Publication Ethics

Borealis International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting (BIJEMA) is committed to maintaining integrity, fairness, transparency, and academic responsibility throughout the publication process. These ethical principles apply to editors, reviewers, authors, and all parties involved in the publication of scholarly works in BIJEMA. The journal expects every manuscript to be handled objectively and professionally. Editorial decisions are based on academic quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, and the contribution of the manuscript to the fields of economics, management, accounting, and related disciplines.

Responsibilities of Editors

Publication Decisions

Editors are responsible for determining whether a submitted manuscript is suitable for publication in BIJEMA. In making this decision, editors consider the quality and relevance of the manuscript as well as recommendations provided through the peer-review process. Editorial decisions must remain independent and should not be influenced by commercial interests, personal relationships, or considerations unrelated to the academic merit of the manuscript. Editors must also consider applicable ethical and legal requirements concerning plagiarism, copyright infringement, defamation, research misconduct, and other matters related to scholarly publication.

Fair and Objective Evaluation

Manuscripts are evaluated solely on their scholarly content and relevance to the journal. The authors’ race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, political views, or other personal characteristics must not influence the editorial process. All authors should receive fair and equal consideration throughout manuscript evaluation.

Confidentiality

Editors and members of the editorial team must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts. Information concerning a manuscript may only be shared with individuals directly involved in the editorial and review process, including the corresponding author, assigned reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher when necessary. Information obtained from an unpublished manuscript must not be disclosed or used for personal, academic, or commercial purposes without the author’s permission.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors should not participate in the evaluation of manuscripts where personal, professional, financial, institutional, or collaborative relationships may affect their impartiality. Where a potential conflict of interest exists, responsibility for handling the manuscript should be transferred to another qualified editor.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review is an important part of the editorial process at BIJEMA. Reviewers assist editors in evaluating the academic quality and suitability of manuscripts and provide recommendations regarding publication. Review comments should also help authors improve the clarity, accuracy, methodology, argumentation, and overall scholarly quality of their manuscripts.

Competence and Timeliness

A reviewer should accept a review assignment only when the manuscript falls within their area of expertise and they are able to complete the review within the required period. If a reviewer considers themselves insufficiently qualified to assess the manuscript or is unable to complete the review on time, they should inform the editor promptly.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not distribute, reproduce, discuss, or disclose manuscript content to other parties without permission from the editor. Information and ideas obtained through the review process must not be used for the reviewer’s personal research or advantage.

Objectivity

Reviews must be conducted objectively and professionally. Personal criticism, insulting language, or comments unrelated to the scholarly quality of the manuscript are unacceptable. Reviewers should clearly explain their evaluation and provide reasonable academic justification for recommendations, criticisms, and requested revisions.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant scholarly works that have not been appropriately acknowledged by the authors when such works are directly related to the manuscript. Any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and another publication known to the reviewer should be reported to the editor.

Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should decline manuscripts where competitive, collaborative, professional, institutional, financial, or personal relationships could compromise the independence of their assessment.

Responsibilities of Authors

Accuracy and Integrity of Reporting

Authors must present their research accurately and honestly. Data, research procedures, analytical results, and conclusions should reflect the work actually conducted. Fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, deliberate misrepresentation of findings, or other forms of research misconduct are unacceptable. The manuscript should provide sufficient information regarding the research methods, data, and analysis to allow readers to understand how the study was conducted and, where appropriate, enable replication.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that manuscripts submitted to BIJEMA represent original scholarly work. Ideas, statements, data, tables, figures, or other materials originating from other sources must be appropriately cited and acknowledged. Direct use of another person’s words or work without proper attribution constitutes plagiarism and is not acceptable. Authors must also properly acknowledge their own previously published works when such materials are reused.

Multiple or Simultaneous Submission

A manuscript submitted to BIJEMA must not be under consideration by another journal at the same time. Submitting substantially the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is considered unethical publication practice. Previously published material must not be presented as a new and original publication without appropriate disclosure and justification.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a meaningful scholarly contribution to the study. Such contributions may include the conception or design of the research, data collection, analysis, interpretation of findings, or substantial involvement in preparing and revising the manuscript. Individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors. Contributors whose involvement does not justify authorship may be acknowledged separately where appropriate. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and have agreed to its submission to BIJEMA.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Authors must properly acknowledge scholarly works that have influenced the research. References should be accurate, relevant, and directly connected to the statements or arguments they support. Authors should avoid unnecessary or inappropriate citations that are included solely to increase citation counts.

Research Data

Authors should retain the data supporting their research for an appropriate period after publication. Where necessary for editorial assessment, verification, or research integrity purposes, authors may be asked to provide supporting data, subject to applicable ethical, confidentiality, and data-protection requirements.

Human and Animal Research

Where research involves human participants or animals, authors must ensure that the study has been conducted in accordance with appropriate ethical principles and applicable institutional or legal requirements. Where required, information concerning ethical approval, informed consent, or other relevant safeguards should be clearly stated in the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or interpretation of the findings. All sources of research funding or financial support should also be disclosed where applicable.

Corrections, Retractions, and Errors in Published Works

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their work after publication. If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in a published article, the author should notify the editorial team promptly and cooperate in determining the appropriate action. Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, BIJEMA may publish a correction, clarification, expression of concern, or retraction to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record. Where allegations of plagiarism, data manipulation, duplicate publication, unethical research, or other serious misconduct arise, the editorial team may conduct an investigation before determining the appropriate editorial action.

Commitment to Publication Integrity

Borealis International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting (BIJEMA) considers publication ethics an essential part of scholarly communication. Editors, reviewers, and authors are expected to uphold these principles throughout the submission, review, publication, and post-publication stages. Any suspected breach of publication ethics will be considered carefully and handled in accordance with the nature and seriousness of the case.