Editor Guidelines

The editors of the Journal of Business and Cultural Studies are responsible for safeguarding the quality, integrity, and credibility of the journal. Editors play a central role in ensuring that manuscripts are evaluated through a fair, transparent, rigorous, and independent editorial process.
Editors are expected to uphold high standards of publication ethics and maintain confidentiality, impartiality, fairness, and editorial independence throughout all stages of manuscript handling. All editorial activities should be conducted in accordance with the journal's policies and recognized standards of responsible scholarly publishing.

Editorial Responsibility and Independence

Editors must:
Evaluate manuscripts objectively based on their scientific quality, originality, significance, clarity, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, and compliance with applicable ethical and publication standards.
Ensure that editorial decisions are not influenced by an author's nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, ethnicity, religion, political views, or other personal characteristics.
Maintain editorial independence and make decisions free from inappropriate pressure or influence from the publisher, sponsors, advertisers, authors, reviewers, or other external parties.
Ensure that all published content meets appropriate scientific, ethical, academic, and editorial standards.
Handle manuscripts only within the editorial authority assigned to them by the Editor-in-Chief.
Apply the journal's editorial policies consistently and fairly to all manuscripts.

Editorial Assessment and Decision-Making

Editors should assess manuscripts at appropriate stages of the editorial process, including initial editorial assessment, peer-review management, revision assessment, and final editorial decision-making.
Editorial assessment may consider:
Relevance to the journal's aims and scope.
Scientific and methodological quality.
Originality and contribution to the field.
Clarity and completeness of presentation.
Ethical and regulatory compliance.
Integrity of the data and research process.
Compliance with applicable reporting and publication standards.
Quality and relevance of peer-review reports, where peer review has been undertaken.
Editors may request revisions, additional peer review, clarification, supporting information, or further editorial assessment where necessary.

Final Editorial Decision

The Editor-in-Chief has overall responsibility for the editorial decisions and academic integrity of the journal.
The Editor-in-Chief may delegate responsibility for handling individual manuscripts to a Senior Editor, Associate Editor, or another formally designated editor with appropriate subject expertise and editorial authority.
The Editor-in-Chief or a formally designated editor may decide to:
Accept a manuscript;
Request revision;
Request additional peer review or clarification; or
Reject a manuscript.
Such decisions should be based on the manuscript's scientific quality, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, ethical compliance, editorial assessment, and available peer-review reports.
A Senior Editor, Associate Editor, or other formally designated editor may make the final editorial decision for manuscripts assigned to them under the authority delegated by the Editor-in-Chief. The delegated editor is responsible for ensuring that the decision is based on the manuscript, relevant peer-review reports, ethical requirements, and the journal's editorial policies.
Reviewer recommendations are advisory and do not constitute the final publication decision. Reviewers do not make editorial decisions on behalf of the journal.
Where appropriate, the Editor-in-Chief may review or reassess a decision to ensure consistency with the journal's editorial policies and standards.
Editorial decisions must remain independent and impartial and must not be influenced by commercial interests, sponsors, advertisers, authors, reviewers, or other external parties.

Confidentiality

Editors must maintain strict confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and related editorial information.
Editors must:
Treat submitted manuscripts as confidential documents.
Ensure that manuscript content and editorial correspondence are not disclosed to unauthorized persons.
Share information about a manuscript only with individuals who are directly involved in the editorial process, such as the corresponding author, reviewers, editorial board members, designated editors, and authorized publisher representatives, where necessary.
Protect the confidentiality of peer-review reports and reviewer identities in accordance with the journal's single-anonymous peer-review policy.
Not use unpublished information, data, methods, results, or ideas obtained from submitted manuscripts for personal research, professional advantage, or any other purpose without explicit written permission from the authors.

Peer-Review Management

Editors are responsible for managing an effective, fair, and appropriately rigorous peer-review process.
Editors should:
Select reviewers with appropriate subject expertise and relevant academic or professional experience.
Consider reviewer independence and potential conflicts of interest before inviting reviewers.
Maintain the confidentiality of the journal's single-anonymous peer-review process.
Provide reviewers with sufficient information and appropriate guidance to conduct their assessments.
Encourage reviewers to provide objective, constructive, evidence-based, and relevant comments.
Monitor reviewer responses and review progress and take reasonable steps to avoid unnecessary delays.
Invite additional reviewers when the existing reports are insufficient, contradictory, or require further subject expertise.
Consider the manuscript, reviewer comments, ethical requirements, editorial policies, and other relevant information when making editorial decisions.
Ensure that reviewer recommendations are considered as part of the editorial assessment but do not automatically determine the final decision.
Editors should not attempt to influence reviewers toward a predetermined editorial outcome.

Ethical Oversight and Research Integrity

Editors must actively promote responsible research and publication practices.
Editors should ensure, where applicable, that manuscripts provide appropriate information concerning:
Ethical approval or institutional review board approval for research involving human participants.
Informed consent and consent for publication where required.
Appropriate ethical approval for research involving animals.
Clinical trial registration where applicable.
Research involving identifiable individuals or personal data.
Funding and financial support.
Author contributions.
Conflicts of interest.
Data availability and other relevant research-integrity statements.
Editors should remain alert to potential ethical or research-integrity concerns, including:
Plagiarism and inappropriate text reuse.
Duplicate or redundant publication.
Fabrication or falsification of data.
Manipulation or inappropriate alteration of images.
Unethical research practices.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Improper authorship or authorship disputes.
Manipulation of the peer-review process.
Other forms of publication or research misconduct.
Where concerns arise, editors should follow the journal's established procedures and applicable publication-ethics guidance.
Where necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record, the journal may publish a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other appropriate editorial notice.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must identify, disclose, and appropriately manage actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.
Conflicts may include:
Financial interests.
Institutional affiliations.
Personal relationships.
Professional collaborations.
Competitive relationships.
Academic or research relationships.
Other circumstances that could reasonably affect, or appear to affect, editorial impartiality.
Editors should not handle manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest with the authors, their institutions, funding organizations, or the research or subject matter.
Where a conflict exists, the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor for independent handling and decision-making.
Editors must not use their editorial position to obtain personal, professional, financial, or academic advantage.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly and editorial considerations and must not be determined by commercial or other non-academic interests.
Editors should maintain independence from:
Publishers and publishing staff;
Advertisers and sponsors;
Authors and their institutions;
Reviewers;
External organizations; and
Other parties seeking to influence editorial decisions.
Any attempt to improperly influence an editorial decision should be appropriately documented and addressed according to the journal's policies.

Transparency and Fairness

Editors should promote transparency, fairness, and accountability throughout the publication process.
Editors should:
Apply editorial policies consistently.
Communicate editorial decisions clearly and professionally.
Provide authors with appropriate reasons or explanations for editorial decisions where feasible.
Ensure that authors are treated respectfully and fairly.
Provide constructive editorial guidance when appropriate.
Avoid discriminatory or inappropriate language in editorial correspondence.
Ensure that manuscripts are evaluated according to scholarly criteria rather than personal characteristics or institutional status.
Editorial decisions should be based on the manuscript and its scholarly merits rather than the identity, reputation, or institutional affiliation of the authors.

Reporting Standards and Research Transparency

Editors should encourage authors to follow appropriate reporting standards relevant to their research.
Where applicable, editors may encourage or require compliance with recognized reporting guidelines, including relevant recommendations from the EQUATOR Network, such as:
CONSORT – Randomized Controlled Trials
STROBE – Observational Studies
PRISMA – Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
CARE – Case Reports
STARD – Diagnostic Accuracy Studies
ARRIVE – Animal Research
EQUATOR Network
Editors may request additional methodological information, reporting details, ethical statements, or supporting documentation when necessary to assess the reliability and transparency of the research.

Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Issues

Editors have a continuing responsibility for the integrity of the journal's published scholarly record.
When significant errors or concerns are identified after publication, editors should assess the matter promptly and take appropriate action.
Depending on the circumstances, the journal may publish:
A correction;
An erratum or related correction notice;
An expression of concern;
A retraction; or
Another appropriate post-publication notice.
Such actions should be handled transparently and in accordance with applicable publication-ethics standards.

Timeliness and Editorial Efficiency

Editors should ensure that manuscripts are processed efficiently without compromising the rigor or quality of editorial assessment.
Editors should:
Monitor the progress of assigned manuscripts.
Avoid unnecessary delays in editorial assessment and peer review.
Follow up with reviewers when reports are overdue.
Seek alternative reviewers when necessary.
Make decisions when sufficient and appropriate information is available.
Communicate with authors, reviewers, and other relevant participants in a timely manner.
Editorial efficiency should not come at the expense of appropriate scientific, ethical, or peer-review standards.

Use of Artificial Intelligence and Editorial Tools

Editors should use artificial intelligence (AI) and automated tools responsibly and in accordance with the journal's policies and applicable confidentiality requirements.
Editors must not upload confidential manuscript content, unpublished data, reviewer reports, or other protected editorial information to external AI systems or services where doing so could compromise confidentiality or intellectual property.
AI-assisted tools may be used for appropriate administrative or editorial-support purposes where permitted, but responsibility for editorial decisions remains with the responsible human editor.
AI tools must not replace the editor's independent scholarly judgment.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

When an allegation of research or publication misconduct is received, editors should assess the concern objectively and follow appropriate procedures.
Where necessary, editors may:
Request clarification or supporting documentation from the authors.
Consult reviewers, editorial board members, or appropriate subject experts.
Contact relevant institutions or research organizations when appropriate.
Seek additional information or evidence.
Suspend editorial processing or publication where justified.
Publish an appropriate correction, expression of concern, or retraction when warranted.
Editors should maintain confidentiality and procedural fairness while an investigation is ongoing.

Communication with Authors and Reviewers

Editors should communicate professionally and respectfully with authors and reviewers.
Editorial correspondence should:
Clearly communicate decisions and required actions.
Avoid inappropriate, discriminatory, or personal comments.
Distinguish editorial requirements from reviewer recommendations.
Provide sufficient information for authors to understand the basis of editorial decisions.
Protect the confidentiality of reviewers and other participants where required.
Editors should not disclose reviewer identities in a single-anonymous peer-review process unless disclosure is authorized by the journal's policy or otherwise required by an applicable procedure.

Commitment to Publication Ethics

Editors of the Computational Methods are expected to follow internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and responsible scholarly publishing.
The journal supports relevant guidance and recommendations from organizations and standards bodies, including, where applicable:
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)
Council of Science Editors (CSE)
European Association of Science Editors (EASE)
World Medical Association (WMA)
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
EQUATOR Network
Editors are expected to remain familiar with relevant developments in publication ethics and to apply appropriate standards to protect the reliability, transparency, and integrity of the journal's scholarly record.

Accountability

Editors are accountable for the editorial responsibilities assigned to them and should exercise their authority responsibly, consistently, and transparently.
The Editor-in-Chief retains overall responsibility for the journal's editorial standards, policies, and academic integrity, while delegated editors remain responsible for manuscripts assigned to them within the scope of their delegated authority.
The journal is committed to maintaining a fair, rigorous, transparent, ethical, and independent editorial process for all authors and contributors.