SAJGIBE establishes this policy with reference to the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on authorship and contributorship. The journal operates a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure objective and impartial evaluation. The provisions below seek to ensure transparent attribution, appropriate recognition of contributions, and accountability for published work, while accommodating research across diverse business, ethics, and management subdisciplines—including Corporate Governance, Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainable Management, International Business, Strategic Management, Organizational Behavior, Marketing Ethics, Financial Ethics, and Legal Aspects of Business—as well as interdisciplinary studies such as Business Sociology, Behavioral Economics, Environmental & Social Governance (ESG), and Business Anthropology.

1. Eligibility for Authorship

Authorship must reflect a substantial scholarly contribution to the work. Such contributions may involve developing the research concept or design, collecting and interpreting business datasets, survey responses, or empirical data, conducting qualitative or quantitative analyses, or formulating the article’s core theoretical/practical arguments.

The journal expects each author to participate meaningfully in drafting or critically revising the manuscript, approve the final version, and accept responsibility for their contribution. Authors must also cooperate in addressing questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of the work.

All individuals who qualify for authorship must be included, and no individual should be listed without their knowledge and consent. Institutional position, seniority, funding provision, general supervision, administrative assistance, or language editing alone does not justify authorship.

2. Disclosure of Author Contributions

Every manuscript must include an author contributions statement describing the actual contribution of each author. Relevant activities may include conceptualization, research design, collection of corporate or empirical data, analytical or interdisciplinary modeling, interpretation, drafting, critical revision, and supervision involving substantive intellectual input.

Contributors must be identified consistently by name or initials. The statement must be accurate and agreed upon by all authors. Multiple authors may share a role, and an individual author may undertake several roles. Single-author manuscripts must also include a statement describing the author’s contribution.

Double-Blind Review Requirement: To maintain the integrity of SAJGIBE's double-blind peer review process, author identity, affiliations, and contribution statements must be removed from the main manuscript file submitted for review and included only in a separate title page or submitted during the OJS submission metadata entry.

3. Author List and Order

Authors should discuss and agree upon authorship and author order early in the research process and confirm their agreement before submission. Decisions must reflect actual contributions and relevant disciplinary conventions in business, management, and ethics studies.

All authors must consent to submission to SAJGIBE. Names, affiliations, and contribution information must be accurate and consistent across the submission metadata. The journal does not assign or alter author order on behalf of the authors.

4. Corresponding Author

The corresponding author serves as the principal contact between the author team and SAJGIBE throughout submission, double-blind peer review, revision, publication, and post-publication communication.

The corresponding author must ensure that all authors receive relevant editorial communications, agree to the author list and contribution statement, and approve the final manuscript. They must also ensure that all identifying details are removed from the review version of the manuscript to uphold the double-blind review process. They coordinate responses to questions about the article and any requests for clarification or correction. This role does not replace the responsibilities of individual co-authors.

5. Acknowledgment of Other Contributions

Individuals or organizations whose contributions do not qualify them for authorship may be recognized in the acknowledgment section (which will be included in the final published version after the double-blind review process is completed). The nature of their assistance must be stated clearly, including technical support, administrative assistance, access to corporate research materials or facilities, funding, or language editing.

Permission must be obtained before naming individuals in this section. Acknowledgment must not be used as a substitute for authorship when a contributor qualifies to be listed as an author.

6. Unacceptable Authorship Practices

SAJGIBE strictly prohibits authorship practices that misrepresent contributions, including:

• Gift, honorary, or guest authorship: Listing an individual who does not qualify for authorship, including solely because of their status, reputation, personal relationship, or payment.

• Ghost authorship: Omitting an individual who qualifies for authorship or concealing substantive writing contributions that should be disclosed.

• Unauthorized authorship: Listing an individual without their knowledge or consent.

• False contribution statements: Describing roles or contributions inaccurately.

Suspected violations will be assessed in accordance with SAJGIBE’s publication ethics procedures, with reference to relevant COPE guidance. The parties concerned will be given an opportunity to respond.

7. Changes to Authorship

Requests to add or remove authors, change author order, or change the corresponding author after submission must be submitted to the editor with a clear explanation and written agreement from all affected authors. For additions or removals, this includes the individual being added or removed. An updated contribution statement must accompany the request where applicable.

The editor may suspend the editorial and review process while the request is examined. If agreement cannot be established, the matter may be referred to the relevant institution. Changes must not be made unilaterally.

Requests received after publication will be assessed on the basis of the explanation, supporting evidence, and agreement of the parties concerned. Approved changes will be documented through an appropriate correction and updates to the publication record.

8. Authorship Disputes

Concerns about authorship should be submitted through SAJGIBE’s official contact channels with a description of the issue and relevant supporting evidence. The journal will seek clarification from the parties concerned and may suspend manuscript processing while a dispute remains unresolved.

Editors are not responsible for independently investigating or adjudicating competing claims about contributions made within a research team. Where necessary, the journal will request investigation by the relevant institution or institutions, following applicable COPE guidance.

Editorial decisions will take account of the available evidence and institutional findings. Where an authorship problem affects a published article, the journal will take appropriate action to maintain an accurate publication record.

9. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

In accordance with COPE’s position on AI and authorship, artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume legal, moral, or academic responsibility for the work or fulfill the obligations associated with authorship.

Authors must disclose AI use in research or manuscript preparation in a dedicated declaration section, identifying the tool and explaining its purpose and scope. Relevant methodological details must also be reported when AI is used in data processing, statistical modeling, or analytical synthesis.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, attribution, and integrity of the manuscript, including any material produced with AI assistance.