1. What Constitutes a Conflict of Interest?

A conflict of interest arises when a secondary interest or relationship could compromise, or reasonably be perceived to compromise, independent scholarly judgment. Conflicts may be financial or non-financial, actual or potential.

• Financial interests: employment, consultancy, honoraria, paid testimony, ownership interests, royalties, or other financial benefits relevant to the subject of the manuscript.
• Personal relationships: close family or personal relationships, significant disputes, or personal antagonism involving individuals connected with the work.
• Professional and institutional relationships: recent or ongoing collaboration, co-authorship, supervisory relationships, shared projects, or organisational positions that could affect impartiality.
• Competitive interests: direct academic or professional competition that may interfere with fair evaluation or create an opportunity to benefit from confidential information.
• Organisational or advocacy interests: leadership, advisory, campaigning, or representative roles in organisations directly concerned with the research topic or its outcomes.

In OJES and cross-cultural research, relevant interests may include a leadership position in a community being studied or a formal role in an organisation whose activities are evaluated.

OJES identity, personal belief, nationality, or membership of a community does not by itself constitute a conflict of interest. Disclosure should concern relationships or roles materially relevant to the work, without requiring unnecessary disclosure of sensitive personal information.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Each author must disclose relevant competing interests at submission. The corresponding author coordinates the declaration and confirms that all co-authors have reviewed their own interests. This coordination does not remove each author’s individual responsibility.

Manuscripts must include a section entitled “Conflicts of Interest”. A declaration is required even when no competing interests exist.

When no conflicts exist

The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

When a relevant interest exists

[Author name] serves as [role] at [organisation], whose activities are examined in this article. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this work.

Authors must also disclose funding and material support, including the funder’s role, if any, in the research design, data collection, analysis, manuscript preparation, and decision to submit. Funding should be reported in a separate Funding statement and included in the conflict declaration where it creates a relevant competing interest.

For book review articles, authors must disclose relevant relationships with the book’s author, editor, or publisher, including receipt of a complimentary review copy. Authors must not review books they have authored, edited, or translated.

Authors must update their declarations if relevant circumstances change during review or production. Identifying details should be supplied separately from the anonymised review manuscript and incorporated into the final published declaration.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts before accepting an invitation. They must decline assignments when a relationship or interest prevents an independent and fair assessment.

Reviewers must not assess manuscripts involving:

• Authors from their own institution.
• Close personal or family relationships with the authors.
• Current supervisory relationships or close, recent research collaborations that compromise independence.
• A direct financial interest in the research or its outcomes.
• Significant personal disputes or other interests that prevent impartial evaluation.

Other potentially relevant relationships should be disclosed to the handling editor for assessment. When uncertain, reviewers should seek guidance before accepting or continuing the assignment.

If a conflict becomes apparent during double-blind review, including through recognition of an author’s identity, the reviewer must notify the editor promptly and pause the assessment pending instructions.

Reviewers must not use confidential information obtained through review for personal, professional, or financial gain.

4. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must disclose relevant interests and recuse themselves from handling or deciding on manuscripts when their independence could be compromised.

An independent editor must manage manuscripts authored by an editor or editorial board member, or involving close collaborators, family members, or other relationships that create a relevant conflict.

The conflicted editor must not select reviewers, access confidential reviewer identities or reports beyond what is provided in their capacity as an author, or participate in the editorial decision.

When the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict, an independent editor will be appointed. If no suitable independent editor is available within the journal, the publisher will arrange an appropriately qualified external editor.

Submissions from editors and editorial board members are subject to the same scholarly standards and applicable review procedures as other submissions. Relevant editorial roles and the independent handling arrangement should be disclosed in the published article.

Editorial decisions must remain independent of publication fees, funding relationships, sponsorship, and institutional or commercial pressure.

5. Assessment and Management

The journal assesses disclosed interests according to their relevance, nature, and potential effect on the research or editorial process.

Appropriate measures may include:

• Requesting clarification or a more specific declaration.
• Publishing a relevant disclosure alongside the article.
• Replacing a reviewer or reassigning the handling editor.
• Obtaining an additional independent assessment.
• Restricting a conflicted individual’s involvement in the editorial process.
• Pausing consideration while a significant concern is resolved.

Relevant disclosures, recusals, and management decisions will be recorded in the journal’s editorial records.

6. Undisclosed Interests and Reporting

Concerns about an undisclosed conflict may be reported through the journal’s Contact page. Reports should identify the manuscript or article, describe the relationship or interest, and provide relevant supporting information.

The journal will assess the evidence and normally invite the person concerned to explain the circumstances. An allegation alone does not establish a breach.

Before publication, the journal may require an updated declaration, arrange independent re-review, or reconsider a decision where the process was compromised. Serious unresolved concerns may result in rejection.

After publication, the journal may issue a correction to the disclosure statement. More serious concerns may require further investigation and action under the journal’s Allegations of Research Misconduct and Correction and Retraction policies. An omitted disclosure does not automatically warrant retraction.

Reports concerning an editor will be handled by an independent editor. Concerns involving the Editor-in-Chief will be referred to the publisher for independent handling. Information will be shared only as necessary to assess the concern and maintain an accurate scholarly record.