Conflict of Interest

The International Journal of Data-Driven Management and Business Strategy  is committed to maintaining transparency, fairness, and integrity throughout the research, peer-review, and publication process. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence their work or judgment.

1. Author Conflicts of Interest

Authors should disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their research. Potential conflicts may include:

  • Financial interests, funding, grants, or sponsorship
  • Employment, consultancy, or advisory relationships
  • Personal or professional relationships
  • Institutional affiliations
  • Ownership of patents or intellectual property
  • Commercial interests related to the research
  • Other relationships that could affect the interpretation of the research

If no conflict exists, authors may include:

“The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.”

2. Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting a manuscript for review.

Reviewers should decline an assignment if their relationship with the authors, institution, research, or subject matter could compromise—or reasonably appear to compromise—their impartiality.

3. Editorial Conflicts of Interest

Editors should not handle manuscripts where they have a personal, professional, financial, or academic conflict of interest. Where appropriate, the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor to ensure an independent editorial decision.

4. Disclosure and Transparency

All relevant conflicts should be disclosed at the time of manuscript submission or before undertaking a review. The editorial team may request additional information when necessary.

5. Undisclosed Conflicts

If a significant conflict is discovered after publication, the journal may take appropriate action, which may include:

  • Requesting clarification from the authors
  • Publishing a correction or disclosure statement
  • Conducting an editorial investigation
  • Taking further action where research or publication integrity is affected

6. Independence of Editorial Decisions

Financial or commercial relationships must not influence peer review, manuscript acceptance, rejection, publication priority, or editorial decisions.