Publication Ethics

Prime Journal of Management, Innovation, and Sustainability is a peer-reviewed journal committed to the highest standards of research and publication ethics. The journal follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Therefore, all parties involved in the publication process — including authors, editors, and reviewers — must adhere to ethical practices to ensure integrity, transparency, and accountability in scholarly publishing.

Ethical Guidelines for Authors

Submit only original work, with proper citations for all sources used, and avoid plagiarism in any form.
Provide accurate and reliable data, methods, and results. Authors should supply sufficient detail to allow replication, unless restricted by confidentiality.
Do not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously.
Disclose any conflicts of interest and acknowledge all sources of financial support.
Ensure appropriate authorship attribution, with contributions clearly stated. Only individuals who made substantial contributions should be listed as authors.
Inform the editor promptly if errors are discovered after submission or publication, and cooperate in publishing corrections or retractions when necessary.

Authorship

Prime Journal of Management, Innovation, and Sustainability adheres to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria. To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all of the following:

Contribute substantially to the conception, design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation.
Draft or critically revise the manuscript for intellectual content.
Approve the final version for publication.
Take accountability for the integrity of the work.

Contributors who do not meet these criteria should be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgments” section.

Use of AI or AI-Assisted Tools

AI tools such as ChatGPT cannot be listed as authors. If AI or AI-assisted technologies are used during manuscript preparation, this must be clearly disclosed in the “Methods” or “Acknowledgments” section, explaining their role transparently.

Human and Ethical Considerations

Research involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. Authors must state that they obtained approval from a recognized ethics committee before conducting fieldwork.
Informed consent must be obtained from participants (or guardians) for involvement in research and for publishing any identifiable data.
For deceased participants, consent must be granted by next of kin.

Corrections and Retractions

Corrections: Minor errors not affecting conclusions will be corrected in the article version of record. Major errors requiring significant updates will be published as a formal correction notice.
Retractions: Articles may be retracted in cases of proven misconduct (e.g., data fabrication, plagiarism, duplicate publication) or other serious ethical breaches, following COPE Retraction Guidelines. Retraction notices will always explain the reason and link to the original article.

Ethical Guidelines for Reviewers

Provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback.
Keep all manuscripts confidential and not use them for personal advantage.
Declare any conflicts of interest and decline reviews if necessary.
Avoid personal criticism and focus only on academic content.
Report potential ethical concerns (e.g., plagiarism, misconduct).

Ethical Guidelines for Editors

Evaluate manuscripts solely on scholarly merit, without discrimination.
Ensure confidentiality of submissions and reviewer identities.
Avoid conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when necessary.
Make final publication decisions based on scientific quality, journal scope, and legal/ethical considerations.
Publish corrections, retractions, or errata when needed.
Follow COPE’s editorial guidelines to address misconduct appropriately.