The Editorial Office of Management and Business adheres to the principles of academic integrity and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, simultaneous submission of a manuscript to multiple publications, duplicate or redundant publication, citation manipulation, data fabrication or falsification, inappropriate authorship or other forms of unethical publication conduct.
All submitted materials may be checked for originality. The results of automated text-similarity checks are assessed by the Editorial Office with due regard to the nature, extent and context of the identified overlap. The percentage of textual similarity alone does not constitute the sole basis for an editorial decision.

Multiple Submission and Redundant Publication
Authors must submit original manuscripts that have not been published and are not under consideration by another journal at the time of submission.
Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to more than one publication is not permitted. Authors must also refrain from submitting several manuscripts based on the same study that contain substantially identical data, findings or conclusions without appropriate justification, cross-referencing and prior notification of the Editorial Office.
Duplicate or redundant publication may include:

• republication of the full text or a substantial part of it;
• submission of the same findings under a different title;
• minor rewording of previously published material without appropriate citation;
• repeated use of tables, figures, data or conclusions without disclosure of the previous publication;
• artificial division of the findings of a single study into several insufficiently independent articles.

Where a manuscript is related to conference materials, a thesis, preprint, report or another previous version, the authors must inform the Editorial Office at the time of submission and provide an appropriate reference.
Where simultaneous submission or substantial duplication is identified, the Editorial Office contacts the authors and requests an explanation. If the violation is confirmed, the manuscript may be rejected. In cases of serious or repeated misconduct, the Editorial Office may notify the authors’ institution or the editor of the other publication and impose proportionate editorial restrictions in accordance with COPE recommendations.

Citation Manipulation
References included in a manuscript must be scientifically justified, directly relevant to the subject of the research and provide an appropriate representation of previous scholarship.
References must not be included primarily for the purpose of:

• artificially increasing the citation counts of an author or co-authors;
• improving the metrics of a particular journal, institution or research group;
• complying with unjustified requests made by an editor or reviewer;
• creating a misleading impression of the completeness or currency of the literature used.

Editors and reviewers must not request the addition of their own publications or articles from a particular journal unless those sources are directly relevant to the scientific content of the manuscript.
Where the Editorial Office identifies indications of citation manipulation, the authors may be asked to explain their selection of sources and revise the reference list. Confirmed deliberate manipulation may constitute grounds for rejecting the manuscript or investigating an article that has already been published.

Data Fabrication and Falsification
Authors must present reliable findings and accurately describe the methods used to collect, process and analyse the data.
Fabrication means creating data, findings, observations, respondents, sources or other research materials that do not exist.
Falsification means the unjustified alteration, removal, concealment or selective presentation of data, methods or findings in a manner that distorts the content or conclusions of the research.
The following practices are not permitted:

• inventing the findings of surveys, experiments or observations;
• unjustifiably excluding data that do not support a hypothesis;
• manipulating statistical calculations;
• presenting simulated data as empirically obtained data;
• creating non-existent sources or quotations;
• altering images, tables or graphs in a manner that misrepresents the findings.

Where reasonable concerns arise, the Editorial Office may request original data, questionnaires, protocols, calculations, software code, original images or other materials necessary to verify the research.
If fabrication or falsification is identified before publication, the manuscript may be rejected. If the violation is established after publication, the Editorial Office may publish a correction, an expression of concern or a retraction notice, depending on the effect of the violation on the reliability of the work.
Where a report of possible misconduct is received, the Editorial Office conducts a confidential and impartial investigation in accordance with COPE recommendations. The authors are informed of the substance of the concerns and are given an opportunity to provide explanations and supporting materials.
Where necessary, the Editorial Office may contact the authors’ institution, the funding organisation, another journal or independent experts. Determining whether deliberate research misconduct has occurred normally falls within the remit of the relevant institution, while the journal is responsible for correcting the published scholarly record.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the Editorial Office may:

• continue consideration of the manuscript where the concerns are not substantiated;
• request additional explanations or materials;
• return the manuscript for revision;
• reject the manuscript;
• suspend publication;
• publish a correction or an expression of concern;
• retract a published article;
• notify the author’s institution or another competent body.

The measures taken are determined with regard to the nature of the violation, the evidence provided and its effect on the reliability of the research.

Corrections
A correction is published where an error is identified after publication that affects the accuracy or understanding of the material but does not call into question the overall reliability of the findings and conclusions.
Corrections may concern:

• factual or numerical inaccuracies;
• errors in tables, figures or formulae;
• incorrect information concerning authors, affiliations or funding;
• an omitted or inaccurate conflict-of-interest declaration;
• other shortcomings that do not require retraction of the article.

Minor spelling or stylistic errors that do not affect the content or interpretation of the article may not require a separate notice.
Where an error renders the principal findings or conclusions unreliable, a standard correction is insufficient, and the Editorial Office considers whether the article should be retracted or whether another appropriate measure should be taken.

Erratum
An erratum is published where a material error was introduced by the Editorial Office or publisher during editing, typesetting or preparation of the article for publication.
Such errors may include:

• incorrect presentation of an author’s name or affiliation;
• omission of an agreed author correction;
• technical distortion of a table, figure, formula or text;
• incorrect placement or numbering of materials;
• another publishing error affecting the accuracy of the scholarly record.

Corrigendum
A corrigendum is published where a material error in a published article was made by the author or authors but does not render the principal findings or conclusions unreliable.
The text of the corrigendum is agreed with the authors and approved by the Editorial Office. Where not all authors agree with the correction, the notice may identify those who support it.

Correction Procedure
A request for a correction may be submitted by authors, editors, reviewers or readers to the journal’s official email address.
The request must state the title of the article, its DOI, a description of the error and the proposed correct wording or data. Where possible, documents or other materials supporting the need for the correction should be attached.
The Editorial Office assesses the nature and significance of the error, consults the authors and, where necessary, involves an independent expert.
Once a correction has been approved:

• a separate notice with an appropriate title is published;
• the notice is linked to the original article;
• a link to the correction is added to the article webpage;
• the nature of the error and the amendments made are specified;
• the date of the correction is displayed on the journal’s website.

The correction must be publicly accessible. The original article must not be replaced without notice: readers must be able to determine what was corrected and when. COPE recommends ensuring that correction notices are clearly visible and linked bidirectionally to the original publication.

Retraction
Retraction of a published article is applied where the Editorial Office can no longer regard its findings or conclusions as reliable or where the publication contains a material breach of ethical or legal requirements.
Grounds for retraction may include:

• reliable evidence that the findings are unreliable because of a material error, fabrication, falsification or data manipulation;
• substantial plagiarism;
• duplicate or redundant publication without appropriate disclosure, permission or citation;
• a material breach of copyright or other rights;
• inappropriate or fraudulent attribution of authorship;
• research conducted in serious violation of ethical requirements;
• disclosure of confidential data without an appropriate legal basis;
• substantial compromise of the peer review or editorial decision-making process;
• other circumstances in which retaining the article as a reliable part of the scholarly record would mislead readers.

A request for retraction may be submitted by authors, editors, readers, institutions or other persons who provide substantiated information concerning possible misconduct.
The Editorial Office conducts an investigation, requests explanations from the authors and, where necessary, consults independent experts or institutions. A person with a conflict of interest does not participate in the decision. The final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief or by the Deputy Editor-in-Chief where the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest.
Once a decision to retract has been made:

•  the article webpage and file are clearly marked “Retracted”;
• a separate notice entitled “Retraction: [article title]” is published;
• the notice is linked to the original article, and the article is linked to the notice;
• the reason for the retraction and the party that initiated it are stated;
• the notice is signed by the responsible editor or the Editorial Office;
• a separate DOI is assigned to the notice where this is supported by the journal’s technical system.

As a general rule, the full text of the article remains accessible in order to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record, but each page must be clearly marked as retracted. Complete removal is permitted only in exceptional circumstances, for example where required by law, where there has been a serious breach of privacy or where there is a demonstrated risk of harm.
A retraction notice must be objective, accessible, timely and contain sufficient information to enable readers to understand the reason for the retraction. Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record, not to punish the authors.
Authors may withdraw a manuscript that has not yet been published by submitting a written request to the Editorial Office clearly explaining the reasons. The request must be approved by all authors or submitted by the corresponding author together with confirmation of their consent.
Once the request has been approved, the manuscript is removed from active editorial consideration. The Editorial Office may nevertheless retain a confidential administrative record of the submission, correspondence, peer review conducted and reasons for withdrawal in order to demonstrate that the editorial process was properly followed and to resolve possible disputes. An unpublished manuscript is not made publicly available and is not regarded as a retracted publication.