Conflict of Interest Policy

The Journal of Social Commerce is committed to ensuring that all editorial and peer-review decisions are fair, transparent, and independent of competing interests. A conflict of interest may arise when financial, personal, professional, institutional, or other relationships could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the judgment of an author, reviewer, editor, or other person involved in the publication process.

Authors

All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could influence the research, its interpretation, or its publication. Relevant interests may include research funding, employment, consultancy, financial relationships, personal relationships, and institutional affiliations. Authors must also disclose the sources of funding and, where applicable, the role of the funder in the research.

A conflict-of-interest statement must be included in the manuscript. If no conflicts exist, authors should state: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment. Conflicts may include recent collaboration with an author, close personal or professional relationships, institutional affiliations that could compromise impartiality, financial interests, or direct competition involving the submitted work. Reviewers who cannot provide an impartial assessment must decline the assignment or inform the editor immediately if a conflict becomes apparent during the review process.

Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest related to a submitted manuscript and must not make editorial decisions on manuscripts where their impartiality may be compromised. Such manuscripts must be assigned to an independent editor who has no relevant conflict of interest. The conflicted editor must not participate in the review or decision-making process for that manuscript.

Handling Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

If a potential undisclosed conflict of interest is identified before or after publication, the journal will assess the matter fairly and confidentially, request relevant information from the individuals concerned, and determine appropriate action based on the available evidence and the journal’s publication ethics procedures. Depending on the circumstances, actions may include reassignment of a reviewer or editor, a request for disclosure or clarification, publication of a correction, or other editorial action consistent with publication ethics standards.

The Journal of Social Commerce expects all authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members to cooperate with reasonable requests for clarification and to disclose relevant competing interests promptly.