4-Editorial Policy

4.1    Editorial

Business & Economic Review (BER) is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research in Business, Economics, Finance, and related disciplines. To ensure fairness, transparency, academic rigor, and editorial independence, BER maintains a formal Editorial Policy. This policy guides the operations of the editorial board, outlines the peer review process, and ensures ethical standards in all aspects of manuscript handling.

The Editorial Policy reflects internationally accepted publishing norms and aligns with guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

4.2    Editorial Objectives

The editorial goals of BER include:

  • Upholding academic excellence in the fields of Business and Economics
  • Ensuring impartial and rigorous Peer Review
  • Maintaining transparency and consistency in editorial decisions
  • Supporting Open Access and knowledge dissemination
  • Preventing editorial bias and unethical publishing practices
  • Facilitating continuous improvement in the editorial process

4.3    Editorial Structure

The editorial operations of BER are overseen by the following roles:

4.3.1 Editor-in-Chief

  • Provides strategic direction for the journal
  • Oversees the editorial process and ensures compliance with ethical standards
  • Makes final decisions on manuscript acceptance or rejection
  • Represents the journal in academic and professional forums

4.3.2 Associate/Assistant Editor(s)

  • Manage manuscripts within specific subject areas
  • Assign reviewers, assess reviews, and recommend decisions
  • Ensure quality control within their domains

4.3.3 Editorial Board Members

  • Serve as ambassadors for the journal
  • Provide expert advice and assist with peer review
  • Contribute to special issues and editorial initiatives

4.3.4 Editorial Assistant

  • Handle day-to-day operations of manuscript submission and tracking
  • Communicate with authors, reviewers, and editors
  • Coordinate production and post-acceptance workflows

4.4    Editorial Responsibilities

All editorial team members are expected to:

  • Treat submissions with confidentiality and impartiality
  • Ensure timely and transparent communication with authors and reviewers
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect editorial decisions
  • Base editorial decisions on the scholarly merit of manuscripts
  • Avoid discrimination based on race, gender, institutional affiliation, or personal belief
  • Maintain editorial independence from commercial interests

4.5    Editorial Independence

BER maintains full editorial independence. Editorial decisions are not influenced by:

  • The publisher’s commercial interests
  • Advertising or sponsorship
  • Political, institutional, or personal agendas

All editorial decisions are based solely on the manuscript’s academic quality, relevance to the journal’s scope, and the outcome of peer review.

4.6    Editorial Decision-Making Process

Manuscripts submitted to BER undergo the following editorial workflow:

  1. Initial Screening/Desk Review: The editorial office checks for scope, format, and plagiarism using standard tools.
  2. Editorial Assignment: The Editor-in-Chief assigns the manuscript to an Associate Editor or Assistant Editor.
  3. Reviewer Invitation: Qualified, impartial reviewers are invited to evaluate the manuscript.
  4. Peer Review Completion: Reviewer comments are collected and synthesized.
  5. Editorial Decision: Possible decisions include:
  • Accept
  • Minor revisions
  • Major revisions
  • Reject
  1. Revision Cycle: Authors are invited to revise based on reviewer feedback.
  2. Final Decision: The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision based on all input.
  3. Copyediting & Production: Accepted manuscripts proceed to copyediting, formatting, and publication.

4.7    Editorial Ethics and Integrity

BER’s editorial team upholds the highest ethical standards. Responsibilities include:

  • Identifying and addressing research misconduct (plagiarism, data fabrication)
  • Ensuring publication of corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when needed
  • Promoting ethical authorship practices and accurate reporting

Editorial misconduct or bias is taken seriously and will be investigated thoroughly.

4.8    Retractions, Corrections, and Editorial Notices

4.8.1 Retractions

Articles may be retracted for:

  • Data fabrication or falsification
  • Plagiarism
  • Ethical breaches
  • Major errors affecting results or conclusions

Retractions are published with a clearly labelled notice explaining the reason.

4.8.2 Corrections and Errata

Minor errors that do not affect the interpretation of results may lead to:

  • Corrections (for factual errors)
  • Errata (for publisher-related errors)

These are published promptly and linked to the original article.

4.8.3 Editorial Expressions of Concern

Where investigations are ongoing, BER may issue an expression of concern to alert readers about potential issues with a published article.