Conflict of Interest

Informatics Management, Engineering and Information System Journal (IMEISJ) is committed to maintaining transparency, objectivity, independence, and integrity throughout the scholarly publication process. All authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties involved in the publication process are required to disclose any financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the preparation, evaluation, or publication of a manuscript.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily indicate misconduct. However, failure to disclose a relevant conflict may compromise the fairness, credibility, and integrity of the editorial process.

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest exists when an individual’s personal, financial, professional, academic, or institutional interests could improperly influence their judgment, decisions, or responsibilities in relation to a submitted manuscript or published article.

Conflicts of interest may be actual, potential, or perceived and may arise from relationships or circumstances involving the authors, editors, reviewers, institutions, funding organizations, or other relevant parties.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

Financial interests, including employment, consultancy, honoraria, research funding, grants, stock ownership, or other financial benefits.
Personal relationships, including family relationships, close friendships, or personal disputes.
Professional or academic relationships, including recent collaboration, joint publications, shared research projects, or supervisory relationships.
Institutional interests involving the author’s, editor’s, or reviewer’s affiliated organization.
Intellectual or competitive interests that could affect the impartial assessment of a manuscript.
Other circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing scholarly judgment or editorial independence.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors submitting manuscripts to IMEISJ must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest relevant to their research.

Authors are required to:

Declare relevant financial and non-financial interests that could influence the research or its interpretation.
Disclose funding sources and the role of sponsors or funding organizations in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and publication decision, where applicable.
Identify relevant institutional, professional, or personal relationships that may affect the interpretation of the findings.
Ensure that conflict-of-interest declarations are accurate, complete, and agreed upon by all co-authors.
Update their declarations if a relevant conflict becomes apparent during the editorial or publication process.

If no relevant conflict of interest exists, authors must include the following statement in their manuscript:

“The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.”

If a relevant conflict exists, authors must provide a clear and specific disclosure describing the nature of the conflict and its potential relevance to the submitted research.

The editorial team will assess the disclosure and determine whether additional information or clarification is necessary.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must maintain editorial independence and ensure that manuscripts are evaluated fairly, objectively, and according to the journal’s editorial policies.

Editors must disclose any conflict of interest that could affect their handling or evaluation of a manuscript.

Examples include:

Being an author or co-author of the submitted manuscript.
Having a close personal, professional, or financial relationship with one or more authors.
Having recently collaborated with an author in a manner that could compromise impartiality.
Having a direct financial or institutional interest in the research findings.
Having a personal or professional dispute that could influence editorial judgment.

When a conflict of interest exists, the editor must notify the Editor-in-Chief or another appropriate editorial authority and withdraw from handling the manuscript when necessary.

The manuscript must then be assigned to an independent editor who can manage the editorial process without inappropriate influence from the conflicted individual.

Editors must not use unpublished information obtained through manuscript handling for personal, professional, or financial advantage.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are required to assess manuscripts objectively, confidentially, and independently.

Before accepting a review assignment, reviewers must consider whether they have any relationship or interest that could compromise, or reasonably be perceived to compromise, their impartiality.

Reviewers must disclose relevant conflicts, including:

Recent or ongoing research collaboration with an author.
Close personal relationships or significant professional disputes.
Financial or commercial interests related to the manuscript.
Direct competition that could affect the impartiality of the review.
Institutional or supervisory relationships that could influence their assessment.

If a significant conflict exists, the reviewer must inform the editorial team and decline the assignment when appropriate.

Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information for personal benefit, disclose unpublished findings without authorization, or allow competing interests to influence their recommendations.

5. Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all funding sources that supported the research or preparation of the manuscript, where applicable.

The funding statement should identify the funding organization and, where relevant, the grant or award number.

Authors must also disclose the role of the funding organization in the research process, including whether the funder influenced the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or decision to submit the work for publication.

If the research received no specific external funding, authors may include the following statement:

“This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

This statement should be used only when it accurately reflects the funding circumstances of the research.

6. Disclosure and Editorial Assessment

Conflict-of-interest declarations must be provided during manuscript submission and included in the manuscript where required by the journal’s author guidelines.

The editorial team may request additional information or supporting documentation when a declaration is incomplete, unclear, or raises concerns about editorial independence or research integrity.

Disclosures will be assessed in context. The existence of a conflict does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from publication, provided that the conflict is appropriately managed and does not compromise the integrity of the research or editorial process.

IMEISJ reserves the right to take appropriate measures when an undisclosed or inadequately managed conflict is identified.

7. Failure to Disclose a Conflict of Interest

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict of interest may result in editorial action, depending on the circumstances and seriousness of the omission.

Possible actions include:

Requesting clarification or a corrected declaration.
Returning the manuscript for revision.
Suspending editorial processing while the matter is assessed.
Rejecting the manuscript if the conflict compromises the integrity of the research or editorial process.
Publishing a correction or other appropriate notice if the article has already been published.
Taking further action in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics policy when intentional concealment or related misconduct is established.

All cases will be evaluated fairly, with consideration given to the available evidence, the nature of the conflict, and the author’s opportunity to respond.

8. Transparency and Publication Integrity

IMEISJ is committed to ensuring that conflicts of interest are disclosed and managed transparently throughout the publication process.

The journal may publish relevant conflict-of-interest and funding declarations alongside the article to inform readers of circumstances that could be relevant to the interpretation of the research.

The editorial team is responsible for maintaining appropriate procedures to identify, disclose, and manage conflicts of interest in a manner consistent with the journal’s publication ethics policies.

By submitting a manuscript to IMEISJ, authors acknowledge their responsibility to provide accurate and complete conflict-of-interest declarations and to cooperate with reasonable editorial inquiries concerning potential conflicts.