Editorial Independence

Management Science Advances (MSA) is committed to maintaining full editorial independence. Scientific Oasis (SCIO), as the Publisher of MSA, does not interfere with the scientific evaluation, peer-review process, acceptance, rejection, revision requirements, reviewer recommendations, or other editorial decisions concerning individual manuscripts.

Editorial decisions are made independently by the Editor-in-Chief, handling editors, or other appropriately appointed editors on the basis of the manuscript's scholarly merit, originality, scientific and methodological quality, relevance to the journal's scope, research integrity, and, where applicable, the outcome of peer review.

Decisions must not be influenced by the nationality, institutional affiliation, professional status, reputation, or other personal characteristics of the authors that are unrelated to the scholarly assessment of the manuscript.

Commercial, financial, institutional, personal, or other inappropriate non-scholarly considerations must not determine the editorial outcome of a submission.

Separation of Editorial and Commercial Considerations

Editorial decisions are independent of the journal's financial and commercial arrangements. The existence, amount, payment, waiver, funding, or source of any applicable Article Processing Charge (APC) must not influence the scientific assessment or editorial decision concerning a manuscript.

Editors responsible for assessing manuscripts should not be required to make editorial decisions for the purpose of increasing publication volume, revenue, citation indicators, journal metrics, or other commercial or bibliometric outcomes.

Role of the Publisher

Scientific Oasis (SCIO) may provide the administrative, technical, production, legal, financial, infrastructure, and publishing support necessary for the operation and sustainability of MSA.

The Publisher may also work with the Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board, and Editorial Office in developing, reviewing, and maintaining general journal policies, publishing standards, operational procedures, and ethical frameworks.

Such cooperation may include policies concerning:

• editorial governance and editorial independence;
• publication and research ethics;
• authorship and contributorship;
• conflicts of interest and funding disclosures;
• peer review and reviewer responsibilities;
• transparency, reporting standards, and research integrity;
• research data, reproducibility, and supplementary materials;
• copyright, licensing, permissions, and open access;
• complaints and appeals; and
• corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, and other post-publication actions.

The Publisher's involvement in journal governance, policy development, administration, production, or commercial operations does not extend to determining the scientific assessment or editorial outcome of individual submissions.

Editorial Governance

The roles and responsibilities of the journal's editorial leadership and the Publisher are defined through appropriate governance, editorial, or contractual arrangements.

Where a disagreement arises concerning editorial responsibilities, journal governance, or implementation of journal policies, it should be addressed through the applicable governance, contractual, or complaint procedures without compromising the independent scholarly assessment of individual manuscripts.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must disclose and appropriately manage actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could reasonably affect, or be perceived to affect, their independence or impartiality in handling a manuscript.

An editor with a relevant conflict of interest must not make or improperly influence the editorial decision concerning that manuscript. The submission should be assigned to another appropriately qualified editor without the relevant conflict.

Further requirements concerning competing interests are provided in the journal's Conflict of Interests policy.

Complaints Concerning Editorial Independence

Concerns that editorial procedures, editorial conduct, or the application of journal policies may have compromised editorial independence may be raised in accordance with the journal's Procedures for Dealing with Complaints and Appeals.

Where a concern involves possible unethical conduct, manipulation of the editorial or peer-review process, or another potential breach of publication ethics, it may also be considered under the journal's Procedures for Dealing with Allegations of Unethical Behaviour.

Editorial Independence and Publication Ethics

Editorial independence does not exempt editors or the journal from compliance with applicable publication ethics, research integrity, legal, or procedural requirements. Editorial decisions must remain independent while being consistent with the journal's established policies and responsibilities for protecting the integrity of the scholarly record.

MSA seeks to maintain an appropriate separation between editorial judgment and publisher, financial, commercial, institutional, or other interests that could improperly influence decisions concerning individual manuscripts.