Policies & Ethics

Review Policy

All submissions excluding book reviews and perspective papers are submitted to a double-blind peer review process. Book reviews and perspective papers will be reviewed by the editorial board.

Note:  Book reviews published in the CBJ will be written mainly on invitation. However, any author interested in submitting a book review could contact the Editorial Board prior to writing the review with details of the book.

The submissions are first reviewed by the editor in chief with the help of an editorial member who has knowledge in the relevant management/business discipline. Then if it is not desk rejected, it is sent to two reviewers for double blind review. Depending on the recommendation of the reviewers (major/minor corrections or rejection) the authors are requested to submit a revision; reviewers’ comments are supplemented, if needed, by the editor in chief or an editor with knowledge in the area of the study. The revised submission is checked against the reviewer/editorial comments by an editor with knowledge in the area of study and if the revisions are acceptable, the paper is accepted for publication. If it is not revised up to the levels of expectation, authors are instructed to undertake further rounds of revision

Within one week of receiving the submission the author will be informed whether it has been desk-rejected or is considered for review. From the date of informing the authors that the paper is considered for review, the review process will take, on average, one and a half to two months. The CBJ expects the author to submit the revised paper within three months of informing review comments.

Copyright Policy

The copyright of all work published in the CBJ remains with the author(s).

Authors are required to grant a license to the publisher, the Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo to publish the work in the Colombo Business Journal in all forms of media, whether already known or hereafter modified.

As copyright owners, author(s) have the right to publish the work in all forms of media, whether already known or hereafter modified, with the acknowledgement that the work was first published in the Colombo Business Journal.

All work in the CBJ will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Corrections and retractions

If there is a suspicion of any major errors in the research procedures or fraudulent activity, the CBJ will conduct an investigation based on COPE guidelines. If this results in valid concerns, authors of the relevant submission will be contacted and given the opportunity to address the issue.

If the authors’ explanations are acceptable and the paper is still in the review/revision process, the authors will be requested to revise the paper as appropriate. If the paper has already been published, a correction notice will be linked to the article. 

If the authors’ explanations are not fully acceptable, that may result in the following measures:

If the submission is still within the review/revision process, it may be rejected and returned to the authors. 

If the submission has already been published, one of the following actions may be taken, depending on the severity of the misdemeanor:

• An editorial expression of concern may be linked to the article.
• In the most severe situations, the article may be retracted. The following or similar infractions will be considered as severe:
  • Data fabrication
  • Data recycling
  • Severe plagiarism
  • Double publication
  • Copyright infringement
  • Unethical research practices

All the above will be implemented for publications in all online platforms where the CBJ is made available. For the print version, a correction notice/ editorial expression of concern/ retraction will be included in the next available print issue.

Grievance Policy

Any author whose work is rejected could submit a grievance to the Managing Editor via email with an explanation of the basis of his/her grievance. The final decision regarding such grievances will be made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with an editor or editors with the relevant subject and methodological expertise.

Author Ethics

Ethical conduct of research

• Submissions should be based on original work conducted by the authors
• Research should be conducted according to the general standards of practice, which include obtaining consent from participants, providing proper protection for participants (especially vulnerable participants such as children), whether they are individuals or organizations. Anonymity of organizations and individuals should be preserved, unless proper consent has been gained prior to submission. Further, any work including defamatory or intentionally false information will be rejected.
• Authors should obtain the necessary permission from the copyright holder(s) to reproduce in the work, any materials including tables, any form of figures, etc. not owned by the authors.
• Submissions should not contain any ideas or material that promote social discrimination (e.g. gender, race, religion), disharmony and violence

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of another’s academic work without acknowledging appropriately. Whether one presents another’s academic work as one’s own intentionally or unintentionally, it is taken as academic misconduct. Not only direct quotation but also paraphrasing should be acknowledged appropriately i.e. in-text citation and reference list.

All submissions are screened for plagiarism using a formal plagiarism checking software. The authors are provided with a similarity report generated by this software. Any paper submitted to the CBJ with plagiarized material will be rejected.

Self-plagiarism (Concurrent publication)

Self-plagiarism refers to submitting a paper that has been submitted, accepted for publication, or previously published elsewhere. However, the presentation of a paper at an academic conference or professional meeting will not disqualify it from consideration.

Authorship

List of authors should include all and only those who have made a significant contribution to the work presented in the papers. The authors’ names should be listed in order of the contribution they have made.

Data access

Authors should be prepared to provide the relevant raw data on request if the need arises during the review process.

Conflict of interest

All submissions should include a statement declaring any personal relationships that could cause a potential conflict of interest.

• Any funding sources should be properly acknowledged, and should include a statement whether such funding could lead to potential conflict of interest

Disclosure of errors in published work

If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it should be promptly informed to the Managing Editor. A correction notice will then be linked to the article.

If any unethical conduct of an author is detected during the review and revision process or post-publication, the CBJ will act according to the procedures prescribed by COPE.

Reviewer Ethics

• Reviewers should check whether the work is original and unpublished
• Reviewers should not make any attempt at discovering the identities of the authors of the work being reviewed
• Reviewers should maintain confidentiality of information contained in the work.
• Reviewers must be transparent and fair
• Reviewers should not show any biasness irrespective of the subject matter of the work, research philosophy adopted or methodology followed, in the spirit of the multi-disciplinary nature of the CBJ.
• Reviewers should disclose any personal relationships that could lead to potential conflict of interest in the review process.

(These ethical guidelines are also available in the Review Form)

Editor Ethics

• Editors should check whether the work is original and unpublished
• Editors must be transparent and fair
• Editors should not show any biasness irrespective of the subject matter of the work, research philosophy adopted or methodology followed, in the spirit of the multi-disciplinary nature of the CBJ
• Editors should not divulge any information regarding authors to the reviewers or information regarding reviewers to authors
• Editors should disclose any personal relationships that could lead to potential conflict of interest in the review process and should refrain from being involved in the review process of any such work, including appointing and communicating with reviewers
• Editors should ensure that the ethics code of the CBJ is followed at all times

Submissions by Editors

• It an editorial board member submits a paper to the CBJ he/she will not be involved at any stage of the review process.
• The Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor will not submit any papers while in office.

Roles and Resposibilities of Editors

Editor in Chief

Overall oversight of the review and editorial processes, including making desk rejection decision with the consultation of an editor with subject expertise and making the final decision of accepting a paper for        publication based on the recommendations of reviewers and editors with subject expertise.

Managing Editors

Managing the operational procedures related to the review and revision of papers, and the publication of the journal.

Text Editors

Providing language and referencing editing services to ensure that the final published versions of the papers are in acceptable, standard English.

Editors

Providing editorial services as prescribed in the guidelines for Editors

International Editors

Providing editorial services as prescribed in the guidelines for International Editors

Editorial Advisors

Providing guidance and advice as prescribed in guidelines for Editorial Advisors