Scope

This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, guest editors, editorial board members, editorial office staff, production or administrative staff, publisher or owner representatives, and others involved in editorial or publication decisions.

What Counts as a Conflict or Competing Interest

A competing interest may be financial, professional, institutional, academic, personal, political, ideological, or relational. Direct and indirect interests may both be relevant. The question is whether a reasonable reader or participant might consider the interest capable of influencing judgment, independence, fairness, or credibility.

What Must Be Disclosed and When

All covered parties must disclose interests that are reasonably relevant to the manuscript, the review process, an editorial decision, a complaint, an appeal, or publication management. Disclosure should cover both current interests and recent past interests that remain reasonably relevant, normally including relationships or arrangements from the preceding 36 months, as well as older interests where their continuing significance could reasonably be questioned. Disclosures should identify the nature of the interest, the relevant entity or relationship, the time period, and the extent of the interest in sufficient detail for the journal to assess whether management is required.

Authors must disclose relevant interests at submission and must update those disclosures at revision, acceptance, or whenever circumstances materially change. Reviewers must disclose relevant interests when invited and again if circumstances change before or during review. Editors and guest editors must disclose relevant interests on assignment and recuse themselves where appropriate. Editorial board members, editorial office staff, production or administrative staff, and publisher or owner representatives must disclose relevant interests when they become involved in a manuscript, complaint, appeal, policy matter, or publication decision.

Author Disclosure

Authors must disclose any interests relevant to the submitted work, including where applicable:

• employment or consultancy relationships;
• grants, sponsorship, or financial support;
• board memberships or advisory roles;
• patents, products, or commercial interests;
• institutional or political interests that may reasonably be perceived as relevant; and
• any other relationship that could create a perception of bias.

Authors should also disclose the role of any funder or sponsor in the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of the work.

Reviewer Conflicts

Reviewers must decline review where they have a conflict or significant competing interest that could compromise impartiality. Where uncertainty exists, the reviewer should disclose the matter to the editor and seek guidance before proceeding.

Editorial Conflicts

Editors and guest editors must recuse themselves from any manuscript in which they have an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest. A conflicted editor must not influence reviewer selection, correspondence, or decision-making.

Board, Staff, and Publisher Interests

Editorial board members, editorial office staff, production or administrative staff, and publisher or owner representatives must protect editorial independence, confidentiality, and fairness. They must not use their position to obtain unfair advantage in submission handling, editorial decisions, or publication priority, and they must not direct or improperly influence the acceptance, rejection, review, revision, scheduling, or prioritisation of any manuscript.

Management of Conflicts

Where a conflict is disclosed or identified, the journal may:

• request additional disclosure;
• publish a disclosure statement;
• reassign a manuscript;
• exclude a reviewer or editor from involvement;
• request clarification from the authors; or
• take post-publication action where a significant undisclosed conflict affects the record.

Failure to Disclose

Failure to disclose a material conflict may result in rejection, editorial reassignment, correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other proportionate action.