AUTHORSHIP AND CONTRIBUTORSHIP

1) Appeals and Complaints

The author(s) should address any complaint in the first instance to the Editor-in-Chief.

In the case of a complaint about scientific content, such as  an appeal against rejection of a paper, the argument for appeal should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief will then consider the authors’ argument, review the article and the reviewer reports and decides one of the following: the appeal is rejected and the original decision stands; the appeal is accepted or an additional, independent, opinion is consulted before a decision is made regarding the appeal. The complainant will be informed of the decision regarding the appeal and an explanation provided. Once the decision has been made regarding an appeal, the decision is final.

In the case of processes in handling manuscripts, such as long delays in the review process, the complaint should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief, who will look into the matter and then inform the complainant of the outcome and findings. In such instances, the editorial team may be informed after the complainant has been informed of the outcome, as a means of improving processes. 

If a complaint arises concerning publication ethics, such as conduct by reviewers or the editorial team, the complaint should be addressed initially to the Editor-in-Chief. In the case of complex issues or those requiring an opinion independent of the editorial team and board, the Ethics Committee of Budapest Business University may be consulted. The Editor-in-Chief will provide feedback to the complainant, and the editorial team may be informed of required action to ensure improved processes and procedures.

2) Conflicts of interest (competing interests)

In line with the Committee on Publication Ethics’ (COPE) Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers, Prosperitas pays special attention to avoiding any cases of conflict of interest. This objective is facilitated and guaranteed by the use of the Clarivate® ScholarOne manuscript management software, which guarantees anonymity for both authors and reviewers. Regarding studies appearing in our special issues, which are published maximum once annually and are edited by acknowledged experts of the given fields, Prosperitas applies the same rigorous standard review process as in the case of its regular issues. The reviewers of such special issues are carefully selected from an international pool with a view to the affiliations of the authors of the studies to be published in the special issue concerned.

Competing interests can be financial, commercial, legal, familial, or professional. As detailed in the submission process and in the copyright letter sent to authors before publishing the papers, author(s) must declare any conflicts of or competing interests that are relevant to the published article, including those that may be perceived to be relevant by others.

To ensure transparency, no members of the editorial team or board are involved in editorial decisions about their own scholarly work. In cases where a member of the editorial board or editorial team publish an article with Prosperitas, the authors must include a ‘Competing Interests’ statement.