Ethics Policy

REGEPE Entrepreneurship and Small Business Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics and quality in publishing. We expect all parties involved in publishing in our journal—the author, the journal editor, the reviewer, and the publisher—to adhere to the same ethical principles. We do not accept plagiarism or other unethical behavior

REGEPE supports the development and practical application of consistent ethical standards throughout the academic publishing community. In the event of research or publication misconduct, REGEPE adheres to the Committee's flowcharts.

For the sake of clarity, we would like to highlight that our ethical practices in publishing are also guided by Elsevier's guidelines, which include: (i) editors' duties; (ii) reviewers' duties, and (iii) authors' duties.

Furthermore, signatories to the ethical practices in publishing reported here include high-impact and reference journals in fields of study similar to REGEPE, such as the Journal of Business Research and Technovation.

Below, we have listed and summarized the key points that REGEPE considers relevant for the entire academic community to observe.

- Publication Decision: The editor of the journal is responsible for determining which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor is guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and is constrained by such legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor may consult the editorial board or reviewers in making decisions.
- Peer review: The editor must ensure that the peer review process is fair, impartial, and carried out in a timely manner. Research articles should be reviewed by at least two external and independent reviewers, and the editor should seek additional opinions when necessary. The editor should select reviewers who have extensive experience in the field of research, taking into account the need for appropriate, inclusive, and diverse representation.
- Fair play: The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors. The journal's editorial policies should encourage transparency and full and honest reporting, and the editor should ensure that peer reviewers and authors have a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
- Journal metrics: The editor should not attempt to influence REGEPE's ranking by artificially increasing any of the journal's metrics.
- Confidentiality: The editor and any member of the editorial team must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors, and the publisher (maintainer), as appropriate. The editor is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of reviewers, unless they choose to fully disclose their personal information during the review of articles.
- Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Information and ideas obtained through the peer review process must be kept confidential and may not be used for personal advantage. The editor should refrain from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected with the work. All submissions must be subject to the usual journal procedures. These include independent peer review, carried out without influence from the author, editor, or their research groups. Any published article must include a clear statement to this effect.
- Vigilant oversight of published records: The editor is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of REGEPE's published record by analyzing and evaluating reported or suspected misconduct (research, publication, review, and editorial) in conjunction with the maintainer. Additionally, the editor must utilize the publisher's systems for detecting misconduct, such as plagiarism, in an appropriate manner.
- The use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the journal's editorial process: It is not permitted for the editor or any member of the editorial team to load a submitted manuscript or any part of it into a generative AI tool. Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies should not be used by the editor to assist in the evaluation or decision-making process of a manuscript. The editor is responsible for the editorial process, the final decision, and the communication of that decision to the authors.

- Professional responsibility: It is the responsibility of reviewers to only accept manuscripts for review if they possess the necessary knowledge to conduct an appropriate evaluation.
- Contribution to the editorial decision-making process: It is expected that reviewers will treat authors and their work with the same respect they would like to receive themselves and will maintain cordiality and good manners throughout the review process. Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or who knows that their immediate review will be impossible should notify the editor and decline to participate in the review process.
- Confidentiality: All manuscripts submitted for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with other individuals. Any privileged information or ideas obtained through the peer review process must be kept confidential and may not be used for personal advantage.
- Ethical considerations: It is the responsibility of the reviewer to be aware of any potential ethical issues in the article and to bring them to the attention of the editor. This includes any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published article of which the reviewer has personal knowledge.
- Standards of objectivity and conflicting interests: It is essential that reviews are conducted in an objective manner and that reviewers present their opinions in a clear and substantiated manner. It is inappropriate to engage in personal criticism of the author. If a reviewer suggests that an author include citations to the reviewer's work (or that of their collaborators), this should be done for genuine scientific reasons and not with the intention of increasing the number of citations to the reviewer or increasing the visibility of their work (or that of their collaborators).
The use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the peer review process: When a researcher is invited to review another researcher's article, it is imperative that the manuscript be treated as a confidential document. It is not permitted for reviewers to upload a submitted manuscript or any part of it into a generative AI tool. This confidentiality requirement extends to the peer review report, as it may contain confidential information about the manuscript and/or the authors. For this reason, reviewers should not upload their peer review report to an AI tool, even if it is only for the purpose of improving language and comprehension.

- Writing standards: Authors of original research reports are expected to provide an accurate account of the work done, as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The underlying data must be accurately represented in the article. It is essential that an article contains sufficient detail and references to allow others to replicate the work. Any fraudulent or intentionally inaccurate statements are unethical and unacceptable.
- Access to and retention of data: Authors may be required to provide the research data on which their article is based for editorial review and/or to comply with the journal's open data requirements. Authors should be prepared to provide public access to this data, if possible, and should be prepared to retain this data for a reasonable number of years after publication.
Originality and acknowledgment of sources: Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work is original and that any material they have used has been properly cited or referenced. All forms of plagiarism are considered unethical editorial behavior and are therefore unacceptable.
- Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication: It is generally not recommended that authors publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. It is unethical to submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously and/or to publish the same article in different journals.
- Confidentiality: Information obtained in the course of confidential activities, such as manuscript evaluation or funding applications, should not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these activities.
- Article Authorship: The authorship of a study should be limited to those who made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All individuals who have made a significant contribution to the project should be listed as co-authors. In the event that other individuals have contributed to the research project in a substantive manner, they should be duly acknowledged or listed as contributors. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included in the article and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the article and agreed to submit it for publication. The authors assume collective responsibility for the work.
- The use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in scientific writing: When authors employ generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, these technologies should be utilized solely to enhance the clarity and language of the work. The use of technology in this context should be overseen by a human supervisor and subject to rigorous review and editing by the author. Ultimately, authors are responsible for the content of their work. Authors are required to disclose the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in their manuscripts, and a statement will appear in the published paper. Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as authors or co-authors, nor cite AI as authors. The role of authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be assigned to and carried out by human beings.
- The use of generative AI and AI-assisted tools in figures, images, and artwork: Please be advised that the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in submitted manuscripts is not permitted. This may include enhancing, obscuring, moving, removing, or introducing a specific feature into an image or figure. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable, provided that they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original. The only exception to this policy is if the use of AI or AI-assisted tools is part of the research project or research methods. In such cases, the use of AI or AI-assisted tools must be described in a replicable way in the methods section. Please provide an explanation of how AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the process of creating or altering the image, including the name of the model or tool, the version and extension numbers, and the manufacturer. Authors are required to adhere to the specific usage policies of the AI software and ensure correct attribution of the content. The use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools in the production of artistic works is not permitted.

It is our policy to ensure that advertising, reprint, or other commercial revenues do not impact or influence editorial decisions.

REGEPE is aware that ethical standards govern the conduct of scientific researchers. It is therefore of the utmost importance to adhere to ethical principles in order to protect the dignity, rights and well-being of participants in any research.

It is therefore recommended that authors of any and all research carried out should be aware of the rules (laws and policies) of the respective national bodies as well as their institutions regarding the need or otherwise to comply with the guidelines when conducting research involving human beings.

For research conducted in Brazil, authors should adhere to the laws, rules, and procedures outlined on the Plataforma Brasil. For research conducted in other locations, authors are required to comply with the procedures of their respective countries and competent bodies.