The journal Management and Business is committed to ensuring objectivity, transparency and impartiality throughout the publication process. Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may influence, or may reasonably be perceived as influencing, the conduct of the research, the assessment of a manuscript or the making of an editorial decision.
The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily constitute grounds for rejecting a manuscript. However, failure to disclose such a conflict is regarded as a breach of publication ethics.

Authors’ Conflicts of Interest
When submitting a manuscript, authors must disclose all financial and non-financial circumstances that may be related to the research or may influence the interpretation of its findings.
Financial conflicts of interest may include employment, receipt of fees or grants, consultancy activities, ownership of shares, patents or other proprietary rights, and financial support from organisations with an interest in the research.
Non-financial conflicts of interest may arise from personal, professional or academic relationships, institutional affiliations, academic rivalry or other circumstances capable of affecting the author’s impartiality.
Information concerning conflicts of interest is published at the end of the article in a separate section entitled “Conflict of Interest”. Where no conflicts exist, the following statement must be included: “The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.”

Reviewers’ Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers must inform the Editorial Office of any circumstances that may prevent them from providing an objective and impartial assessment of the manuscript.
A reviewer must decline the invitation to review if they:

• have financial, personal, professional or academic relationships with the authors or organisations associated with the research;
• work at the same institution as an author, have recently co-authored a publication with an author or have participated with an author in a joint research project;
• are in a relationship of direct competition, supervision, friendship, personal conflict or academic rivalry with an author;
• have a personal or professional interest in the acceptance or rejection of the manuscript;
• are unable to provide an impartial assessment for any other reason.

If a conflict of interest is identified after the review process has begun, the reviewer must immediately inform the Editorial Office and discontinue the assessment of the manuscript. In such circumstances, the Editorial Office appoints another independent reviewer.

Editors’ Conflicts of Interest
Editors and members of the Editorial Board must disclose all circumstances that may influence, or may reasonably be perceived as influencing, their impartiality.
An editor must recuse themselves from consideration of a manuscript if they:

• are an author or co-author of the submitted material;
• have financial, personal, professional or academic relationships with the authors or organisations associated with the research;
• work at the same institution as an author or have recently participated in joint academic activities with an author;
• are in a relationship of supervision, competition or personal conflict with an author;
• may reasonably be perceived as biased because of their involvement in the consideration of the manuscript.

In such circumstances, the manuscript is assigned to another editor who has no conflict of interest. Where necessary, independent external experts are involved in its assessment.
Manuscripts submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, members of the Editorial Board or journal staff are subject to the journal’s standard independent peer review procedure. The author of such a manuscript does not participate in the selection of reviewers, the handling of review reports or the making of the final editorial decision.
The journal ensures the appropriate disclosure and management of conflicts of interest involving all participants in the publication process. If an undisclosed conflict is identified during the consideration of a manuscript or after its publication, the Editorial Office conducts an investigation and takes appropriate action. Such action may include replacing the editor or reviewer, arranging a new independent assessment or publishing an appropriate editorial notice.