Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

P-ISSN: 3051-2778 E-ISSN: 3051-2786
Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The GRWS International Journal of Applied Commerce and Strategic Management is committed to maintaining integrity, transparency, fairness, accountability, confidentiality, and academic independence throughout the publication process.

This statement applies to authors, editors, editorial-board members, reviewers, publishers, and institutional representatives. The journal's ethical framework aligns with recognised principles of responsible scholarly publishing, including guidance associated with COPE.

Ethical Framework & Core Principles

All parties involved in the publication process must act with honesty, accuracy, objectivity, confidentiality, fairness, accountability, professional respect, and academic independence.

Protect the reliability of the scholarly record and prevent misconduct.
Define clear responsibilities for authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers.
Establish robust procedures for investigating research integrity concerns.
Ensure transparent management of funding, conflicts of interest, and AI disclosure.
Editorial Independence & Governance
Editorial Independence

Decisions are completely free from commercial, financial, institutional, political, or personal pressure. Standard APC is ₹0.

Editor-in-Chief & Editors Duties

Ensures fair evaluations, recuses from conflicted papers, protects confidentiality, and manages peer-review integrity unbiasedly.

Editorial Submissions

Papers by editors or board members are handled by independent editors without the author participating in reviewer selection or decisions.

Author Standards & Publication Integrity
Originality & Plagiarism Policy

Zero tolerance for direct/mosaic plagiarism, text recycling, unacknowledged translation, or copying. Similarity tools screen all submissions.

Duplicate & Redundant Submissions

Simultaneous submissions, republishing identical data, or salami slicing are prohibited. Preprints and theses must be fully declared.

Data Integrity & Fabrication

Prohibits inventing or altering research data, selective statistical reporting, or image manipulation. Raw data files may be requested for audit.

Human Ethics & Informed Consent

Requires ethics committee approvals, reference numbers, participant consent, and data protection for studies involving human data or records.

Authorship Criteria & Practice

Limited to substantial intellectual contributors. Strictly bans guest, gift, ghost, coercive, or purchased authorship. Author order changes require full written consensus.

Funding & Citation Integrity

Requires complete funding and conflict declarations. Bans citation cartels, manipulative self-citations, fabricated references, or fake DOIs.

Generative AI Governance

AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Material AI usage in drafting, coding, or data analysis must be disclosed. AI generation of false data/references is banned.

Paper Mills & Commercial Misconduct Prohibitions

The journal strictly prohibits manuscripts obtained via commercial paper mills, purchased research/data, paid peer-review manipulation, or third-party submission agencies. Confirmed involvement results in immediate rejection/retraction, submission bans, and institutional notification.

Peer Review Governance & Confidentiality
Reviewer Confidentiality

Reviewers must keep manuscripts strictly confidential, decline conflicted invitations, and never upload files into public generative AI platforms.

Peer-Review Protection

Double-blind peer review protects against review rings, fake reviewer identities, coerced citations, or impersonation fraud.

Review Recommendations

Reviewers offer advisory recommendations (Accept, Revisions, Reject). Final authority rests with the Editor-in-Chief.

Misconduct Investigations & Whistleblowers

Credible reports trigger evidence-based assessments, author inquiries, and institutional/ethics board communication. Good-faith whistleblowers are protected confidentially.

Proportionate Sanctions

Sanctions range from formal warnings, desk rejections, expressions of concern, and article retractions to institutional alerts and future submission bans.

Post-Publication Corrections & Archiving
Corrections & Retractions

Errors affecting interpretation prompt linked Corrections. Proven misconduct or invalid data leads to permanent Retraction notices.

Open Access & Licensing

Published under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0. Authors retain copyright while granting non-exclusive publishing rights.

Archiving & Legal Compliance

Permanent preservation via publisher backups and digital preservation networks in accordance with copyright and privacy laws.

Final Ethical Commitment

The GRWS International Journal of Applied Commerce and Strategic Management is committed to publishing research that is original, reliable, ethically conducted, transparently reported, and responsibly reviewed. All participants in the publication process share responsibility for maintaining the integrity and credibility of scholarly communication.