Conflicts of Interest
The Economics and Business Journal (ECBIS) is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, and integrity throughout the research and publication process. All authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their professional judgment.
A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose relevant interests may undermine the credibility of research, peer review, and editorial decisions. ECBIS therefore requires appropriate disclosure and management of conflicts of interest to protect the independence and reliability of scholarly communication.
1. Definition of Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest arises when personal, financial, professional, institutional, or other relationships may compromise, or appear to compromise, an individual's objectivity in conducting research, reviewing manuscripts, making editorial decisions, or publishing scholarly work.
Conflicts may be actual, potential, or perceived. They may exist even when the individual concerned believes that their judgment has not been influenced.
2. Types of Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:
2.1. Financial Conflicts of Interest
Financial conflicts may involve:
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Employment, consultancy, or paid advisory positions.
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Research grants, sponsorships, honoraria, or other financial support.
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Ownership of shares, equity, or financial interests in relevant organizations.
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Patents, royalties, licensing agreements, or other commercial benefits.
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Payments or benefits from organizations that may gain or lose financially from the publication.
Authors must disclose relevant financial relationships associated with their research and manuscript.
2.2. Personal and Professional Conflicts of Interest
Personal or professional conflicts may arise from family relationships, close personal friendships, personal disputes, competitive relationships, or other circumstances that could affect impartiality.
Recent or ongoing supervisory, collaborative, mentoring, or other close professional relationships between authors, reviewers, and editors should be disclosed when relevant to an editorial assignment.
2.3. Institutional Conflicts of Interest
Institutional conflicts may arise when an individual's institution, employer, funder, or affiliated organization has a financial, strategic, or reputational interest in the research findings or publication outcome.
Such interests should be disclosed when they could reasonably affect the independence of the research or editorial process.
2.4. Academic and Intellectual Conflicts of Interest
Academic conflicts may occur when individuals have strong intellectual commitments, competing research interests, prior public positions, or professional rivalries that could influence their assessment of a manuscript.
Individuals should disclose relevant circumstances when these relationships could reasonably compromise their ability to provide an impartial evaluation.
3. Responsibilities of Authors
All authors submitting manuscripts to ECBIS must disclose relevant conflicts of interest at the time of submission.
Authors are responsible for:
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Identifying financial and non-financial interests relevant to the submitted work.
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Disclosing relationships with organizations or individuals that could influence the research, interpretation, or presentation of findings.
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Ensuring that all co-authors are aware of relevant disclosures.
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Providing accurate and complete conflict-of-interest statements.
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Updating disclosures if relevant circumstances change during the editorial process.
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Distinguishing the role of research funders or sponsors from the authors' independent scholarly judgment, where applicable.
If no relevant conflicts exist, authors should explicitly state that they have no conflicts of interest to declare.
4. Responsibilities of Editors
Editors must maintain independence and impartiality when assessing manuscripts and making publication decisions.
Editors must:
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Disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest related to a manuscript.
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Refrain from handling manuscripts when their impartiality may reasonably be questioned.
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Arrange for another qualified editor to manage the manuscript when necessary.
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Protect confidential information obtained during editorial handling.
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Ensure that editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, relevance, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and the journal's publication policies.
Editors must not use unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for personal, professional, or commercial advantage.
5. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively and confidentially. Before accepting a review invitation, reviewers should consider whether any relationship or competing interest could affect their impartiality.
Reviewers must:
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Inform the editor of any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.
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Decline the review when a conflict could compromise an independent assessment.
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Avoid using unpublished information for personal research, professional advantage, or commercial purposes.
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Provide fair, evidence-based, and constructive comments.
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Maintain confidentiality throughout the peer-review process.
The editor will determine whether a disclosed conflict requires reassignment or whether the review can proceed with appropriate safeguards.
6. Funding Disclosure
Authors must identify financial support received for the research and manuscript preparation, including grants, institutional funding, commercial sponsorship, or other relevant assistance.
The funding statement should include the name of the funding organization and any grant number, where applicable. Authors should also disclose the role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the work for publication.
If the funder had no involvement in these activities, the authors should state this explicitly.
7. Disclosure Statement in Manuscripts
A conflict-of-interest statement must be included in every submitted manuscript, even when no conflicts exist.
Authors may use one of the following statements, as appropriate.
When no conflict exists:
“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest that could have influenced the research reported in this manuscript.”
When a conflict exists:
“The authors declare the following conflicts of interest: [describe the relevant financial or non-financial interests and the individuals involved]. The potential influence of these interests on the research and its interpretation is addressed as follows: [provide an explanation where relevant].”
When the research received funding:
“This research was supported by [name of funding organization, grant number if applicable]. The funder's role in the research, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit the manuscript for publication was [describe the role or state that the funder had no involvement].”
Authors must adapt these statements to reflect their actual circumstances. The journal may request additional information when necessary.
8. Management of Disclosed Conflicts
ECBIS will assess disclosed conflicts on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the nature and significance of the conflict, appropriate measures may include:
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Publishing a conflict-of-interest declaration with the article.
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Reassigning an editor or reviewer.
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Requesting additional disclosure or clarification.
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Implementing appropriate safeguards during peer review.
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Declining to proceed with a submission when an unresolved conflict prevents a fair editorial assessment.
The existence of a conflict does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration. Decisions will depend on the nature of the conflict and whether it can be managed adequately.
9. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest
If an undisclosed conflict is identified during peer review or after publication, ECBIS may request an explanation from the individuals concerned and assess the available evidence.
Depending on the circumstances, the journal may correct the disclosure, publish an editorial notice, reconsider an editorial decision, initiate an appropriate investigation, or take further action consistent with its publication ethics policies.
Where necessary, the journal may consult the relevant institution or other appropriate authority.
10. Commitment to Transparency
ECBIS considers disclosure of conflicts of interest an essential component of responsible scholarly publishing. By requiring transparent declarations from authors, editors, and reviewers, the journal seeks to preserve the credibility of research findings and ensure that publication decisions are made fairly and independently.
All parties involved in the publication process are expected to cooperate with reasonable requests for disclosure and clarification. This policy should be read alongside ECBIS policies on authorship, research misconduct, peer review, funding disclosure, and publication ethics.
