1. Initial Editorial Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial evaluation by the Editor-in-Chief or assigned editors. During this stage, manuscripts are assessed for:

• relevance to the journal’s aims and scope,
• originality and scholarly contribution,
• methodological rigor,
• academic writing quality,
• ethical compliance,
• and formatting requirements.

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s standards or fall outside the journal scope may be desk rejected without external peer review.

2. Double-Anonymized Peer Review

The journal operates a strict double-anonymized peer-review process in which:

• author identities are concealed from reviewers,
• reviewer identities are concealed from authors,
• and all review communications occur through the editorial system.

Authors must remove all identifying information from the manuscript before submission to maintain anonymity during evaluation.

3. Independent Expert Review

After passing editorial screening, manuscripts are assigned to independent expert reviewers with subject expertise relevant to the manuscript topic.

The journal requires:

• a minimum of two independent peer reviews before a manuscript can proceed toward revision or acceptance decisions.

Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on:

• theoretical contribution,
• methodological validity,
• originality,
• literature integration,
• analytical quality,
• practical implications,
• and contribution to entrepreneurship research.

4. Reviewer Independence and Integrity

To preserve review integrity:

• reviewer assignments are managed exclusively by editors,
• author-suggested reviewers are not automatically accepted,
• and reviewers must avoid conflicts of interest.

Reviewers are expected to maintain:

• confidentiality,
• objectivity,
• academic professionalism,
• and ethical conduct throughout the review process.

5. Editorial Decision Process

Based on reviewer reports, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final editorial decision. Possible decisions include:

• Accept,
• Minor Revision,
• Major Revision,
• Revise and Resubmit,
• or Reject.

Even for special issues, final publication authority remains under editorial control to maintain consistency and quality standards.

6. Ethical Publishing Standards

The journal adheres to international publication ethics standards and is a member of COPE. Authors are required to disclose:

• conflicts of interest,
• funding information,
• ethical approvals,
• informed consent statements,
• data availability statements,
• and AI-assisted writing disclosures where applicable.

The journal strictly prohibits:

• plagiarism,
• duplicate submission,
• data fabrication,
• citation manipulation,
• and unethical authorship practices.

7. Plagiarism and Research Integrity

All manuscripts are subject to plagiarism screening and research integrity checks before publication. Suspected ethical misconduct may result in:

• manuscript rejection,
• correction notices,
• retractions,
• or institutional notification.

8. Editorial Independence

If editors or editorial board members submit manuscripts to the journal, independent editors manage the review and decision-making process to avoid conflicts of interest. The submitting editor has no involvement in the editorial decision regarding their own manuscript.

9. Transparency and Review Tracking

Authors may monitor manuscript progress through the online submission system during the review process. The journal aims to maintain timely peer review while preserving academic rigor and review quality.

Fast-Track Review Option

The journal may provide a fast-track review and publication process for urgent scholarly submissions, conference-related manuscripts, or time-sensitive research. Fast-track submissions will still undergo plagiarism screening, editorial assessment, and peer review to maintain publication quality standards.