Journal Integration of Management Studies (JIMS) is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, and integrity throughout the scholarly publication process. All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any interests or relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their professional judgment.

1. Types of Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may include:

• Financial interests: research funding, employment, consultancy, honoraria, investments, or other financial relationships.
• Personal relationships: family ties, close friendships, or personal disputes.
• Professional interests: institutional affiliations, collaborations, academic competition, or supervisory relationships.
• Other interests: commitments or relationships that may compromise, or appear to compromise, impartiality.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest when submitting their manuscripts. The disclosure must identify any relationships or interests that could affect the research, its interpretation, or its presentation.

Authors must also identify research funding and the role of funders, where applicable. The absence of conflicts must be explicitly declared.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must inform the editor of any potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review invitation.

Reviewers should decline or withdraw from reviewing manuscripts when their impartiality may be compromised by personal, financial, professional, or institutional relationships.

4. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must disclose potential conflicts involving manuscripts under their consideration. An editor with a relevant conflict must withdraw from handling the manuscript, and editorial responsibility should be assigned to another qualified editor.

Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit, research integrity, and appropriate peer-review evidence, not personal or institutional interests.

5. Disclosure and Editorial Management

JIMS may request additional information concerning declared or suspected conflicts of interest. The editorial team will assess disclosures and take proportionate measures to protect the integrity of the review and publication process.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from publication. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may result in editorial action under the journal's Publication Ethics Policy.

6. Conflict of Interest Declaration

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest Declaration in their manuscript.

When no conflict exists:

The authors declare that they have no competing interests that could have influenced the research reported in this article.

When a conflict exists:

The authors declare the following competing interests: [describe relevant financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships].

7. Ethical Guidance

This policy is informed by the publication ethics principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) .