Economic: Journal Economic and Business (EJEB) is committed to maintaining the integrity, credibility, and ethical standards of scholarly research and publication. The journal takes all allegations of research misconduct seriously and handles them through fair, confidential, transparent, and evidence-based procedures.

This policy is informed by the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies to manuscripts under editorial consideration as well as articles already published in EJEB.

1. Definition and Scope of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct refers to practices that compromise the integrity, reliability, originality, or ethical conduct of scholarly research and publication.

Potential misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• Fabrication: Making up research data, observations, findings, or results and presenting them as genuine.

• Falsification: Manipulating research materials, methods, data, or results in a manner that misrepresents the research.

• Plagiarism: Using another person's words, ideas, data, or scholarly contributions without appropriate acknowledgment.

• Duplicate or Redundant Publication: Publishing substantially overlapping research without appropriate disclosure or justification.

• Authorship Misconduct: Misrepresenting author contributions, including gift authorship, ghost authorship, and unauthorized changes to authorship.

• Peer Review Manipulation: Providing false reviewer identities, interfering with reviewer selection, or attempting to manipulate editorial decisions.

• Citation Manipulation: Inappropriately adding or requesting citations primarily to influence citation metrics rather than improve scholarly relevance.

• Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Concealing relevant financial, institutional, or personal interests that may influence research or editorial decisions.

• Research Ethics Violations: Conducting or reporting research in ways that violate applicable ethical requirements, including inappropriate handling of research participants or confidential information.

2. Reporting Allegations

EJEB accepts reports concerning suspected research or publication misconduct from authors, reviewers, readers, institutions, and other relevant parties.

Reports should be submitted to the journal's editorial office through the official contact information provided on the EJEB website.

A report should include, where available:

1. Identification of the manuscript or published article concerned.

2. A clear description of the alleged misconduct.

3. Relevant supporting evidence, documents, or references.

4. Contact information for further communication, where appropriate.

Anonymous allegations may also be considered when sufficiently specific and supported by verifiable evidence.

3. Preliminary Assessment

Upon receiving an allegation, the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately designated editor will conduct a preliminary assessment.

The assessment aims to determine whether the allegation:

• Falls within the journal's editorial responsibilities.

• Contains sufficient information to justify further examination.

• Raises concerns regarding research integrity or publication ethics.

• Requires clarification from the authors or other relevant parties.

• Should be referred to an institution or other competent authority.

Allegations will not be dismissed solely because they are submitted anonymously.

4. Investigation and Evaluation

When an allegation requires further examination, the editorial team may:

1. Review the manuscript, published article, and related documentation.

2. Examine relevant research data, supporting materials, or publication records.

3. Request written explanations from the authors or other parties involved.

4. Consult independent experts where appropriate.

5. Contact relevant institutions or research organizations when an investigation beyond the journal's authority is necessary.

6. Follow applicable COPE guidance in evaluating the concern.

EJEB recognizes that institutions generally have primary responsibility for investigating misconduct involving their researchers. The journal's responsibility is to evaluate the implications for editorial decisions and the reliability of the scholarly record.

5. Rights and Responsibilities of Involved Parties

Individuals against whom allegations are made will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond and provide relevant explanations or evidence.

All parties are expected to cooperate with legitimate inquiries and communicate accurately.

Editorial decisions will be based on the available evidence, the seriousness of the concern, and the principles of procedural fairness.

The journal will seek to avoid conflicts of interest in the handling and evaluation of allegations.

6. Confidentiality and Protection Against Retaliation

EJEB handles allegations with appropriate confidentiality to protect the integrity of the evaluation process and the interests of the parties involved.

Information concerning allegations will be shared only with individuals or institutions whose involvement is reasonably necessary.

The journal does not tolerate retaliation against individuals who raise research integrity concerns in good faith.

Knowingly false or malicious allegations may be addressed appropriately after careful assessment.

7. Editorial Actions Before Publication

When suspected misconduct concerns a manuscript under consideration, EJEB may:

• Request clarification or additional documentation.

• Suspend editorial processing while the concern is examined.

• Require appropriate corrections or revisions.

• Reject the manuscript when serious misconduct is established.

• Refer the matter to the relevant institution when warranted.

Editorial actions will be proportionate to the seriousness of the findings.

8. Editorial Actions After Publication

When concerns arise regarding a published article, EJEB will evaluate whether the scholarly record requires correction or other editorial action.

Depending on the available evidence and findings, the journal may issue:

Correction: When an error or omission can be corrected without fundamentally undermining the reliability of the article.

Expression of Concern: When serious concerns exist but the investigation remains inconclusive or unresolved.

Retraction: When findings are unreliable or serious misconduct warrants withdrawal of the article from the scholarly record.

Published notices will identify the affected article and explain the reason for the editorial action while respecting appropriate confidentiality and legal considerations.

Retraction does not ordinarily mean deleting the article from the publication record. The journal will maintain appropriate bibliographic information and a transparent retraction notice.

9. Institutional Cooperation

EJEB may cooperate with universities, research institutions, funding organizations, and other relevant authorities when investigating serious allegations.

Where the journal lacks the authority or resources to investigate underlying research conduct, it may request that the relevant institution examine the matter.

The editorial team will independently determine any necessary action concerning the journal's published record, taking into account available institutional findings and other relevant evidence.

10. Appeals and Reconsideration

Authors or other directly affected parties may request reconsideration of an editorial decision concerning alleged misconduct.

Appeals must provide a clear explanation and relevant supporting evidence.

Where practicable, appeals will be reviewed by an editor or qualified individual who was not directly responsible for the original decision.

An appeal does not automatically reverse an editorial decision.

11. Record Keeping

EJEB maintains appropriate records of misconduct allegations, editorial correspondence, supporting documentation, and decisions in accordance with applicable confidentiality, privacy, and record-management requirements.

These records support consistency, accountability, and the responsible handling of research integrity concerns.

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, Plagiarism Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy, and Correction and Retraction Policy.