Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

FoBIR: Frontier Business Review is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The journal follows the principles and Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and internationally recognized standards of responsible scholarly publishing.

All parties involved in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to uphold ethical principles of honesty, transparency, objectivity, confidentiality, accountability, and academic integrity.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must ensure that manuscripts submitted to FoBIR represent original scholarly work and comply with accepted standards of research integrity.

Authors are expected to:

• Submit original work that has not been published previously.
• Ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.
• Accurately report research methods, procedures, analyses, and findings.
• Avoid fabrication, falsification, manipulation, or misrepresentation of research data.
• Properly acknowledge and cite all sources used in the manuscript.
• Obtain necessary permissions for copyrighted materials.
• Disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest.
• Identify all sources of research funding where applicable.
• Ensure that all individuals listed as authors have made meaningful scholarly contributions to the work.
• Obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent when research involves human participants or other situations requiring ethical clearance.
• Cooperate with editors when corrections, clarifications, or supporting information are required.

2. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, interpretation, or preparation of the research.

All listed authors should:

• Have contributed substantially to the work.
• Approve the final version of the manuscript.
• Agree to its submission to FoBIR.
• Accept accountability for the integrity of their contribution.

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

Ghost authorship, guest authorship, and honorary authorship are considered unethical publication practices.

3. Originality and Plagiarism

FoBIR requires all submitted manuscripts to be original.

Authors must appropriately cite or quote ideas, data, figures, tables, or text originating from other sources. Plagiarism, including the unattributed use of another person's work, is considered a serious violation of publication ethics.

Manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism-detection software as part of the editorial evaluation process.

Cases of suspected plagiarism will be investigated in accordance with appropriate publication-ethics procedures.

4. Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to FoBIR and another journal.

Manuscripts that substantially reproduce previously published work without appropriate justification, citation, or disclosure may be considered redundant or duplicate publications.

Authors must inform the Editor if the submitted manuscript is related to other published, submitted, or ongoing work that could potentially constitute overlapping publication.

5. Data Fabrication and Falsification

Fabrication, falsification, selective manipulation, or intentional misrepresentation of research data is strictly prohibited.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the data and evidence presented in their manuscripts accurately represent the research conducted.

The editorial team may request additional information, supporting documentation, or research data when necessary to investigate concerns regarding research integrity.

6. Citation and Referencing Practices

Authors must ensure that citations are accurate, relevant, and appropriately acknowledge the intellectual contributions of previous research.

Citation manipulation—including excessive self-citation, coordinated citation practices, or adding irrelevant citations for the purpose of artificially increasing citation counts—is not permitted.

7. Conflict of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any relationships or interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their judgment.

Potential conflicts may include:

• Financial interests
• Professional relationships
• Institutional affiliations
• Personal relationships
• Academic competition
• Other circumstances that could affect impartiality

Editors will take appropriate measures to manage identified conflicts of interest.

8. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for maintaining the integrity, fairness, and quality of the editorial process.

Editors should:

• Evaluate manuscripts based on academic merit, relevance, originality, and contribution.
• Ensure that editorial decisions are made independently and objectively.
• Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
• Avoid using unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for personal or professional advantage.
• Disclose and appropriately manage potential conflicts of interest.
• Select reviewers with appropriate expertise.
• Take reasonable action when concerns regarding research or publication misconduct are raised.
• Ensure that editorial decisions are not influenced by commercial considerations, author identity, nationality, institutional affiliation, or other irrelevant factors.

The Editor-in-Chief has responsibility for the final editorial decision regarding publication.

9. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the scholarly quality and integrity of FoBIR.

Reviewers are expected to:

• Provide objective, constructive, and academically justified evaluations.
• Maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and review materials.
• Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe whenever possible.
• Inform the editor if they lack appropriate expertise to evaluate the manuscript.
• Disclose potential conflicts of interest.
• Avoid using unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal advantage.
• Identify relevant published work that may not have been appropriately acknowledged.
• Avoid personal, discriminatory, offensive, or inappropriate comments regarding authors.

10. Confidentiality

All manuscripts submitted to FoBIR are treated as confidential documents.

Editors and reviewers must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to individuals who are not directly involved in the editorial and peer-review process, except when disclosure is necessary to investigate potential ethical concerns.

11. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

FoBIR recognizes the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies in academic research and writing.

Authors who use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in preparing their manuscripts should use such technologies responsibly and remain fully accountable for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and appropriate referencing of the submitted work.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for scholarly work.

Where generative AI has been used substantially in manuscript preparation, data analysis, coding, visualization, or other research-related activities, authors should transparently disclose its use in an appropriate section of the manuscript.

The use of AI does not remove the author's responsibility to verify the accuracy and integrity of all submitted content.

Editors and reviewers must also respect manuscript confidentiality and should not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished research materials to external AI systems when doing so could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, or data protection.

12. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants should comply with applicable ethical principles, institutional requirements, and relevant regulations.

Where required, authors should obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board and state relevant ethical approval information in the manuscript.

Informed consent should be obtained when required by the nature of the research and applicable ethical standards.

13. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

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

When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, the journal may issue:

• Corrections
• Retractions
• Expressions of concern
• Other appropriate editorial notices

The appropriate action will depend on the nature and seriousness of the issue and will follow recognized publication-ethics principles.

14. Handling Allegations of Research Misconduct

Allegations involving plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, authorship disputes, undisclosed conflicts of interest, duplicate publication, peer-review manipulation, or other forms of research misconduct will be investigated fairly and confidentially.

FoBIR will seek appropriate evidence and, where necessary, may contact authors, reviewers, institutions, or other relevant parties.

Editorial actions may include rejection of a manuscript, correction or retraction of a published article, or other appropriate measures depending on the circumstances.

15. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit reasonable complaints or appeals regarding editorial procedures or decisions.

Appeals should provide a clear academic justification and relevant supporting information. Appeals will be considered objectively and, where appropriate, may be reviewed by an editor who was not directly involved in the original decision.

Complaints concerning publication ethics or editorial conduct will be handled confidentially and in accordance with established journal procedures.

16. Publisher Responsibilities

The publisher of FoBIR is committed to supporting editorial independence, publication integrity, transparency, and the long-term preservation of the scholarly record.

Commercial or financial considerations, including Article Processing Charges (APCs), will not influence editorial decisions. Acceptance or rejection decisions are based on the academic quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and contribution of the manuscript.

Commitment to Publication Integrity

FoBIR is committed to continuously improving its editorial policies and publication practices in accordance with developments in international standards of scholarly publishing.

The journal seeks to maintain a transparent, fair, rigorous, and ethical publication environment for authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and the broader academic community.