It is essential that all persons involved in the production of the Management of Sustainable Development journal adhere to the highest standards of professional ethics and conduct when participating as authors, reviewers, editors, or publishers. Our ethic statements are based on the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice Guidelines in Scholarly Publishing proposed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Fair play
An editor at any time evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Confidentiality
The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
Authorship and contributorship of the Paper
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Anyone who contributed to the research or manuscript preparation, but is not an author, should be acknowledged with their permission.
The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication. Submitting authors must provide an ORCID and we encourage all authors to provide one. Submissions by anyone other than one of the authors will not be considered.
Duplicate submission and redundant publication
MSD journal considers only original content, i.e. articles that have not been previously published, including in a language other than English. Articles based on content previously made public only on a preprint server, institutional repository, or in a thesis will be considered. In such cases, the preprint or thesis must be cited and discussed within the article.
Manuscripts submitted to MSD journal must not be submitted elsewhere while under consideration and must be withdrawn before being submitted elsewhere.
If authors have used their own previously published work, or work that is currently under review, as the basis for a submitted manuscript, they must cite the previous articles and indicate how their submitted manuscript differs from their previous work. Reuse of the authors’ own figures or substantial amounts of wording may require permission from the copyright holder and the authors are responsible for obtaining this.
Redundant publication, the inappropriate division of study outcomes into more than one article may result in rejection or a request to merge submitted manuscripts, and the correction of published articles. Duplicate publication of the same, or a very similar, article may result in the retraction of the later article and the authors may incur sanctions.
Citation manipulation
Authors whose submitted manuscripts are found to include citations whose primary purpose is to increase the number of citations to a given author’s work, or to articles published in a particular journal, may incur sanctions.
Editors and reviewers must not ask authors to include references merely to increase citations to their own or an associate’s work, to the journal, or to another journal they are associated with.
Fabrication and falsification
The authors of submitted manuscripts or published articles that are found to have fabricated or falsified the results, including the manipulation of images, may incur sanctions, and published articles may be retracted.
Conflicts of Interest
All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
Conflicts include the following:
- Financial — funding and other payments, goods and services received or expected by the authors relating to the subject of the work or from an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work
- Affiliations — being employed by, on the advisory board for, or a member of an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work
- Intellectual property — patents or trademarks owned by someone or their organization
- Personal — friends, family, relationships, and other close personal connections
- Ideology — beliefs or activism, for example, political or religious, relevant to the work
- Academic — competitors or someone whose work is critiqued
Authors
Authors must declare all potential interests in a ‘Conflicts of interest’ section, which should explain why the interest may be a conflict. If there are none, the authors should state “The author(s) declare(s) that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.” Submitting authors are responsible for coauthors declaring their interests.
Authors must declare current or recent funding and other payments, goods or services that might influence the work. All funding, whether a conflict or not, must be declared in the ‘Funding’ Statement.
The involvement of anyone other than the authors who 1) has an interest in the outcome of the work; 2) is affiliated to an organization with such an interest; or 3) was employed or paid by a funder, in the commissioning, conception, planning, design, conduct, or analysis of the work, the preparation or editing of the manuscript, or the decision to publish must be declared.
Declared conflicts of interest will be considered by the editor and reviewers and included in the published article.
Editors and Reviewers
Editors and reviewers should decline to be involved with a submission when they:
- Have a recent publication or current submission with any author
- Share or recently shared an affiliation with any author
- Collaborate or recently collaborated with any author
- Have a close personal connection to any author
- Have a financial interest in the subject of the work
- Feel unable to be objective
Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
Reviewers must declare any remaining interests in the ‘Confidential’ section of the review form, which will be considered by the editor.
Editors and reviewers must declare if they have previously discussed the manuscript with the authors.
Data sharing and reproductibility policy
MSD journal applies policies regarding data sharing and reproductibility to promote transparency and accountability in research.
Authors submitting manuscripts to MSD journal are required to share the raw data underlying their findings publicly. This data should be deposited in a recognized and accessible repository before the manuscript’s publication. Exceptions may be granted in cases where data sharing is not feasible due to ethical or legal constraints. Authors must provide clear instructions on how to access and retrieve the shared data. This information should be included in the manuscript or supplementary materials to facilitate transparency and reproducibility of the reported research.
Authors are encouraged to provide comprehensive metadata accompanying the shared data, including details on data collection methods, instruments used, and any preprocessing steps. This information enhances the usability of the dataset and assists in reproducibility. Manuscripts submitted to MSD journal should include detailed descriptions of experimental procedures, statistical analyses, and any custom code or algorithms used in the study. This ensures that the research findings can be independently reproduced and validated by other researchers.
During the peer-review process, reviewers may request access to the raw data and code associated with the manuscript. Authors should be prepared to provide such access to facilitate a thorough evaluation of the research methodology and results. Authors are expected to properly cite any shared datasets or code in their manuscript. This attribution ensures proper credit to the original data contributors and promotes good scholarly practice in data sharing.
Ethical oversight policy
Studies involving human subjects, animals, or sensitive data require ethical oversight and compliance with relevant guidelines. Authors are required to confirm that informed consent was obtained from human subjects participating in the study. In cases where obtaining written consent was not possible, authors must provide justification for alternative consent procedures, ensuring that the principles of autonomy and voluntary participation are upheld. Authors should respect the confidentiality and privacy of research participants. Identifying information should not be disclosed without explicit consent, and measures should be in place to safeguard the anonymity of individuals involved in the study.
Plagiarism and Research Integrity: Authors must adhere to principles of research integrity and avoid plagiarism. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarized content or data manipulation will be subject to rejection or retraction, and appropriate authorities may be notified.
The editorial board of MSD journal shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, among others. In no case shall the journal or its editors encourage such misconduct, or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place. In the event that the journal’s editors are made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a published article in this journal, the board may take appropriate actions, including corrections, retractions, or sanctions, in cases of ethical violations.
Readers, reviewers, or other stakeholders with ethical concerns about a published manuscript are encouraged to bring these concerns to the attention of the editorial team. Such concerns will be investigated promptly and transparently. The editorial board of MSD journal is responsible for overseeing the ethical conduct of published research.
Intellectual property policy
Authors grant Management of Sustainable Development journal a license to publish and distribute the work under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in Management of Sustainable Development journal.
Proper attribution to the original work is required when citing or reproducing content from MSD journal. Authors and users of published material must adhere to established citation practices and give credit to the original source. Plagiarism, unauthorized use, or reproduction of content from MSD journal without proper attribution or permission is strictly prohibited. Violations may result in legal action and may lead to the retraction of the infringing work.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to use third-party material (such as images, figures, or tables) in their manuscripts. Proper attribution and citation for such material must be provided, and evidence of permission should be supplied upon request.
Authors are encouraged to share data and code associated with their work, following the journal’s data sharing policy. Authors should clarify the terms under which data and code are shared, including any licensing agreements that apply.
Authors should disclose any potential patentable discoveries or inventions arising from their research. The journal may work with authors to delay publication for a specified period to allow for the protection of intellectual property rights.
In cases of collaborative research involving multiple institutions or contributors, authors should establish clear agreements regarding the ownership, use, and dissemination of intellectual property. Such agreements should be disclosed to the journal during the submission process.
The editorial board of MSD journal reserves the right to review and address concerns related to intellectual property. Authors, readers, or other stakeholders with concerns about potential intellectual property issues are encouraged to contact the editorial team.
Post-publication discussions and corrections policy
The editorial board plays a crucial role in overseeing the post-publication discussion and correction process. The board ensures that corrections are handled ethically, transparently, and in accordance with established guidelines. Readers are encouraged to submit post-publication commentaries that offer insights, critiques, or additional information related to a published article. These commentaries undergo editorial review and, if accepted, are published alongside the original article.
If errors or inaccuracies are identified in a published article, the journal will issue correction notices. Authors are responsible for promptly addressing and rectifying errors, and the correction notice will be linked to the original article to ensure transparency. Authors are encouraged to submit corrections for minor errors directly to the editorial office. Corrections will be reviewed, and if deemed appropriate, implemented in the online version of the article. Major corrections may undergo editorial review.
In cases of serious ethical concerns or irreproducible research, the journal may issue retractions or expressions of concern. These actions will be accompanied by a detailed explanation of the reasons, and the status of the article will be updated accordingly. Authors have the right to appeal decisions related to corrections. Appeals should be submitted in writing, providing a detailed justification. The editorial board will review appeals and make decisions based on the merits of the case.
The journal will promptly notify relevant databases and indexing services of any corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern to ensure the accurate representation of the research in scholarly databases.
Procedures for handling complaints and appeals
MSD journal takes all complaints seriously and is committed to addressing them promptly and fairly. Upon receiving a complaint, the editorial team will conduct a thorough investigation to assess its validity. This may involve consulting with the involved parties and examining the relevant documents and correspondence. The journal is dedicated to providing a timely response to complaints. The journal assures the confidentiality of all parties involved in the complaint process. Information related to the complaint will be handled with the utmost discretion to protect the privacy and reputation of all individuals. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the initial resolution, they have the right to appeal. Appeals should be submitted in writing, outlining the reasons for dissatisfaction and any additional information that may be pertinent to the case.
The editorial board will be engaged in the review of complaints and appeals. The decision of the editorial board will be final and communicated to the complainant in a clear and transparent manner. In cases where a potential conflict of interest is identified, steps will be taken to ensure an unbiased and impartial review of the complaint. Editors and reviewers with conflicts of interest will be recused from the process. The journal is committed to continuous improvement in its processes. Feedback from complaints and appeals will be used to enhance our editorial policies and practices to ensure the highest standards of integrity and fairness.