Peer review is one of the key steps leading to the final publication of the research manuscripts. Reviewers are the people mainly responsible for conducting this review successfully. It is the process through which the research entries are validated and their originality is ensured.

The Peer-Review Policy can be viewed here.

Peer Review Significance

Peer Reviewers are responsible for fulfilling the following duties:

• They ensure that the journal is furnished with the most relevant studies.
• They bring forward the earlier studies that can contribute to the journal.
• They check for grammatical, statistical and technical mistakes in the research manuscripts and appraise the validity of the conclusion that the research offers.

Peer Review Goals

Peer Review is the most pragmatic means of assessing the research efforts and it provides opportunities for successful and effective publication of the most authentic works by meeting the following goals:

• Evaluation – Peer review evaluates all the research entries to come up with the best entries of all.
• Integrity – Peer review gives priority to the integrity of the research and the scholars. All the works that pass the review phase successfully become eligible for being published in the specified journals.
• Quality – By filtering and reviewing the manuscripts, Peer Reviewers help the authors refine their researches for publication. It is a way by which the authors can take valuable insights directly from the experts.

IJBAS published four times a year (March, June, September, December)

International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies (IJBAS) is currently abstracted and indexed in the following databases:

1. EBSCOhost (USA)
2. Business Source Ultimate (EBSCO) (USA)
3. EBSCO Discovery Services (USA)
4. Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory (USA)
5. Academic Resource Index – Research Bib
6. Cabell’s Directories (USA)
7. RePec
8. American Sociological Association (ASA) (USA)
9. Crossref (USA)
10. Google Scholar
11. Dimensions (UK)
12. Latindex Directory (Spain)
13. MIAR Database (Spain)
14. ROAD- Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources (France)
15. Mendeley (UK)
16. Publons (New Zealand)
17. SSRN (USA)
18. Academia (USA)
19. OCLC (USA)
20. WorldCat (USA)
21. Index Copernicus (Poland)
22. ProQuest (Clarivate)

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

All the peer-reviewed research articles published in this journal are given open access. This feature makes the articles universally and freely accessible over internet for as many times as desired by the users, and is available in a reader-friendly format right after publication.

All articles will get published as per the requirements of the following license:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND): This license entitles the third party users to use the content for non-commercial purposes, distribute and copy the article, and include the content in any collective work (such as an anthology), with the condition that the author(s) will be given due credit and no alteration or modification will be done in the article.

Editors are responsible to ensure:

• In order to guarantee the eminence of research all steps required for evaluation are properly followed. In the same sense the decision regarding acceptance, rejection, major and minor revision is followed by the standard quality guidelines of journal.
• While submission of paper author has to clarify that the pertinent work is not under consideration for publication anywhere else. Along with this Editor along with any other relevant person is not permitted to submit the particular work with anyone else other than corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers and the publisher.
• The use of unpublished research work is followed by the proper written consent of the original author.
• The evaluation of the manuscript is solely based upon the eminence of research incorporated in the paper and is completely free from any bias.

Reviewers will have following obligations:

• The efficient blinded peer review process makes significant input in the decisions of editors as well as offers opportunity to improve the work as per quality standard.
• All the manuscripts submitted for peer review necessarily should be taken as secret essays and should not be disclosed to third person other than an authoritative person by the editor.
• If it is not possible for the concerned reviewer to review the manuscript within stated time, then he/she must inform the editor or if reviewer feels that he/she is lacking subject expertise required to review the particular manuscript then he/she has responsibility to share it with the editor.
• The reviewer should necessarily evaluate that all cited research work whether is backed by the already published work or not. It is obligatory for reviewer that all material cited in the article is supported with the sufficient citations and should dig out the work that has already been published but not cited by the author. If reviewer comes to know any association between the submitted manuscript and any already published work about which they have personal information, then reviewer must report to editor.
• Personal critique on author is not allowed. Referees views should be supporting for the authors.

Authors must know that:

• The manuscripts having plagiarism above the tolerable levels are not considered for the review. Relevant person should check the plagiarism with keen attention in order to ensure the originality of the manuscript.
• Author should ensure that submitted work is not under consideration for review with intention of final publication with any other journal. It is unethical in research that single work should be under consideration for review with multiple journals.
• Authors have responsibility to clearly mention about the possible reaction of the chemicals, procedures or equipment used in the research if applicable.
• The authorship of the manuscript should be limited towards the real contributor of the paper. Authors’ names should be followed by level of their contribution. The corresponding author of the paper must ensure that all authors are original authors.

International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies strictly adhere to guidelines set out by the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors to treat misconduct. Researchers has obligation to follow best practices and a code of ethics of some relevant regularity authorities (national or international) before conducting their research and submitting their articles.

In publishing, research misconduct cases are rare. However, to encounter such situation and challenges IJBAS has a comprehensive publishing ethics guide.

Ethical Issues and Dealing with Possible Misconduct

It must be noted that there are two different cases of misconduct: Complex Scientific Fraud and Errors. Therefore, it becomes important to treat such type of cases with great care to avoid risk. Following actions are taken by KKG Publications to treat any misconduct.

1. Acting as neutral player and dealing misconduct with great confidentiality.
2. Written communication regarding such issues is kept in record including complainant evidence and allegation.
3. Issue of misconduct is raised with the suspected (co)author following a formal procedure.
4. Facts and findings are collected against what actually happened and decision is taken ensuring transparency.

Following are the possible type of misconduct or ethical issues that can take place in research.

1. Data Falsification
2. Duplicate Publication
3. Plagiarism
4. Undeclared conflict of interest
5. Authorship Issues

KKG publications has number of sanctions in its policies (ranked on the basis of severity) in which “Banning” decision by the editor is the most severe sanction. The publication as well as dissemination of the corrective notice is very important act. The corrective notice recognizes that misconduct took place and pinpoints the acting party that was leading that misconduct.

KKG Publications has explained number of other potential sanctions which are in order of severity. These include:

• Publication of erratum, corrigendum or a notice.
• Formal removal in few cases like invasion of privacy (ensuring that scientific record is maintained for such misconduct issues).
• The publication of a corrective notice (formal retraction) that has direct link to original article.
• Publishing an editorial that discusses the issue

The editor-in-chief should carefully weigh and consider all these sanctions while dealing with ant type of misconduct.

Complaint Policy

This procedure applies to complaints about the journal, its staff, editorial board or publisher, the policies, procedures, or actions of “International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies (IJBAS)” editorial staff. We welcome complaints as they provide an opportunity for improvement, and we will provide a quick and constructive response.
Complaints related to International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies (IJBAS) should be directed in the first instance to the Editorial Team at editor.ijbas@kkgpublications.com.
Complaints will be investigated according to recommendations by the Committee on Publication Ethics (see COPE Flowcharts). If complainants are unsatisfied with the response, they may contact the Publisher, editor@kkgpublications.com or e-mail your complaint at complaints@kkgpublications.com with clear identification of the complaint nature and source of an address.
We presume that complaints should be based on the failure of the process (severe misjudgment, a long delay, or a rude response), not a simple disagreement with editorial decisions.
IJBAS addresses the following complaints:

• Authorship complaints
• Plagiarism complaints
• Multiple, duplicate, concurrent publication/Simultaneous submission
• Research results misappropriation and data fabrication
• Allegations of research errors and fraud
• Research standards violations
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest
• Reviewer bias or competitive harmful acts by reviewers

Complaints handling policy

If the Publisher receives a complaint that any contribution to the Journal infringes intellectual property rights or contains material inaccuracies, libelous materials or otherwise unlawful materials, we will investigate the complaint. The investigation may include a request that the parties involved substantiate their claims. The Publisher will determine whether to remove the allegedly wrongful material. If the complaint lacks sufficient foundation, the material will not be removed. Complaint investigations and decisions will be documented. Our goal is to ensure the highest quality of our journals; however, we accept that occasional mistakes might happen.
All complaints will be acknowledged by email. If possible, a definitive response will be made within two weeks. If this is not possible, an interim response will be given within two weeks. Interim responses will be provided until the complaint is finally resolved. If the complainant remains unsatisfied, complaints will be escalated to the editor, whose decision is final.

Library Catalogue

Biblioteca Nacional de España
International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies is committed to the permanent availability and preservation of scholarly research published in IJBAS. IJBAS is keeping digital archive with Biblioteca Nacional de España (digital library of the National Library of Spain).
IJBAS also offer its authors to make their research publically accessible, free from payment and any embargo period through Green Open Access Policy.

Green Open Access: Archiving and Sharing Policy

You may share the Original Submission or Accepted Manuscript at any time and in any format. Your sharing of the Original Submission or Accepted Manuscript may include posting a downloadable copy on any website, saving a copy in any repository or network, sharing a copy through any social media channel, and distributing print or electronic copies.
You may use the Final Published PDF (or Original Submission or Accepted Manuscript, if preferred) in the following ways:

• in relation to your own teaching, provided that any electronic distribution maintains restricted access
• to share on an individual basis with research colleagues, provided that such sharing is not for commercial purposes
• in your dissertation or thesis, including where the dissertation or thesis will be posted in any electronic Institutional Repository or database
• in a book authored or edited by you, at any time after the Contribution’s publication in the journal.

Provided that:

• Access to the Original Submission and Accepted Manuscript is provided at no charge.
• Any re-use terms for users of websites and repositories (where your Original Submission or Accepted Manuscript are posted) are restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses.
• You may not post the Final Published PDF on any unrestricted website or repository without permission from KKG Publications.
• You may not republish or translate any version of your Contribution in another journal without prior permission from KKG Publications.
• The journal as the original publication of your Contribution is appropriately credited by including the full citation information each time your Contribution, or excerpts, are further distributed or re-used.
• After your Contribution has been accepted for publication and until it is assigned a DOI, please include a statement that your Contribution has been accepted for publication in the journal.
• Once full citation information for your Contribution is available, please include this with your posted Contribution, in a format similar to the following:

Author(s), Contribution Title, Journal Title (Journal Volume Number and Issue Number) pp. xx-xx. Copyright © [year] (Copyright Holder). DOI: [DOI number].

How conflicts of interest are managed justly has a deep impact on the public trust in the scientific process and the credibility of published articles particularly during the processes of planning, implementation, writing, peer review, editing, and publication of scientific work. When a primary interest (such as patients’ welfare or the validity of research) takes impact from a secondary interest (such as financial gain), a conflict of interest is likely to arise. Understanding the conflict of interest is as crucial as the conflict of interest itself. Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, patents, and paid expert testimony) are the most obvious types of conflicts of interest and can damage the credibility of the journal, the authors, and the field of science under study. However, conflicts can also be the result of some other factors, such as personal relationships or adversities, academic competition, and intellectual opinions. Authors should refrain from signing any such agreement with the study sponsors that is likely to hinder the authors’ access to the complete study’s data or their right to analyze and interpret the data and independent manuscript submission as per their demand, no matter if it is for-profit or non-profit.

Participants of peer-review and publication process i.e., authors, peer reviewers, editors, and editorial board members of journals, should be aware of their conflicts of interest and need to perform their part in the article review and publication accordingly. If they have any relationships leading to conflicts of interest in their knowledge, they are required to disclose them.

Authors: Authors should disclose all the financial and personal relationships leading to conflict or biases at the time of submission of manuscripts of any type or format. The KKG Publications has designed a Form for Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest to be signed for the articles that are about to be published.

Peer Reviewers: During the critical evaluation, reviewers should be asked to disclose all those conflicts of interest that can possibly impede the review process. Reviewers should inform the editors of any such conflicts of interest that can make their judgment biased towards a manuscript, and should avoid the review of such manuscripts that have a strong risk of obtaining a biased evaluation. Reviewers need to respect the authors’ rights over the manuscripts by not using or misusing the manuscript’s knowledge for personal gains.

Editors and Journal Staff: Editors, in the presence of conflicts of interest, should stop the editorial decision-making. In case some conflict-creating relationships exist for the articles under consideration, editors should do the same. Other editorial staff members having a say in the editorial decisions need to inform the editors of their current financial interests or other conflicts (that may influence the editorial judgments somehow) and should recuse from the decision likely to be afflicted by any sort of conflict of interest. Editorial staff should also handle the content of manuscripts responsibly and ethically by not utilizing it for personal interests. Editors should declare through disclosure statements regularly the conflicts of interests related to the roles of the journal staff. Same guidelines need to be followed by the guest editors.

Reporting Conflicts of Interest

Articles that are about to be published should contain statements or supporting documents, such as conflict of interest form, affirming: – Authors’ conflicts of interest; and – Sources of support for the work, including sponsor names with descriptions of the role of those sources if any in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; report compilation; the decision of getting the report published or a statement assuring of no link with the supporting source; and – proof of the authors’ access to the study data, while defining the nature and the extent of access, with special reference to its on-going nature if applicable. For validating the above-mentioned statements or documents, editors may contact the authors of a study who might have funding sponsors with a proprietary or financial interest and ask them to sign a statement, “I had full access to all of the data in this study and I take complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.”

Author Declaration Form

“International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies (IJBAS)” is the official journal of Academic Research and Solutions Sociedad (ARS) Catalunya. IJBAS is published by KKG Publications.

When authors submit a paper to IJBAS for reviewing and publishing they retain their copyright, but agree to grant non-exclusive publishing rights to IJBAS and agree that the paper will be published under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, if the paper is accepted for publication. Authors are encouraged to read carefully their rights. We believe this approach ensures a fair arrangement for the both parties. The license granted to IJBAS allows the Journal to edit and typeset the paper which will be included in a forthcoming issue and distributed it in any online and offline medium that the journal deems necessary in order to promote the paper, the authors and IJBAS.

For more information about the Creative Commons Licences please visit: https://creativecommons.org