Conflict of Interests

Authors should avoid entering into agreements with study sponsors, whether for-profit or non-profit, that unreasonably restrict their access to the study data, their ability to analyze or interpret the data independently, or their ability to prepare and submit manuscripts for publication in accordance with applicable ethical, legal, contractual, and journal requirements.

All authors must disclose any relationships, activities, or interests that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, their work. Potential conflicts of interest may be financial or non-financial.

Financial conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to, employment, consultancies, advisory roles, stock or share ownership, honoraria, research grants or other funding, paid expert testimony, patents or patent applications, patent-licensing arrangements, and other financial relationships relevant to the submitted work.

Non-financial conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to, relevant personal, professional, academic, institutional, or other relationships or affiliations that could affect, or reasonably be perceived to affect, an author's objectivity or professional judgment.

Authors' Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose all actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest during the submission process. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that relevant disclosures from all authors are accurately reported.

The corresponding author must also include a separate section entitled Conflicts of Interest in the manuscript, placed immediately before the reference list. The statement must accurately reflect all relevant conflict-of-interest disclosures provided by the authors.

The existence of a potential conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication in Management Science Advances (MSA). The purpose of disclosure is to enable the journal, editors, reviewers, and readers to evaluate the work transparently and to allow the Editorial Office to take appropriate measures where necessary.

Examples of Author Disclosures

Conflicts of Interest: Author A has received research funding from Company A. Author B has received speaker honoraria from Company X and owns shares in Company Y. Author C has acted as a consultant and paid expert witness for Company Z. Author D is an inventor on a patent relevant to the subject of this manuscript.

If no relevant conflicts of interest exist, the authors should state:

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Reviewers' Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting a review assignment. Such conflicts may arise from personal, professional, academic, institutional, collaborative, competitive, or financial relationships with the authors, their institutions, the subject matter of the manuscript, or organizations associated with the research.

Reviewers should decline an invitation to review if they believe that a conflict of interest could compromise, or could reasonably be perceived to compromise, their independence or impartiality. If a potential conflict becomes apparent after a review has begun, the reviewer must promptly inform the responsible editor, who will determine whether the reviewer should continue or withdraw from the review process.

Editors' and Guest Editors' Conflicts of Interest

Editors, including the Editor-in-Chief, handling editors, Editorial Board members acting as editors, and Guest Editors, must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest related to manuscripts they are asked to handle.

An editor must not participate in the evaluation or decision-making process for a manuscript where their independence could reasonably be questioned. Relevant conflicts may include recent collaboration with the authors, employment at the same institution, close personal or professional relationships, direct academic competition, financial interests, or other circumstances that could affect impartial editorial judgment.

Where an editor has a conflict of interest, responsibility for the manuscript will be transferred to an independent editor with appropriate expertise and no relevant conflict. The conflicted editor must not participate in the selection of reviewers or influence the editorial decision.

The same principles apply to manuscripts submitted by members of the Editorial Board, Guest Editors, or other individuals involved in the journal's editorial management. Such manuscripts must be handled independently and must be subject to the same peer-review and editorial standards as all other submissions.

Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a significant undisclosed conflict of interest is identified during the editorial or peer-review process, MSA will assess its relevance and potential effect on the independence and integrity of the process. Appropriate action may include requesting clarification or additional disclosure, replacing a reviewer, transferring the manuscript to an independent editor, or taking another proportionate editorial measure.

If a significant undisclosed conflict of interest is discovered after publication, MSA will assess its relevance and potential impact on the integrity and interpretation of the published record. Where appropriate, the journal may issue a correction or disclosure statement or take another formal post-publication action in accordance with its applicable policies.

Where the failure to disclose a conflict of interest raises a credible concern regarding research or publication misconduct, the matter will be considered in accordance with the journal's Unethical Behaviour policy.

Where an established conflict-of-interest issue requires formal amendment of an already published article, any necessary action affecting the scholarly record will be taken in accordance with the journal's Retraction and Correction Policies.

COPE Guidance

MSA will assess conflict-of-interest concerns in accordance with the journal's applicable publication ethics policies and relevant guidance and recommendations provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).