Conflicts of Interest

Policy Statement
The IOASD Journal of Business and Management Studies is committed to maintaining transparency, fairness, and editorial independence throughout the scholarly publishing process. All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members are required to disclose any financial, professional, institutional, academic, or personal interests that may influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their judgment or responsibilities.

Types of Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

Financial Interests: Employment, consultancy, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, or other financial benefits.

Research Funding: Grants, sponsorships, or financial support from commercial organizations, government agencies, or other interested institutions.

Professional Interests: Institutional affiliations, academic collaborations, competing research activities, or professional relationships.

Personal Interests: Family relationships, personal associations, or circumstances that may affect impartiality.

Institutional Interests: Organizational partnerships or commercial arrangements that could influence research outcomes or editorial decisions.

Responsibilities of Authors
All authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission. They must also acknowledge research funding, sponsorships, and other relevant financial or institutional support.

If no competing interests exist, authors must include the following declaration:

"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest."

Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment. They should decline invitations where personal, financial, academic, or professional relationships could compromise their impartiality. Any conflict identified during the review process must be reported promptly to the Editorial Office.

Responsibilities of Editors
Editors and editorial board members must maintain independence and impartiality in all editorial decisions. Any editor with a relevant conflict of interest must disclose it and withdraw from handling the manuscript. Editorial responsibility will be transferred to another qualified and independent editor where necessary.

Editorial decisions must be based solely on the scholarly merit of manuscripts and must not be influenced by commercial interests, sponsorships, institutional pressure, or personal relationships.

Disclosure and Editorial Action
All disclosed conflicts of interest will be evaluated by the editorial team. Relevant disclosures may be published alongside accepted articles to maintain transparency.

If an undisclosed conflict is identified before or after publication, the journal may request clarification or initiate an appropriate investigation. Depending on the findings, actions may include issuing a correction, publishing an Expression of Concern, or retracting the article in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

The journal expects all participants to provide complete and honest disclosures to protect academic integrity, editorial independence, and the credibility of published research.