Publication Ethics Statement

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) ensures the publishing of scholarly research related to Accounting, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Management, Finance, Economics and other related disciplines. As with any publishing house, academic journals such as the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) are liable to adhere to ethical standards involved in the entire publication process, and SBE does its best to do so. In order to ascertain its quality, Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) follows ethical protocols devised based on the policies set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Qatar University is a member of COPE, and the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) meets all COPE criteria: https://publicationethics.org/guidance. All the stakeholders involved in the publication process (authors, editors, reviewers and publisher) are required to be fully compliant with this Publication Ethics Statement as part of submission, review and publication.

Editorial Independence and Accountability:

The Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) Editor-in-Chief and editorial board exercise full editorial independence. The Editor-in-Chief and the editorial board have no influence on the journal’s content. Manuscripts are accepted, reworked or declined based on academic quality/standing of submitted work, the originality of the work in terms of research and methodology, and the relevance to the Journal’s scope.

In accordance to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Principles of Transparency and Best Practice, the Editor-in-Chief and members of the journal editorial board are accountable for:

Provide a fair and transparent peer review system.
Securing fairness and the quality of the scholarly record.
Dealing with the allegations of misconduct in a fair and confidential manner.
Issuing corrections, withdrawals or notices of concern as appropriate.

Duties and Ethical Obligations of Authors:

Authorship Criteria:

Authorship is restricted to those individuals who had a key role in both the writing and research. All authors must:

Approve the final manuscript,
Accept responsibility for the content,
Consent to submission of the manuscript allowed in the Journal.

Unethical authorship (e.g. guest, honorary, or ghost authorship) is forbidden.

Originality and Responsible Research Reporting:

Manuscript authors should explicitly ensure the originality of their work in submission, and that research data is truthfully and accurately reported. Fabrication, falsification, fraudulent, selective reporting and manipulation of data are not acceptable and constitute serious ethical violations.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest:

Authors must declare if a competing financial or professional interest, such as consultation, recommendation, etc influenced their research.

Peer Review Ethics:

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) follows a rigorous, double-blind peer-review process, which allows submissions within the journal's scope and determines accepted papers based on their quality. The journal peer review process is consistent with COPE recommendations.

Reviewers must:

Treat Manuscripts as confidential.
Give objective, evidence-based and constructive feedback.
Disclose any potential conflicts of interest and recusal of dictated.
Not to use any unpublished work to their own or anyone else’s advantage.

The editorial office closely watches the review process and checks on review content to guarantee that all reviewers uphold ethical standards and to safeguard ethical compliance.

Plagiarism and Similarity Index Policy:

Plagiarism includes the use of others’ ideas, text, data, or intellectual output without proper acknowledgement. This also includes inappropriate self-plagiarism, where substantial portions of an author’s own previously published work are reused without citation or justification.

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) runs a similarity report through iThenticate for which Qatar University has the license. If there is evidence of plagiarism, the author will be notified by email, including the similarities report. Sometimes, the author(s) will be invited to revise the paper by addressing the issue of similarities. Papers with a high index of similarity will be rejected at the desk-screening phase.

Similarity Index Assessment:

The Journal applies the following similarity index thresholds:

*Similarity Level*	*Interpretation*	*Editorial Action*
0–10%	Acceptable similarity	Manuscript proceeds to review
11–20%	Minor overlap (e.g., methods, references)	Editorial review; revision may be requested
21–30%	Significant overlap	Manuscript returned for explanation or revision
Above 30%	Unacceptable similarity	Manuscript rejected

Qualitative Evaluation:

The similarity ratios are assessed qualitatively but not mechanically. Accepted overlaps (such as the Description of Methods, legal definitions, or correctly quoted material) are appreciated in context. Any similarity involving unattributed intellectual content is considered unacceptable regardless of percentage.

Confirmed plagiarism may result in rejection, retraction, and notification of relevant institutions, consistent with COPE procedures.

Policy on AI Use by Authors:

AI tools are software or systems that create, modify, analyse, synthesise, translate, and process text, data, code, and images (and decisions) using machine learning, large language models, or automated reasoning. Apps like generative text platforms, auto-data analysis sidekicks, and decision-support algorithms.

Permitted Uses (with Disclosure):

Authors can use the AI tools as a complementary tool only, such as:

Language edit with grammar checks. That said, the manuscript content in such a case should remain unaltered.
Improving the manuscript readability.
Reasonable code formatting or debugging.
The reasonable usage of AI to improve data visualisation within the manuscript.

Such use of AI tools needs to be clearly indicated in the manuscript in a dedicated section (e.g., AI Usage Declaration) specifying:

The name and general function of the AI tool used.
The purpose for which it was used.
Confirmation that the authors reviewed, verified, and take full responsibility for all content.

Failure to disclose the use of AI constitutes a breach of journal policy.

Prohibited Uses:

The following applications of AI are expressly prohibited:

Using AI for Self-Plagiarism prevention.
Generating literature reviews, literature analyses, interpretations or conclusions using AI with no substantial human authorship.
The fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data, citations, references or empirical results using AI tools.
Production of review reports or commissioning articles.
Applying AI to hide or misrepresent plagiarism, or claim false attribution of authorship.
Crediting AI programs as authors or co-authors.

Research Misconduct Policy:

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) outlines research misconduct as any form of fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing a project or reporting the results of the research. Such misconducts include:

Data fabrication or falsification,
Misrepresentation of research processes or results,
Undisclosed conflicts of interest,
Citation manipulation,
Unethical usage of AI in creating research-related manuscripts.
Peer review manipulation.

Accusations of wrongdoing are addressed in line with COPE flowcharts and guidelines to ensure proper procedure is followed, the confidentiality of the process is protected, and responses are proportionate.

Ethical Research Involving Human Participants and Data:

Any research that involves human participants or contains potentially sensitive data has to adhere to the journal's relevant ethical and legal requirements. Authors must confirm that:

Informed consent was taken as appropriate for the study subjects.
The research participants' information and details were kept private, confidential and anonymous.
All needed ethical or IRB approval was taken and was provided in the manuscript.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern:

To maintain the integrity of the scholarly record, the Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) adheres to COPE guidance regarding post-publication corrections. As appropriate and when necessary, the Journal will report:

Corrections for minor errors.
Retract if findings are invalid or misconduct is confirmed.
Observations of Concern pending the outcome of the investigation.

All announcements are made openly and are permanently linked to the related article.

Confidentiality and Data Protection:

Editors and reviewers fully respect the confidentiality of the submitted manuscripts. Personal Information will be treated in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and used for editorial purposes only.

Commitment to Ethical Best Practices:

Studies in Business and Economics Journal (SBE) regularly reviews and updates its ethical policies to reflect evolving standards in scholarly publishing. Adherence to this Publication Ethics Statement is mandatory for all journal contributors.