Conflict of Interest

Policy Statement

Idarotuna: Journal of Administrative Science requires authors, editors, and reviewers to disclose any relationship or interest that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, peer-review process, or editorial decision.

A conflict of interest does not automatically indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may compromise the transparency and integrity of scholarly publication. This policy follows internationally recognized publication-ethics principles and supports the ethical requirements considered in the Scopus journal evaluation process.

Definition

A conflict of interest, also known as a competing interest, exists when a person’s financial, personal, professional, academic, institutional, or intellectual relationships could affect their judgment, actions, or interpretation of research.

Conflicts may be actual, potential, or perceived. All relevant interests must therefore be disclosed, even when the individual believes that they did not influence the work.

Financial Conflicts of Interest

Financial conflicts may include employment, consultancy, honoraria, research funding, grants, paid expert testimony, travel support, patents, royalties, stock ownership, gifts, or other financial relationships connected to the subject of the manuscript.

Authors must disclose the identity of funding organizations and explain the funder’s role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit the manuscript.

Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest

Non-financial conflicts may arise from personal relationships, academic competition, professional collaboration, institutional affiliation, political interests, religious beliefs, ideological positions, or strong intellectual commitments related to the manuscript.

Previous disagreements, close relationships, supervisory connections, or ongoing collaborations may also constitute conflicts when they could reasonably influence professional judgment.

Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial interests at the time of submission. The corresponding author is responsible for collecting declarations from every co-author and ensuring that the information is complete and accurate.

Authors must disclose whether a sponsor or other external party influenced the research process. If no competing interest exists, the manuscript should include the following statement:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this research and publication.

When a conflict exists, authors must clearly describe its nature without using vague or incomplete language.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any relationship or interest that could affect their objectivity. They should decline a review when they:

  • have a close personal or professional relationship with an author;
  • are employed by the same institution as an author;
  • have recently collaborated with an author;
  • have a direct academic or financial interest in the findings;
  • are involved in a competing study; or
  • cannot provide an impartial assessment.

Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, academic, institutional, or financial benefit.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must disclose any conflict that could influence an editorial decision. An editor must not manage a manuscript authored by themselves, a close colleague, a family member, a recent collaborator, or a person with whom they have a significant personal, professional, or institutional relationship.

A conflicted editor must transfer responsibility for the manuscript to another qualified and independent editor. Manuscripts submitted by members of the Editorial Board must undergo the same independent peer-review process as other submissions.

Institutional Conflicts

An institutional relationship may create a conflict when an author, reviewer, and editor are affiliated with the same institution or closely connected organizations. Such manuscripts must be managed by an editor and reviewers who are institutionally independent.

The journal will not allow institutional authority, sponsorship, or ownership to interfere with editorial independence.

Publisher and Sponsor Independence

The publisher, sponsoring institution, and journal owner must not influence decisions to accept or reject manuscripts for commercial, political, personal, or institutional reasons.

Editorial decisions are based on scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, relevance to the journal’s scope, ethical compliance, and contribution to knowledge.

Management of Disclosed Conflicts

Disclosure of a conflict does not necessarily prevent publication. The Editor-in-Chief will evaluate its nature and significance and may:

  • publish the disclosure with the article;
  • appoint independent editors or reviewers;
  • request additional information;
  • require changes to the manuscript;
  • exclude a conflicted person from the editorial process; or
  • reject the manuscript when the conflict cannot be managed adequately.

Undisclosed Conflicts

If an undisclosed conflict is discovered during review, the journal may suspend evaluation while seeking clarification. The manuscript may be rejected if the nondisclosure appears deliberate or materially affects confidence in the research.

If an undisclosed conflict is identified after publication, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on its effect on the reliability and integrity of the article. Relevant institutions may also be notified.

Conflict-of-Interest Statement

Every published article must contain a conflict-of-interest statement. Authors must use one of the following formats:

No conflict: The authors declare that there are no financial, personal, professional, or institutional conflicts of interest related to this article.

or

Conflict disclosed: The authors disclose the following competing interests: [provide a complete description of the conflict].

Transparency and Accountability

All conflicts of interest will be handled confidentially, fairly, and consistently. The journal’s primary objective is to ensure that editorial decisions remain independent and that readers receive sufficient information to evaluate the credibility and objectivity of published research.

This policy is informed by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and international publication-ethics practices relevant to the Scopus journal selection process.