Editorial Policies

 

 

PUBLICATION ETHICS AND PUBLICATION MALPRACTICE STATEMENT

JWEE is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all measures against publication malpractice. The journal follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and best practices.

Editors, authors, and reviewers are expected to adhere to ethical principles related to authorship, originality, transparency, conflict of interest disclosure, and responsible research conduct. Any form of unethical behavior, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, redundant publication, or inappropriate authorship practices, is unacceptable.
COPE Core Practices are available at https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

1. Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

  • The manuscript submitted must be the original work of the author(s); only an unpublished manuscript should be submitted.
  • It is unethical to submit a manuscript to more than one journal concurrently.
  • Any conflict of interest must be clearly stated.
  • Acknowledge the sources of data used in the development of the manuscript.
  • The submitting (corresponding) author is responsible for ensuring that all the other co-authors have approved the manuscript's publication.
  • All authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.

2. Submission Declaration

Submission of an article implies that:
The work described is authentic and valid, and neither this manuscript nor one with considerably similar content under this authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere, including electronically in the same form, in English or another language, without the written consent of the copyright holder.

3. Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • The Reviewers of the journal should assist the Editors in deciding whether to publish the submitted manuscripts.
  • The Reviewers should maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts, which they are invited to review.
  • The Reviewers should provide comments in time that will help editors to decide on whether to publish the submitted manuscript to be published or not.
  • The Reviewers' comments against each invited manuscript should be technical, professional and objective.
  • The Reviewers should disclose and try to avoid any conflict of interest.

4. Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

Editors of JWEE must confirm the following:

  • All manuscripts are evaluated in fairness based on the intellectual content of the paper, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, citizenship, or political values of authors.
  • The Editorial Board takes responsibility for making publication decisions for submitted manuscripts based on the reviewers’ evaluation of the manuscript, policies of the journal editorial board and legal restraints acting against plagiarism, libel, and copyright infringement.
  • Preserve the anonymity of reviewers.

5. Publishing ethics issues

  • Monitoring/safeguarding publishing ethics by the editorial board.
  • Guidelines for retracting articles.
  • Maintain the integrity of the academic record.
  • Preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards.
  • Always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.

PLAGIARISM POLICY

JWEE has a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism. All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using appropriate plagiarism detection software prior to peer review.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Direct copying of text without proper citation
  • Self-plagiarism or redundant publication
  • Improper paraphrasing without attribution

If plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be rejected. In cases where plagiarism is identified after publication, JWEE reserves the right to retract the article in accordance with COPE guidelines.

POLICY ON THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

This policy is aligned with AI disclosure and authorship standards adopted by major academic publishers (e.g., Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley). 
JWEE recognizes the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in academic research and writing. The journal permits limited use of AI-based tools under strict conditions.
Authors may use AI tools (e.g., for language editing, grammar correction, or improving clarity) provided that:

  • AI tools are not listed as authors or co-authors.
  • Authors retain full responsibility for the content, originality, and integrity of the manuscript.
  • The use of AI does not replace critical scholarly work, data analysis, or interpretation.

Authors must disclose the use of AI tools in the manuscript (e.g., in the acknowledgments or a dedicated statement), specifying the tool and purpose of use.
The use of AI for generating research data, fabricating results, manipulating images, or producing substantial parts of the manuscript without author oversight is considered unethical and may lead to rejection or retraction.

OPEN ACCESS POLICY

JWEEis an Open Access Journal. All articles can be downloaded free of charge and used in accordance with the license that is provided below each published article.
This journal provides immediate Open Access to its contents on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global interexchange of knowledge.
JWEE encourages readers, authors and librarians to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full texts of its articles, as well as allows its wider readership to use them for any other lawful purpose.

PRIVACY STATEMENT

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
Submitting authors should contact their contributors to check whether they may have additional privacy requirements upon submitting.

SPONSORSHIP DISCLOSURE

It is mandatory for the author(s) to identify whether any of their own research has been sponsored or has received financial support of any kind for their submitted papers to the Journal. Sponsored content must be clearly identified to readers as sponsored. Supporting and sponsoring agencies must be clearly stated in a separate sponsorship declaration listed at the end of the paper, prior to the bibliography.

REPORTING STANDARDS

A manuscript should contain sufficient details and references to enable reviewers and, subsequently, readers to verify the claims presented therein. Intentional presentation of false claims represents a violation of ethical standards. Authors are exclusively responsible for the contents of their submitted manuscripts. Where necessary, authors must have obtained permission from all the persons or institutions directly involved in the research of submitted manuscripts for publication. Authors wishing to include illustrations, tables, or other materials in their articles that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the primary copyright holders. Any material received without such evidence provided will be assumed to originate from the authors themselves.

AUTHORSHIP

Authors are required to list only the persons who have significantly contributed to the content of the manuscript as authors, i.e., they shall list all individuals who have significantly contributed to the content of the manuscript as authors. If persons other than the authors were involved in significant aspects of the research project and drafting the manuscript, their contribution should be mentioned in a footnote or the acknowledgement section.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SOURCES

Authors are required to properly cite sources that have significantly influenced the content of their research and their manuscript. Information received in a private conversation or correspondence with third parties while reviewing project applications, manuscripts, and similar materials must not be used without the explicit written consent of the source.

COMPETING INTERESTS

Authors should disclose in their manuscripts any financial or any other conflicts of interest that might have influenced the results presented or their interpretations thereof.
What Represents a Competing Interest?

A competing interest is anything that interferes with or could be perceived as interfering with the full and objective presentation, peer review, editorial decision-making and/or publication of research or non-research articles submitted to JWEE.

Competing interests can be financial or non-financial, professional or personal. Competing interests can arise in relation to an organization or another person.

Declaring all potential competing interests is a requirement at JWEE. and is integral to the transparent reporting of research.

Failure to declare competing interests can result in immediate rejection of a manuscript. If an undisclosed competing interest becomes known after publication, JWEE. will act in accordance with COPE guidelines and issue a public notification to the community.

ERRORS IN PUBLISHED ARTICLES

Should an author find an error in their published article, the author(s) are required to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher to retract or correct the article.

REVIEWERS RESPONSIBILITIES

Reviewers shall deliver a well-argued and unbiased evaluation of the scientific value of the manuscript to the editor by a given deadline. The reviewers shall assess the manuscript to confirm whether it complies with the profile of the journal, the validity of the topic investigated and the applied methods, the originality of the information and data presented in the manuscript, as well as whether it is appropriately presented in a readable academic style. Reviewers must notify the editor of any violations of ethical standards by the authors or any knowledge thereof. Reviewers are to note any published works that have not been cited by the authors that may prove relevant to the work. Reviewers are to notify the editor of the substantial similarities between a reviewed manuscript and any other considered, published, or reviewed for publication by any other journal. Reviewers must also alert the editor if the same manuscript is submitted to several journals at the same time.

Reviewers must not be in a conflict of interest with either the authors or the sources of funding for the manuscript under review. If the reviewer is in such conflict, it must be reported to the editor immediately for another reviewer to be assigned.

Reviewers who are unable to review should inform the editor as soon as possible so that an alternative reviewer can be assigned.

Reviews must be conducted objectively. Any personal criticism of the author is deemed inappropriate. The reviewers must express their views clearly, accompanied by supporting arguments.
Manuscripts received for review are confidential documents. The reviewers must not use any unpublished material from the submitted manuscripts without the explicit written consent of their authors, and the information and ideas presented therein must be kept confidential and must not be used for personal gain.

REVIEW PROCESS

The submitted manuscripts are subject to a review process, which involves at least two independent expert reviewers. The purpose of the review is to assist the editor in deciding whether a manuscript is accepted or not, as well as to improve the quality of the manuscripts through correspondence with their authors.

All reviews are to remain anonymous.

Reviewers must submit their review within three weeks of accepting the invitation. If unable to do so within the given time, the reviewer must notify the editor-in-chief immediately.

All reviews are to be done free of charge.

The choice of reviewers is at the editor’s discretion. The reviewers must have a respective academic background for the subject of the manuscript being reviewed. Reviewers are not allowed to originate from the same institution as the author of the manuscript under review, nor may the reviewers have had any recent joint publications with any of the authors of the manuscript. During the review process, the editor may request the author to provide supplementary material (including raw data) to make a judgment on the scientific contribution and merit of the manuscript. The editor and reviewer shall also keep such information confidential and shall not use it for personal gain.

The editorial board shall be the party responsible for the review and all aspects thereof. Should the authors have any objections to a review, the editorial board should check whether the review is objective and whether it meets the academic standards required. Should there be any question concerning the objectivity or quality of the review, the editor is required to seek the opinions of other reviewers.
This journal uses a double-blind review.

The average time from submission to publication is 14 weeks.

PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR

Any individual or institution may at any time inform the editor and/or editorial staff of any suspected unethical behaviour or any manuscript by providing the necessary evidence thereof.
In agreement with the editorial board, it shall be the decision of the editor-in-chief as to whether initiate an investigation procedure. Upon its undertaking, any evidence will be considered confidential and will only be presented to those persons directly involved in the procedure. The persons suspected of violating any ethical standards will be given the opportunity to respond to any charges made against them. If it is established that any misconduct has occurred, it will be assessed as either a minor or major ethical violation.

Minor violations
Situations characterised as a minor violation addressed directly with the individual(s) who committed the violation but shall exclude third parties. (For instance: by notifying the author/reviewer that a minor violation has occurred because of a misunderstanding or misapplication of academic standards, a letter of warning to the author /reviewer who has committed the minor violation).

Major violation of ethical standards

The editor-in-chief is to decide upon any major violations of ethical standards in concert with the editorial board. Should it prove necessary, an outside group of consultants may be included. The measures to be undertaken are the following, which may be implemented separately or jointly:

  • Published announcements or editorials describing the violation of ethical standards.
  • Retraction of the published article following the procedure described under the Retraction Policy.
  • Ban on submissions from the authors for a period to be defined.
    Referring the case to a professional organization or other authorities for further administrative or judicial action.

When dealing with unethical behaviour, the editorial board of the journal is to rely on the guidelines and recommendations provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics – COPE.

RETRACTION POLICY

Any violation of the rights of publishers, copyright holders, or authors, of professional ethical codes, fraudulent claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, as well as all other cases of significant violation of ethical standards, requires the retraction of the published article.
When withdrawal or retraction is carried out to correct mistakes in already published articles that have been detected, it is done so to preserve scientific integrity, not to punish the author.
Libraries and scientific bodies have developed standards to handle retractions, whose practices have also been adopted by The Journal of Entrepreneurship and Education. The retracted article is to be kept in its original form, with a watermark on the PDF indicating on each page that the article has been retracted (RETRACTED).

SELF-ARCHIVING

The journal allows authors to deposit the final paper in PDF format in an institutional repository and/or non-commercial subject-based repositories, or to publish it on their personal websites (including social networking sites, such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, etc.) and/or on the website of the institution in which they are employed. Thereby, they must state the primary bibliographic data on the article published in the journal (authors, article title, journal title, year, volume, pagination).

COPYRIGHT POLICY

Once the manuscript is accepted for publication, authors shall transfer copyright to the publisher. If the submitted manuscript is not accepted for printing by the journal, the authors shall retain all their rights. The following rights on the manuscript are transferred to the publisher, including any supplementary materials and any parts, extracts, or elements of the manuscript:

  • the right to reproduce and distribute the manuscript in printed form, including print-on-demand,
  • the right to print prepublications, reprints and special editions of the manuscript,
  • the right to translate the manuscript into other languages,
  • the right to reproduce the manuscript using photomechanical or similar means, including, but not limited to, photocopy, and the right to distribute these copies,
  • the right to reproduce and distribute the manuscript electronically or optically using and all data carriers or storage media, and especially in machine-readable/digitalized form on data carriers such as hard drives, CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs (BD), MiniDiscs, data tapes, and the right to reproduce and distribute the article via these data carriers,<
  • the right to store the manuscript in databases, including online databases, as well as the right to transmit the manuscript in all technical systems and modes
  • the right to make the manuscript available to the public or closed user groups on individual demand, for use on monitors or other readers (including e-books), and in printable form for the user, either via the Internet, online service, or via internal or external networks.

Articles are published under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND) license.

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the published works do not express the views of the editor and members of the editorial board. Authors assume their legal and moral responsibility for the ideas expressed in their articles. The publisher will not be held responsible should there be any claims for compensation.