Prosperitas observes the Committee on Publication Ethics’ (COPE) Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers concerning ethical publication behaviour. Authors, editors, guest editors, peer-reviewers as well as Budapest Business University’s – acting in its capacity as publisher – representatives and staff will adhere to principles established in accordance with international practice.
Further information concerning ethical publication behaviour and principles applicable to authors, editors, guest editors, peer reviewers and representatives of Publisher is available below.
Authors
Originality. Exclusively original research work will be submitted to the Journal. When using any work of any kind by other authors, appropriate references to these works will be given. All forms of plagiarism will be considered unethical publishing behaviour, and are thus deemed unacceptable and intolerable.
Multiple publication. Concurrent submission of any manuscript that fundamentally describes the same topic and the same subject matter to multiple journals is deemed unacceptable. Re-submission of any published work by the author(s) will be considered self-plagiarism, and is thus deemed unacceptable and intolerable.
Communication of support. All sources of either financial or material support of any kind will be explicitly indicated in the paper(s) concerned.
Sincerity about authorship. All persons designated as authors should qualify for their authorship by having participated extensively enough to assume public responsibility for the content of the work to be published. Those persons who have contributed significantly to the research in order to qualify as co-authors will be listed as such in the paper. Corresponding author shall ensure that all co-authors have affirmed the final version of the paper and have agreed on its final publication and shall declare this in an agreement.
Following the acceptance of a manuscript, changes in authorship are not possible.
Due acknowledgement. Due acknowledgement will be given to all those who have contributed to the paper or to the research described therein, but do not qualify for authorship.
Responsibility for corrections in published works. In case any mistake, inaccuracy, deficiency or research misconduct should be discovered after publication, the corresponding author shall immediately inform the Journal thereof. Any resulting change will be described in a correction note and/or in a retraction note, and such notes will clearly indicate the concerned part(s) of the work.
Editors
Editors shall follow the Committee on Publication Ethics’s (COPE) Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. In addition, Prosperitas requires its Associate Editors and the members of its Editorial Board to also observe the Committee on Publication Ethics’s (COPE) Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.
Responsibility for quality. Observing readers’ and authors’ needs and expectations, Editors have established and will continue to establish procedures that ensure the quality of all published materials. Editors will do their best to ensure to preclude business interests and needs from compromising intellectual or ethical standards.
Editors as authors. In the scope of their own publication activities, Editors will also observe all author-related ethical principles detailed above.
Research Ethics. All authors are expected to observe ethical rules and guidelines stipulated by the institution(s) they are affiliated with at the time of executing their research and producing the work. All authors are to obtain the approval of the Ethics Committees (or the like) of the said institution(s) and shall present proof of this. Editors will ensure that any research accepted for publication is carried out according to relevant internationally accepted guidelines.
Fair evaluation. Editors’ decisions to ultimately accept or reject a paper for publication will be based on the paper’s importance, originality and clarity, as well as on the paper’s relevance to the Journal. Editors will make all efforts to ensure that the peer review process follows the established scenario of this process, as well as is fair, unbiased and timely.
Handling corrections. Errors, inaccurate or misleading statements will be corrected promptly and with due prominence. Mistakes introduced by publisher are corrected in an Erratum in a subsequent issue (or, in the case of early access papers, in the issue publishing the article it corrects). For correction of work by authors, a Corrigendum should be submitted to Editors, which shall be handled as a separate submission.
Editorial independence. Editors are free to make autonomous decisions on a professional basis, and will not be affected by any consideration except for purely academic ones.
Confidentiality. All works submitted to the Journal shall remain confidential while under review. Likewise, the text of reviews and all related communication prior to the publication of the work concerned shall also remain confidential.
Conflicts of interest. Editors and Editorial Board members are welcome to submit their own papers to the Journal. These submissions, as well as any other submission with which they have any kind of conflict of interest (e.g. those written by their students), will be handled by other Editors. Such submissions will be peer reviewed and evaluated as any other paper submitted. Possible conflicts of interests (including previous co-authorship or membership of the same department, research unit, etc.) will be carefully considered when choosing peer reviewers. Editors and Editorial Board members will specify their relationship to the Journal in their respective conflicts of interest statements.
Editorial process of special issues. The review process employed in the case of special issues by guest editors also takes place in line with the generally applicable review standards used by the Journal.
Peer Reviewers
All reviewers are expected to follow the Committee on Publication Ethics’s (COPE) Code of Conduct and Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.
Review type. The Journal applies a single-blind review process. Editors mediate all interactions between reviewers and authors. Peer reviews are treated confidential.
Professional responsibility. The Journal’s invitation to review should only be accepted if the person approached with such request has the sufficient expertise to assess the manuscript in question and can be unbiased in their assessment. Reviews shall also be unbiased with respect to the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender or other characteristics of authors, origins of manuscripts, or any commercial and industrial considerations. The review must be objective and constructive and should provide feedback assisting the author(s) to improve their manuscript. In order to help Editors in their evaluation and decisions, reviewers should provide specific critique and should provide supporting evidence with appropriate references to substantiate general statements.
Appropriate feedback. The wording of reviews must be objective and professional and shall refrain from being hostile or defamatory and from making libellous or derogatory personal comments or unfounded accusations.
Competing interests. All possible competing or conflicting interests between authors and reviewers must be revealed to the Editors. Such competing or conflicting interests can be personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political or religious in nature. Fellow researchers currently employed at the same institution as (any of) the author(s) shall not be considered as reviewers.
Timeliness. Reviewer reports should be prepared within the proposed or mutually agreed timeframe.
Confidentiality. Reviewers must treat manuscripts under their review, the text of their review and all related communication confidentially prior to the publication of the work concerned.
Representatives of Budapest Business University
Editorial independence. Budapest Business University fully respects the autonomy of both the Editors and the Editorial Board, and will in no way exercise influence on professional decisions about the Journal’s content.
Research and Publication Ethics. Budapest Business University provides all possible support and assistance to the Editors to ensure the application of the highest ethical standards. Applied practices are regularly reviewed, and all research and publication ethics related questionable issues and cases will be carefully investigated.
Complaints, Appeals and Allegations of Misconduct. In any of these cases, a careful and unbiased investigation shall be performed. For this purpose, an ad hoc committee shall be established with the representation of both the Editorial Board and the Publisher. If necessary, external members with expertise in the area of investigation will also be invited to the ad hoc committee. In such a case, all parties concerned will be contacted at the initial stage of the investigation so that they can voice their views.
Cases can be reported directly to Budapest Business University or to the Journal’s Editorial Office.
Timely publication. In order to meet authors’ and readers’ expectations and demands, high priority is given to the timely publication of both journal issues and early access articles.