handling editor when a significant conflict exists.

Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information for personal, professional, or commercial advantage.

5. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must make editorial decisions based on scholarly merit, relevance to the journal's scope, methodological quality, research integrity, and applicable editorial policies.

Editors must disclose competing interests that could influence their handling of a manuscript.

An editor with a significant conflict of interest must not manage the peer-review process or make the final editorial decision concerning the affected manuscript.

Editorial responsibility should be transferred to another qualified editor who does not have the relevant conflict.

Editors must not use their editorial position to obtain personal, institutional, academic, or financial advantages.

6. Manuscripts Submitted by Editors or Editorial Board Members

Manuscripts submitted by members of the EJEB editorial team must be evaluated under the same scholarly and ethical standards as other submissions.

Editors who are authors or co-authors of a manuscript must not participate in reviewer selection, peer-review management, or editorial decisions concerning their own work.

The manuscript must be handled by an independent editor without a relevant conflict of interest.

Editorial board membership does not guarantee manuscript acceptance or preferential treatment.

7. Institutional and Professional Relationships

EJEB recognizes that academic communities may involve overlapping institutional affiliations and professional networks.

Sharing an institution or having a professional association does not automatically establish misconduct. However, such relationships must be disclosed when they could reasonably affect the independence of manuscript evaluation.

The editorial team will assess the nature and significance of disclosed relationships and implement appropriate measures to protect editorial impartiality.

8. Funding and Sponsorship Transparency

Authors must disclose financial support received for the research, including grants, institutional funding, corporate sponsorship, and other relevant financial contributions.

Where applicable, authors should explain the sponsor's involvement in the research and publication process.

Funding organizations and sponsors must not improperly influence the journal's editorial decisions.

The acceptance or rejection of manuscripts must remain independent of commercial, financial, and institutional interests.

9. Management of Conflicts of Interest

When a potential conflict of interest is identified, EJEB may take appropriate measures, including:

1. Requesting additional disclosure or clarification.

2. Assigning an independent reviewer or editor.

3. Excluding an individual from a particular editorial decision.

4. Requiring an appropriate competing interest statement in the published article.

5. Referring serious or unresolved concerns to relevant institutions when warranted.

Management measures will be determined according to the nature and seriousness of the conflict.

10. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a potentially significant undisclosed conflict of interest is identified before publication, the editorial team may request clarification, additional documentation, or corrective disclosure.

If an undisclosed conflict is identified after publication, EJEB will assess whether the omission affects the transparency, reliability, or integrity of the published article.

Depending on the findings, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction when justified under its publication ethics policies.

11. Confidentiality and Fairness

Information disclosed in connection with potential conflicts of interest will be handled with appropriate confidentiality during editorial evaluation.

EJEB will assess competing interests fairly and consistently, without discrimination or preferential treatment.

Disclosures relevant to readers' assessment of published research may be included in the final publication.

12. Ethical Guidelines

This policy is informed by the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):

https://publicationethics.org/

This policy should be read together with EJEB's Publication Ethics, Authorship Criteria, Peer Review Process, and Allegation of Research Misconduct policies.