Is there a steam or high repute that individuals or Organisations gain when they behave ethically?

Accounting and Business Ethics

Steven Dellaportas

Charles H. Cho

Sheila Killian

This section seeks submissions that address ethical issues as they relate to accounting. It has a broad focus in terms of methodology and subject matter. Authors are encouraged to submit theoretical and/or empirical work. Recent topics have included issues of auditor independence, financial reporting fraud, ethical management and adjustments, state of accounting ethics research, accountability in the public sector, morality and the accounting profession, behavioural choices, and studies of ethics, social and environmental accounting disclosures. Submissions are welcome in new and emerging areas of accounting ethics research that challenge familiar boundaries of knowledge.

Arts, Humanities, and Business Ethics

Christopher Michaelson

This section of the journal seeks contributions that utilize objects and methods from the arts and humanities to yield creative, insightful, and high-quality business ethics research. The arts and humanities include anthropology, architecture, arts, classics, design, drama, film, history, language, literature, and music, among other disciplines that explore human values and culture. Business ethics, too, can be studied as a humanity, when it investigates, for example, how our economic lives are shaped by underlying cultural values – and how those values are influenced by our market systems. Authors are invited to submit contributions to the study of business ethics, including but not limited to those that do the following: Study (a) work(s) of the arts and humanities with relevance to business ethics; interpret the works of an artist, author, composer, genre, etc., that put that oeuvre into correspondence with conventional scholarship; examine an art form to yield findings about the ethical values of business; apply arts and humanities theories to generate insights about business ethics; explore how ethical characterizations of business have evolved in the arts and humanities across time and place; and, synthesize other research involving business ethics and the arts and humanities.

Behavioral Business Ethics

David M. Wasieleski

Katherina G Pattit

Rommel O. Salvador

Joel B. Carnevale

This section of the journal focuses on research in the business ethics subfield—behavioral business ethics. Rooted in social scientific as well as natural science research, behavioral business ethics utilizes insights from behavioral psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and cognition to examine the antecedents of human behavior in ethical situations, and the forces that influence organizational stakeholders’ decisions. Of interest to this section is scholarly work that provides insights into what affects the last stage of the ethical decision-making model, behavior. Institutional and organizational pressures, individual cognitive biases and naturally formed tendencies all play a role in determining both commission and omission decisions in business. Conceptual and empirical studies (including laboratory studies) submitted to this section should contribute to the field’s understanding of human behavior associated with business ethics issues.

Book (and More) Reviews

Christopher Michaelson

Nicole Zwieg Daly

The Journal of Business Ethics publishes reviews of scholarly books as well as relevant nonfiction, fiction, documentaries, films, plays, television shows, art exhibits, and so on that advance dialogue between scholars and the public about business ethics and society. In addition to answering the question, “Is this book/film, etc. worth reading/viewing?”, these reviews should answer the question, “What ideas or questions will this book/film, etc. illuminate for anyone with an interest in business ethics?”

The target length of reviews is between 1,000 words (about the length of a newspaper opinion piece) and 6,000 words (about the length of a short paper) and depends on multiple factors. These factors include the complexity of the topic and main point(s) of the review; whether the review is of one work or a comparative analysis of multiple works; how engaging the style of writing is for a broad audience, including scholars and non-experts; and so on. Reviews will be Free to Access for a period of 8 weeks so they can be shared in their entirety with the general public and on social media, etc.

Reviews may be invited, proposed by an author/publisher, or proposed by an interested reviewer. Proposals should be sent directly to the Book (and More) Review section editors (; ) and should indicate the title and author/creator of the work to be reviewed, a brief statement of why it matters to anyone with an interest in business ethics, and an estimate of and justification for the proposed length. An accepted proposal is not a guarantee that the final review will be published; however, if a proposal is accepted, the review author(s) will be invited to submit a manuscript in Editorial Manager, the journal’s editorial system.

Business Ethics Learning and Education

Andrew West

This section is dedicated to publishing conceptual, empirical research and practice oriented articles that propose new ideas and seek to expand our current level of knowledge in the field of business ethics education. Conceptual articles must offer revolutionary approaches to recognized problems in the field, while building on existing theories and concepts. Empirical research articles must utilize strong methodology, appropriate theoretical bases, and offer significantly more than a duplication of prior research findings. Practice articles must offer new and insightful approaches to formal, informal and non-formal education and training processes, in academic institutions, business or other organizational settings. Articles on the strategic development of business ethics education in academic institutions are also welcome.

Consumer Ethics

Deirdre Shaw

Michal Carrington

Louise M. Hassan

This section seeks submissions that focus on the scope and ethical nature of consumption. Articles are welcomed which explore consumer ethics from conceptual, positivist, interpretivist and cross-disciplinary perspectives, which may include, but are not restricted, to the psychological, cultural and/or socio-economic factors pertinent to advancing our understanding of consumer ethics and ethical theory. Consumer ethics may include consideration of (non)purchase, use and disposal of goods and services by consumers, ethical, green, political, activist and anti consumer identities, the nature and role of influencers, barriers and enablers in (non)ethical decisions by consumers and unethical consumer practices. Conceptual papers may be grounded in any ethical theory, whereas empirical manuscripts from a broad range of quantitative or qualitative methodologies are welcomed.

Corporate Governance and Business Ethics

Jeroen Veldman

Tanusree Jain

Christian Hauser

This section welcomes papers that address the relationship between corporate governance and business ethics.

In relation to corporate governance, the section adopts a broad theory of the firm perspective which encompasses the whole set of ethical, legal, cultural and institutional arrangements that determine what corporations can and should do, who controls them, how control is exercised or should be exercised, and how risks and returns are allocated. Accordingly, this section calls for manuscripts that enhance the study of corporate governance by employing interdisciplinary perspectives that include, but are not restricted to, stewardship, stakeholder, institutional, and resource dependence theories as well as political and cultural theories. We encourage the study of a wide array of firm level outcomes that include, but go beyond, traditional financial performance parameters to those that have underlying ethical considerations such as stakeholder performance, social and environmental performance. We invite corporate governance and ethical reflections from diverse geographical and cultural contexts, including manuscripts that adopt a comparative corporate governance perspective.

Submissions of conceptual papers grounded in established theories and empirical manuscripts dealing with quantitative or qualitative approaches are welcomed. Importantly, as the section seeks to progress established discussions in the field of corporate governance and business ethics, it is important that authors clearly demonstrate their contribution(s) both to corporate governance and to business ethics literatures. Furthermore, we would like to emphasize that studies that focus exclusively on single and/or traditional financial performance parameters are of limited interest to the section.

Corporate Responsibility: Theoretical/Qualitative Issues

Antonino Vaccaro

Elisabeth Garriga

Arno Kourula

This section seeks submissions that explore issues concerned with business ethics and corporate responsibility through the use of theoretical or qualitative methodological approaches. Authors are encouraged to submit theoretically informed qualitative research that examines the antecedents, processes, and impacts of corporate social responsibility and business ethics. Examples of relevant research include qualitative studies of ethical decision making, corporate social performance, corporate reputation, and philanthropic and community involvement programs.

Corporate Responsibility: Quantitative Issues

Shuili Du

Ming Jia

Assaad El Akremi

This section seeks submissions that explore issues concerned with ethical and socially responsible corporate behaviors through the use of quantitative methodological approaches. Authors are encouraged to submit theoretically informed empirical research that examines the antecedents, processes, and impacts of corporate social responsibility and ethical decision making. Corporate social responsibility is defined broadly and includes philanthropy, cause-related marketing, community involvement, responsible business practices, responsible innovation, and so on. Examples of relevant research include, but are not limited to, stakeholder influence on and reactions to CSR, linkages between cultural, institutional, and organizational characteristics and CSR, CSR communication, socially responsible and green innovation, characteristics of effective CSR strategy/program. Submissions that examine the relationships between CSR and financial/accounting outcomes should be directed to other relevant sections.

Corporate Sustainability and Business Ethics

Cory Searcy

Kai Hockerts

This section welcomes submissions that address the theoretical or applied aspects of corporate sustainability. Research on the challenges and opportunities of embedding a commitment to sustainability into corporate governance structures is particularly encouraged. Examples of relevant research include studies focused on sustainability reporting, sustainability performance, or supply chain management. Authors are encouraged to address the short- and long-term implications of corporate sustainability initiatives. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research approaches are welcomed.

Critical Studies and Business Ethics

Bernadette Loacker

A critical approach to ethics has the potential to re-orient the field from “business as usual” approaches. Critical approaches to organizational studies are ontologically reflexive, epistemologically dynamic and methodologically heterodox; to that end, critical researchers have advanced the idea that traditional research business ethics and corporate social responsibility can function to normalize questionable business practices, by bestowing upon them the imprimatur of reflective self-regulation. Such an approach deflects questions of organizational oversight by other institutional actors, and legitimizes existing business practices without adequate oversight.

A variety of broad research questions can be asked of business ethics from a critical perspective. For example, what are the historical conditions under which the existing regimes of business ethics and corporate social responsibility emerged? What purposes do such approaches serve, and what purposes do they subvert? What are the different ways in which they can be contested and transformed? What regions of the world lie within the shadows of current ethics literature? How can ethics research become more sensitive to the aspirations of marginalized organizational subjectivities? What are the philosophical concerns about ethics that have been under-represented in our discussion of business ethics? In this section, we invite papers that explore these (and related) issues empirically as well as conceptually.

Cross-cultural Management and Business Ethics

Laurence Romani

This section focuses on the ethical dimension of cross-cultural management, broadly understood as managing across differences based on the intersection of values, cultures, but also ethnicity or religion. It encourages theoretical and empirical research addressing how, but especially why, ethicality may differ across contexts. A variety of research questions can be asked touching on (but not limited to) issues such as management of multicultural teams, expatriation and mobile professionals, international clients, communication, decision making and leadership, when tensions arise between different norms, institutions and stakeholders. In addition to works addressing interpersonal interactions, this section also encourages analyses taking historical and geopolitical contexts into consideration of the power dimensions at play in ethicality. Studies of ethical issues in the discipline of cross-cultural management are also welcome. These works can focus on the ethical concerns that have been under-represented in our theorizing, teaching, and research methods.

Economics and Business Ethics

Julie Nelson

This section invites discussions of the relationship between economics and business ethics. Conventional economic theories about firms and the people involved in them encourage a very narrow focus on profit and monetary incentives. Yet the reality of business is far more complex, and the consequences of ethical or unethical economic behaviour are far-reaching. How can the discipline of economics—and the teaching of economics within business schools--more adequately address issues of business ethics? Are there concerns of economists, either conventional or critical, that business ethicists should take more seriously? Authors submitting to this section are welcome to explore these questions from philosophical or historical perspectives, offer conceptual insights, and/or use quantitative or qualitative methods of empirical analysis.

Environment and Business Ethics

Steffen Böhm

All human activity on this planet is influenced by and dependent on the natural environment and sustainable, healthy and resilient ecosystems. Yet, the rise of capitalism and industrialised economies have led to profound and large-scale alterations to the earth system. Climate change, ocean acidification, deforestation, water pollution, species extinction, soil erosion and degradation are all examples of how the way businesses and economies are run negatively impacts Earth. This section welcomes papers that explore the complex and multiple relationships between nature and society, focusing particularly on the environmental ethics of business and economic activities.

We welcome ethical reflections from diverse geographical, historical and cultural sources, as well as marginalized voices and perspectives. Particular emphasis will be put on challenging anthropocentrism, as there is a pressing need to think about non-human ethics, for example, animal and plant ethics. This involves acknowledging different ontologies and cosmologies that approach nature-human interactions in a variety of different ways.

As humanity strives to find answers to the multiple environmental crises we face, nature-based solutions (including reforestation, carbon sequestration, rewilding, marine conservation, restoring wetlands, biofuel production) are implemented – often by businesses – at an ever-increasing scale. There is an urgent need to evaluate the ethical and governance implications of such approaches to increasing our ‘natural capital’. Are such solutions always just and inclusive? What tensions are there between people and their livelihoods and the need to conserve nature and re-grow the environment? Such questions call for renewed scholarly interest in the land, air, sea, and their inhabitants, evaluating the competing demands and interests articulated by business, state and civil society actors. This section provides space for critical, theoretically astute and empirically rigorous explorations of the emerging ethical and governance dynamics of these developments.

Feminisms and Business Ethics

Charlotte Karam

This section welcomes submissions that address the complexities of the relationship between business ethics and feminisms. We are interested in receiving a wide range of research that examines feminist approaches to an ethical analysis of, or an ethical analysis of feminist approaches to, business and business-related phenomena. Gender remains a central organizing principle of societal structures; women are (and have historically been) disadvantaged by these structures. Feminisms are concerned with unpacking the embedded power relations and the ways in which they perpetuate ongoing inequalities and hierarchies faced by women and other marginalized groups in the context of business, management or organizing for daily life.

Papers that include women as a demographic category only (e.g., women on boards, women CEOs, etc.) without a clear feminist analysis are not appropriate for this new section. Instead, we encourage analyses of the forces and dynamics perpetuating material examples and symbolic accounts of gendered organization within the realm of business from anywhere in the world. This work might analyze, for example, the ways that different forms of business-related knowledge and practices work to privilege some groups over others. Alternatively, it may explore feminist mobilizing, infrapolitics and solidarity movements, or transform dominant business ethics conceptions and practices of knowledge attribution, acquisition, and justification to challenge traditional gender and other social hierarchies such as race and class. Topics may include exploration of hegemonic masculinities, patriarchal societal and organizational structures, materialities of local gendered contexts, sexism and misogyny, or invisible ramifications of normalized patterns of care-work and the ideologies of everyday life. Larger, nationalist or transnational politico-economic structures and dynamics of globalizing capitalism, entanglement of gendered social relations with technology, and the manifestations of gendered geographies of power are some other possible topics of inquiry.

This section also illuminates the potential of feminist foundations for business ethics, thereby facilitating both the building of feminist frameworks of business ethics and, as importantly, challenging the very assumptions upon which feminist business ethics are made possible. To this end, we encourage research drawing from different paradigms, such as those grounded in realist ontologies and empiricism or those in social constructionist ontology and postmodern epistemologies. We welcome consideration of a wide spectrum of feminisms including, but not limited to, liberal, psychoanalytic, radical, socialist, womanist, poststructuralist, postmodern, theology, spiritual, Islamic, transnational, postcolonial, techno/cyber, eco and other feminist approaches. We hope that submissions to the section will generate new questions, employ innovative methodologies, and articulate novel theoretical insights, thereby contributing to different research agendas and different kinds of knowledge about what is being done, for whom, and to what end in business ethics theory and practice.

Finance and Business Ethics

Greg Shailer

Omrane Guedhami

Hao Liang

This section seeks submissions that address ethical issues as they relate to finance. It has a broad focus in terms of methodology and subject matter. Authors are encouraged to submit theoretical and/or empirical work. Recent topics have included issues of moral investment decisions, socially responsible investing, capital structure, and case studies of corporate failure and ethical decision making.

Global Issues and Business Ethics

Suhaib Riaz

Judy Muthuri

Contemporary economic, social and political developments often have important global dimensions. This should come as no surprise since we inhabit the same planet and our lives across the globe are increasingly intertwined. Current issues suggest this trend, such as those related to the global financial crisis, inequality, global value chains, global movement of humans including refugees, war and violence, political extremism, natural resources and natural environment, and sustainability.

In this section, we welcome articles on ethical aspects of global issues, particularly as related to business, management or organizing. The issues listed above are simply illustrative examples and submissions are welcome on any issues whose global dimensions need attention.

As befits a global issues space, submissions may engage with global issues drawing on a wide variety of ethical theories and analyses from anywhere in the world. We specially encourage studies highlighting non-elite perspectives that often do not find equal opportunities to have a voice on global issues.

Human Resource Management and Development and Business Ethics

Sára Csillag

Nelarine Cornelius

Fida Afiouni

We encourage the submission of papers to this section that explore the ethics of managing and developing people within and across business entities, networks, and systems as they exist and function anywhere in the world. Although the papers we seek must clearly ground their work in an ethical analysis of business-related phenomena, these phenomena may be broad ranging. Relevant HR topics are likely to include an ethical analysis of three areas. The first relates to traditional HRM functions (e.g., performance appraisal, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, labor relations, health and safety) and HRD activities (e.g. learning and development, career development, talent management, coaching and mentoring, performance management systems, etc.). The second relates to within-organizational HRM/D issues (e.g., fairness and equity, motivation and empowerment, diversity and inclusion, compliance and risk management, retention and attrition, workplace flexibility, data security and data-driven HR practices, etc.). The third relates to national or supranational HRM/D concerns (e.g., socio-political unrest, limited statehood, economic and institutional uncertainties, complex business-society interactions, global climate change, growing North-South or developed-developing inequalities, national and regional human resource development strategies, gendered structures, demographic shifts and migration patterns, competition for talent, HRD standards and standardization, MNC dominance and its externalities, etc.). We invite manuscripts that bring strong empirical contributions, that extend theory, and/or that adopt a disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective. Especially desired are papers that critique and reimagine HRM/D to broaden our understanding of the ethical dynamics and to bring to light different insights upon which we can build new HR perspectives and narratives that make “the institution of business a greater servant of humanity” (Greenwood & Freeman, 2017: 1).

Labor Relations and Business Ethics

Ernesto Noronha

Premilla D'Cruz

Globalization, intensive competition and technological advancement are redefining the world of work, raising new economic, social, legal and ethical considerations. In this context, papers in this section should focus issues on ethical aspects in labor relations and workers’ rights such as the consequences of outsourcing, flexibility, deregulation, migration, digitization and artificial intelligence for labor relations and workers’ rights. Of particular interest will be ethical issues that deal with workers in relation to precariousness, the gig economy, public and private regulation, workers’ sense of agency, surveillance, privacy, collective and individual resistance and alternative forms of organizing.

Law, Public Policy, and Business Ethics

David Hess

The purpose of this section is to encourage scholarly research and analysis that charges full steam into the intersection of complex (often interdisciplinary) topics and issues involving civil, constitutional, or judicial law and/or matters of public policy, legislative action, public choice theory, or regulatory concern as they collide with and contribute to ethical issues facing businesses and industries around the world. Authors focusing on country-specific trends and developments are encouraged to extrapolate application and analysis of their examples and case studies as broadly as possible, so as to be helpful to as wide a spectrum of global readers as possible - keeping in mind the dramatic differences in legal, regulatory, and governing regimes around the world. Both theoretical and empirical work is encouraged and will be given full consideration, as well as business ethics-infused scholarship that might traditionally appear in the legal literature.

Leadership and Ethics: Philosophical Perspectives and Qualitative Analysis

Donna Ladkin

This section seeks submissions that explore the intersection of ethics with leadership, leading, and leaders, from any theoretical perspective, through any qualitative methodology. An eclectic understanding of philosophical perspective and qualitative analysis is taken, including for example both secular and sacred metaphysics and innovative research approaches such as visual or performative methodologies. Articles may relate to any aspect of ethics and leadership, including education, from individual, group, organizational, cultural, social or political perspectives. All theoretical perspectives are welcome. Finally, as in other sections of the journal, authors should seek clarity of writing to enable communication across the range of intellectual communities to which the journal speaks.

Leadership and Ethics: Quantitative Analysis

Suzanne van Gils

Mayowa Babalola

This section seeks manuscripts that explore issues concerned with leadership and ethics through the use of quantitative methodological approaches. Articles examining the impact of leadership on follower behaviour and attitudes, the role played by leaders in incorporating ethics into organizational culture, and the factors which drive leaders to adopt ethical values are especially welcome. Studies on leadership theories other than ethical leadership, such as servant leadership, authentic leadership and paternalistic leadership are encouraged, on the proviso they deal with ethical issues within the organization.

Marketing Ethics

Michael Hyman

This section welcomes conceptual and empirical manuscripts on the ethics of marketing practitioners (e.g., salespeople, product managers) and non-consumer stakeholders’ marketing-related attitudes, actions, plans, decision models, and codes of conduct. Especially encouraged are descriptive and/or prescriptive manuscripts on ethics and profitability, marketing research, social marketing, political marketing, direct marketing, marketing segmentation, non-profit entities, and the endogenous and exogenous causes of problematic behavior. Scholarship may be grounded in any normative ethical theory (e.g., utilitarianism, justice, virtue), marketing theory (e.g., relationship marketing, social marketing), or economic theory (e.g., neo-classical, Keynesian). Empirical manuscripts in any quantitative or qualitative methodological tradition may summarize studies that are cross-sectional or longitudinal, single- or multi-cultural, single- or multi-industry, and societal- or industry/firm level.

Organizational Behavior and Business Ethics

Joan Finegan

Anke Arnaud

The purpose of this section is to establish a forum for the discussion and analysis of complex managerial challenges and problems related to business ethics in both systematic and creative ways, applying various tools and techniques. Particularly important is that submitted manuscripts explore the connection between organizational behavior and ethics. Thus, scholarship is sought that engages holistic and inclusive thinking on such issues as cultural differences in the workplace and CSR, regional gender role challenges and decision-making, race relations in the workplace as related to ethics, population migration issues and their effects in the workplace, as well as addressing diversity and differences in expectations towards local and global organizations and their leaders. The section editor encourages articles that represent a wide-range of perspectives on behavior in organizations, especially stimulating critical reflection and questions relating to ethics, stakeholder decision-making and CSR.

Philosophy and Business Ethics

Alejo Jose G. Sison

Boudewijn de Bruin

This section is concerned with the ontological, epistemological and ethical foundations of business ethics (utilitarianism, deontology, social contract theory, virtue ethics, and so forth) and the methods that reflect on these foundations (hermeneutics, structuralism and phenomenology, among others). Papers may be concerned with the application of ethical theory and principles to the framing and analysis of problems arising in business practices and their possible solutions. Contributions may explore the concepts, structures, processes and routines through which business actors relate to each other, and the entrepreneurial or managerial ethos they constitute. Submissions may deal with these topics both historically and systematically, from the perspective of analytical and continental philosophies as well as other wisdom traditions. The emphasis of this section will be on conceptual papers and theoretical discussions rather than on empirical studies. Thus it hopes to contribute to the knowledge, development and renewal of the foundations of business ethics.

Practice in Business Ethics

Adrian Keevil

Dorothee Baumann-Pauly

This section seeks submissions that focus on ethics in practice and encourages academic authors to work with organisations and practitioners in the development and writing of articles. The section aims to advance the interaction of research and practice and in doing so improve ethics at work and working lives. While case based analyses are encouraged, articles may relate to any aspect of organisational ethics and adopt any suitable theoretical perspective and methodology, as long as a practical ethical issue is central to the theoretical development, empirical research, discussion or practical implications of the article. Importantly, articles are also expected to focus on the development of implications for policy and practice and their effective assessment and evaluation.

Psychology and Business Ethics

P. Matthijs Bal

Lucia Garcia-Lorenzo

Edina Doci

This section highlights the relation of psychology to business in terms of individual, interpersonal and social psychological processes. Papers are encouraged from a wide array of conceptual paradigms and methodological positions, and are assessed by the extent to which they formulate novel psychological insights on ethical and moral processes related to business contexts. Papers may be conceptual or empirical; empirical papers may be qualitative or quantitative.

While some relation to other psychologically-oriented sections (for example, Organizational Behavior, Behavioral Ethics) exists, the Business Ethics and Psychology section encourages broad questions about how business operates as a factor within moral psychology and vice versa. Thus, the section is not limited to ethical processes of managing people within organizational contexts, but may include such topics as how business practices ethically shape and are shaped by personal and interpersonal dynamics, how notions of moral selfhood and ethical subjectivity emerge from and relate to business practice, and how business contexts form backgrounds for moral development and reflection at individual or interpersonal levels. Also encouraged are studies of the shifting roles, boundaries, and practices of business in their implications for the ethical lives of those in and around organizations.

Religion, Spirituality and Business Ethics

Harry Van Buren

K. Praveen Parboteeah

This section focuses on how religion and spirituality are and can be related with business practice and management. We encourage articles regarding how religion and theology focus on moral aspects of business, including specific issues and dilemmas, religion and spirituality as inspirational source for management, leadership and organizational life. Similarly, we welcome research related to the integration of religion and spirituality into management; religious virtues and spirituality in organizational life, the influence of religion and spirituality in managing people within organizations, the relationship between spiritual or religious growth and performance, convergence and divergence between different religions on business ethics, religious and spiritual motivations in organizations, evaluation of business practices from religious, theological or spiritual perspectives, workplace spirituality, spiritual and religious capital, the relationship between religious and spiritual bonds and social capital in the business context, and religious freedom in business.

Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics

Julia Roloff

Articles submitted to this section should focus on expanding our understanding of business ethics beyond the multinational enterprise to include micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, family businesses and emerging business ventures. Research articles that focus on ethical aspects of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial process are also invited as are articles addressing small businesses within supply chains. All submissions are expected to draw from and build on relevant literatures from across disciplinary divides, for example small business, entrepreneurship, business ethics and social responsibility literature. High quality empirical papers (both quantitative and qualitative) and theoretical pieces are all welcome.

Social Entrepreneurship and Ethics

Tina Dacin

This section seeks submissions that address ethical issues as they relate to social entrepreneurship. The domain of social entrepreneurship is interdisciplinary and draws upon perspectives and theories from business and management, geography, political science, psychology and sociology. Authors are encouraged to submit theoretical or empirical manuscripts that consider ethics in the context of the emergence, efficacy and diffusion of organizational forms that combine both social purpose and commercial goals to achieve social impact and innovation.

Special Issues

Mary F. Sully de Luque

Glen Whelan

It is a hallmark of the Journal of Business Ethics (JBE) to publish high-quality, thematically focused Special Issues. Special Issues are subject to the same criteria of scholarly excellence as regular issues. Proposals concerning any topic in the field of business ethics and/or corporate responsibility, broadly defined, will be welcome for consideration. In line with the Journal’s aim they may reflect a wide variety of methodological and disciplinary perspectives. Special Issues provide the platform for scholars to focus on novel and important areas of concern and unique and specific sub-themes to advance the discourse in the field. The core criteria for consideration are originality and relevance. Specifically, we seek proposals that may lead to a better understanding of current problems, new vistas on specific topics, and to agenda setting for emerging streams of research.

Instructions on how to submit a proposal can be found in the Special Issue Guidelines on the journal’s homepage.

https://www.springer.com/journal/10551/updates/17205344

Sociology and Business Ethics

Gibson Burrell

This section encourages and provides space for boundary spanning, interdisciplinary work that transends the specialization and boundaries common to schools of management and departments of sociology in order to consider issues of common interest to the discipline of sociology and business ethics. Are there sociological concerns, of either a conventional or a more critical bent, which business ethicists should take more seriously? Can business ethics illuminate the interconnected worlds of consumption, production and reproduction where these meet in individual behaviors, group dynamics, organizational life and state practices? Do the sociological classics and subsequent social science writers of the 20th and 21st centuries illuminate ethical issues in ways which other disciplines do not? Theoretical and empirically driven pieces are of equal interest as are those drawing upon the widest variety of philosophical, meta-theoretical, methodological and political positions.

Strategy and Business Ethics

Jeffrey S. Harrison

All business strategies have ethical implications because they influence the well being of stakeholders and society. This section welcomes papers that explore these implications from the perspective of the firm, its purpose and strategy, or the perspective of the firm’s stakeholders. Of particular interest is research that explains how firm characteristics, processes, norms, values, history, or the institutions or industries to which a firm belongs, influence the manner in which strategies are formulated and implemented, and the ethical implications. In addition, this section invites research regarding the impact of particular strategies on a firm’s ethical reputation, on the way stakeholders respond to those strategies, or on the value that is created or destroyed for stakeholders as strategies are implemented. In this regard, research that measures stakeholder outcomes in non-financial terms is most welcome. Also of interest is research on the way corruption, greed, deceit, coercion, and the desire for power influence firm strategies, outcomes, and stakeholder responses. In addition, we encourage papers that look at how a sense of purpose, respect and responsibility also influences a firm's strategy. Theory papers are welcome, as are rigorous case studies, field studies, simulations, and empirical studies based on archival data or content analyses. Experiments are also welcome, but because of the topic area the use of test subjects with no business experience is probably not appropriate. All papers should be based on ethical analyses; however, any particular point of view in ethics may be invoked.

Technology and Business Ethics

Kirsten Martin

This section seeks submissions that focus on the ethical dimensions of technology and the associated corporate responsibilities of firms as either producers and designers of technology for societal use or implementers of technology within the firm. Technology is defined broadly to include all material actors from more recent advances, such as machine learning and information and communications technology (ICT), as well as drones, phones, and bicycles. The ethical implications are broadly considered to include autonomy, privacy, responsibility, harms, fairness, targeting of vulnerable populations, surveillance, cyber security, etc. This section focuses on how firms should engage in the ethical choices in deploying technologies, should recognize, negotiate, and govern the values, biases, and power of technology, should be held responsible for developing and implementing technology. Theory papers are welcome as are rigorous case studies, simulations, and empirical studies. All papers must be grounded in ethical theory and make a contribution to business ethics.

The Journal of Business Ethics follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. Authors are therefore requested not to put their name(s) in the manuscript. Self-identifying citations and references in the article text should either be avoided or left blank when manuscripts are first submitted. Authors are responsible for reinserting self-identifying citations and references when manuscripts are prepared for final submission.

Online submission

Authors must submit their manuscripts online via the Journal of Business Ethics Editorial Manager

website at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/busi/

Authors are required to identify the article type of their manuscript from one of the following options:

Original paper

A conceptual paper, literature review or empirical paper which makes an original contribution

Review essay

A review of scholarly books and other media that advances dialogue between scholars and the public about business, ethics and society.

Commentary

A shorter opinion piece which makes an original contribution (e.g., a rejoinder to a published paper, examination of an urgent current issue).

Authors must upload a title page with the author identifying information and a blinded manuscript with no author details.

• A concise and informative title

• Running head (short title)

• The name(s) of the author(s)

• The affiliation(s), address(es) and e-mail address (es) of all the author(s)

• The institutional e-mail address, and telephone number(s) of the corresponding author

Acknowledgements

Please include the acknowledgements and any other author identifying information in the title page.

Blinded Manuscript:

Abstract

Please provide a short abstract of 100 to 250 words. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.

Manuscript

The average length of an article for all sections other than the book review section (see below) is approximately 8,000 - 10,000 words (including references). Articles should be no longer than 12,000 words. Exemption may be made for studies based on qualitative data.

The target length of Book (and More) Review articles is between 1,000 words words (about the length of a newspaper opinion piece) and 6,000 words (about the length of a short paper) and depends on multiple factors (please refer to the Book (and More) Review section for further details).

Please double-space all material, including notes and references. Quotations of more than 40 words should be set off clearly, either by indenting the left-hand margin or by using a smaller typeface. Use double quotation marks for direct quotations and single quotation marks for quotations within quotations and for words or phrases used in a special sense. Number the pages consecutively.

Figures and Tables

Lines should not be thinner than 0.25pts and in-fill patterns and screens should have a density of at least 10 percent. For bitmap graphics, TIFF is the preferred format.

The following resolutions are optimal:

Black-and-white line figures – 1200 dpi; line figures with some gray or colored lines – 600 dpi; photographs – 300 dpi; screen dumps – leave as is. The letter size of any text in the figures must be large enough to allow for reduction. If a figure contains color, make absolutely clear whether it should be printed in black-and-white or in color.

Each figure and table should be numbered and mentioned in the text.

The approximate position of figures and tables should be indicated in the margin of the manuscript. Figures and tables should be accompanied by an explanatory legend. The figures legends should be grouped and placed on a separate page. In tables, footnotes are preferable to long explanatory material in either the heading or body of the table. Such explanatory footnotes, identified by superscript letters, should be placed immediately below the table.

Section Headings:

First-, second-, third-, and fourth-order headings should be clearly distinguishable.

Appendices:

Supplementary material should be collected in an Appendix and placed before the Notes and Reference sections.

Notes:

Please use endnotes only. Notes should be indicated by consecutive superscript numbers in the text and listed at the end of the article before the References. A source reference note should be indicated by an asterisk after the title. This note should be placed at the bottom of the first page.

Cross-Referencing:

In the text, a reference identified by means of an author’s name should be followed by the date of the reference in parentheses and page number(s) where appropriate. When there are more than two authors, only the first author’s name should be mentioned, followed by “et al”. In the event that an author cited has had two or more works published during the same year, the reference, both in the text and in the reference list, should be identified by a lower case letter like “a” and “b” after the date to distinguish the works.

Examples:

Winograd (1986, p. 204)

(Winograd, 1986a, 1986b)

(Flores et al. 1988; Winograd 1986)

(Bullen and Bennett, 1990)

References

References to books, journal articles, articles in collections and conference or workshop proceedings, and technical reports should be listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order. Articles in preparation or articles submitted for publication, unpublished observations, personal communications, etc. should not be included in the reference list but should only be mentioned in the article text (e.g., T. Moore, personal communication).

References to books should include the author’s name; year of publication; title; page numbers where appropriate; publisher; place of publication, in the order given in the example below.

Kotler, P. (1980). Marketing management: Analysis, planning and control. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, pp. 5-11.

References to articles in an edited collection should include the author’s name; year of publication; article title; editor’s name; title of collection; first and last page numbers; publisher; place of publication, in the order given in the example below.

Newton, L. (1988). The hostile takeover: An opposition view. In T. Beauchamp & N. Bowie (eds.), Ethical theory and business, 3rd edition, (pp. 501-510). Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

References to articles in conference proceedings should include the author’s name; year of publication; article title; editor’s name (if any); title of proceedings; first and last page number; place and date of conference; publisher and/or organization from which the proceedings can be obtained; place of publication, in the order given in the example below.

Chan, C. F. and Lee, K. H. (1986). Organisational culture and salesperson’s ethical position. In R. T. Hsieh and S. Scherling (eds.), Proceedings of the Academy of International Business SEA Regional Conference (pp. 3-9). National Chiao Tung University, Tapei.

References to articles in periodicals should include the author’s name; year of publication; article title; full title of periodical; volume number (issue number where appropriate); first and last page number, in the order given in the example below.

Sims, R. R. (1992). The challenge of ethical behaviour in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics 11(7), 505-513.

References to technical reports or doctoral dissertations should include the author’s name; year of publication; title of report or dissertation; institution; location of institution, in the order given in the example below.

Glover, S. H. (1991). The influences of individual values on ethical decision making, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.

Non-Sexist Language:

The Journal of Business Ethics supports the use of non-sexist language. The British Sociological Association provide valuable guidance on this which should be followed: See Language in the BSA: Sex and Gender, accessible here https://www.britsoc.co.uk/equality-diversity/.Some key guidance in the guide is as follows. In addition, a particularly common problem in business and management studies is the assumption that managers and other senior business people are men. Please do not perpetuate this by using the pronoun ‘he’ or ‘businessmen’ when talking about businesspeople in generic terms – use ‘he or she’, or ‘s/he’, or ‘businesspeople’. If you need to refer to a particular gender, it is preferable to use woman/man rather than female/male, gentleman/ladies, guys/boys/girls. Please do not respond to reviewers or editors with the generic Dear Sirs, use Dear Sir/Madam. A rule of thumb is that the masculine option does not equate to a generic option (in some languages it does grammatically speaking, but not in the English language, and is not acceptable for the Journal of Business Ethics).

Endnote style (Download zip, 4 kB)

This journal is committed to upholding the integrity of the scientific record. As a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) the journal will follow the COPE guidelines on how to deal with potential acts of misconduct.

Authors should refrain from misrepresenting research results which could damage the trust in the journal, the professionalism of scientific authorship, and ultimately the entire scientific endeavour. Maintaining integrity of the research and its presentation is helped by following the rules of good scientific practice, which include*:

Important note: the journal may use software to screen for plagiarism.

• Authors should make sure they have permissions for the use of software, questionnaires/(web) surveys and scales in their studies (if appropriate).

*All of the above are guidelines and authors need to make sure to respect third parties rights such as copyright and/or moral rights.

Upon request authors should be prepared to send relevant documentation or data in order to verify the validity of the results presented. This could be in the form of raw data, samples, records, etc. Sensitive information in the form of confidential or proprietary data is excluded.

If there is suspicion of misbehavior or alleged fraud the Journal and/or Publisher will carry out an investigation following COPE guidelines. If, after investigation, there are valid concerns, the author(s) concerned will be contacted under their given e-mail address and given an opportunity to address the issue. Depending on the situation, this may result in the Journal’s and/or Publisher’s implementation of the following measures, including, but not limited to:

- an erratum/correction may be placed with the article

- an expression of concern may be placed with the article

- or in severe cases retraction of the article may occur.

The reason will be given in the published erratum/correction, expression of concern or retraction note. Please note that retraction means that the article is maintained on the platform, watermarked “retracted” and the explanation for the retraction is provided in a note linked to the watermarked article.

Fundamental errors

Authors have an obligation to correct mistakes once they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published article. The author(s) is/are requested to contact the journal and explain in what sense the error is impacting the article. A decision on how to correct the literature will depend on the nature of the error. This may be a correction or retraction. The retraction note should provide transparency which parts of the article are impacted by the error.

Suggesting / excluding reviewers

Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts. When suggesting reviewers, authors should make sure they are totally independent and not connected to the work in any way. It is strongly recommended to suggest a mix of reviewers from different countries and different institutions. When suggesting reviewers, the Corresponding Author must provide an institutional email address for each suggested reviewer, or, if this is not possible to include other means of verifying the identity such as a link to a personal homepage, a link to the publication record or a researcher or author ID in the submission letter. Please note that the Journal may not use the suggestions, but suggestions are appreciated and may help facilitate the peer review process.

These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to.

Authorship clarified

The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before the work is submitted.

The Publisher does not prescribe the kinds of contributions that warrant authorship. It is recommended that authors adhere to the guidelines for authorship that are applicable in their specific research field. In absence of specific guidelines it is recommended to adhere to the following guidelines*:

All authors whose names appear on the submission

1) made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work;

2) drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content;

3) approved the version to be published; and

4) agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

* Based on/adapted from:

ICMJE, Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors,

Transparency in authors’ contributions and responsibilities to promote integrity in scientific publication, McNutt at all, PNAS February 27, 2018

Disclosures and declarations

All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate).

The decision whether such information should be included is not only dependent on the scope of the journal, but also the scope of the article. Work submitted for publication may have implications for public health or general welfare and in those cases it is the responsibility of all authors to include the appropriate disclosures and declarations.

Data transparency

All authors are requested to make sure that all data and materials as well as software application or custom code support their published claims and comply with field standards. Please note that journals may have individual policies on (sharing) research data in concordance with disciplinary norms and expectations.

Role of the Corresponding Author

One author is assigned as Corresponding Author and acts on behalf of all co-authors and ensures that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately addressed.

The Corresponding Author is responsible for the following requirements:

* The requirement of managing all communication between the journal and all co-authors during submission and proofing may be delegated to a Contact or Submitting Author. In this case please make sure the Corresponding Author is clearly indicated in the manuscript.

Author contributions

In absence of specific instructions and in research fields where it is possible to describe discrete efforts, the Publisher recommends authors to include contribution statements in the work that specifies the contribution of every author in order to promote transparency. These contributions should be listed at the separate title page.

Examples of such statement(s) are shown below:

• Free text:

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [full name], [full name] and [full name]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [full name] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Example: CRediT taxonomy:

• Conceptualization: [full name], …; Methodology: [full name], …; Formal analysis and investigation: [full name], …; Writing - original draft preparation: [full name, …]; Writing - review and editing: [full name], …; Funding acquisition: [full name], …; Resources: [full name], …; Supervision: [full name],….

For review articles where discrete statements are less applicable a statement should be included who had the idea for the article, who performed the literature search and data analysis, and who drafted and/or critically revised the work.

For articles that are based primarily on the student’s dissertation or thesis, it is recommended that the student is usually listed as principal author:

A Graduate Student’s Guide to Determining Authorship Credit and Authorship Order, APA Science Student Council 2006

Affiliation

The primary affiliation for each author should be the institution where the majority of their work was done. If an author has subsequently moved, the current address may additionally be stated. Addresses will not be updated or changed after publication of the article.

Changes to authorship

Authors are strongly advised to ensure the correct author group, the Corresponding Author, and the order of authors at submission. Changes of authorship by adding or deleting authors, and/or changes in Corresponding Author, and/or changes in the sequence of authors are not accepted after acceptance of a manuscript.

Please make sure that the names of all authors are present and correctly spelled, and that addresses and affiliations are current.

Adding and/or deleting authors at revision stage are generally not permitted, but in some cases it may be warranted. Reasons for these changes in authorship should be explained. Approval of the change during revision is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Please note that journals may have individual policies on adding and/or deleting authors during revision stage.

Author identification

Authors are recommended to use their ORCID ID when submitting an article for consideration or acquire an ORCID ID via the submission process.

Deceased or incapacitated authors

For cases in which a co-author dies or is incapacitated during the writing, submission, or peer-review process, and the co-authors feel it is appropriate to include the author, co-authors should obtain approval from a (legal) representative which could be a direct relative.

Authorship issues or disputes

In the case of an authorship dispute during peer review or after acceptance and publication, the Journal will not be in a position to investigate or adjudicate. Authors will be asked to resolve the dispute themselves. If they are unable the Journal reserves the right to withdraw a manuscript from the editorial process or in case of a published paper raise the issue with the authors’ institution(s) and abide by its guidelines.

Confidentiality

Authors should treat all communication with the Journal as confidential which includes correspondence with direct representatives from the Journal such as Editors-in-Chief and/or Handling Editors and reviewers’ reports unless explicit consent has been received to share information.

Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclosure of interests provides a complete and transparent process and helps readers form their own judgments of potential bias. This is not meant to imply that a financial relationship with an organization that sponsored the research or compensation received for consultancy work is inappropriate.

Editorial Board Members and Editors are required to declare any competing interests and may be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists. In addition, they should exclude themselves from handling manuscripts in cases where there is a competing interest. This may include – but is not limited to – having previously published with one or more of the authors, and sharing the same institution as one or more of the authors. Where an Editor or Editorial Board Member is on the author list they must declare this in the competing interests section on the submitted manuscript. If they are an author or have any other competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another Editor or member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to assume responsibility for overseeing peer review. These submissions are subject to the exact same review process as any other manuscript. Editorial Board Members are welcome to submit papers to the journal. These submissions are not given any priority over other manuscripts, and Editorial Board Member status has no bearing on editorial consideration.

Interests that should be considered and disclosed but are not limited to the following:

Funding: Research grants from funding agencies (please give the research funder and the grant number) and/or research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript.

Employment: Recent (while engaged in the research project), present or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript. This includes multiple affiliations (if applicable).

Financial interests: Stocks or shares in companies (including holdings of spouse and/or children) that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration from organizations that may gain or lose financially; patents or patent applications whose value may be affected by publication of this manuscript.

It is difficult to specify a threshold at which a financial interest becomes significant, any such figure is necessarily arbitrary, so one possible practical guideline is the following: "Any undeclared financial interest that could embarrass the author were it to become publicly known after the work was published."

Non-financial interests: In addition, authors are requested to disclose interests that go beyond financial interests that could impart bias on the work submitted for publication such as professional interests, personal relationships or personal beliefs (amongst others). Examples include, but are not limited to: position on editorial board, advisory board or board of directors or other type of management relationships; writing and/or consulting for educational purposes; expert witness; mentoring relations; and so forth.

Primary research articles require a disclosure statement. Review articles present an expert synthesis of evidence and may be treated as an authoritative work on a subject. Review articles therefore require a disclosure statement. Other article types such as editorials, book reviews, comments (amongst others) may, dependent on their content, require a disclosure statement. If you are unclear whether your article type requires a disclosure statement, please contact the Editor-in-Chief.

Please note that, in addition to the above requirements, funding information (given that funding is a potential competing interest (as mentioned above)) needs to be disclosed upon submission of the manuscript in the peer review system. This information will automatically be added to the Record of CrossMark, however it is not added to the manuscript itself. Under ‘summary of requirements’ (see below) funding information should be included in the ‘Declarations’ section.

Summary of requirements

The above should be summarized in a statement and included on a title page that is separate from the manuscript with a section entitled “Declarations” when submitting a paper. Having all statements in one place allows for a consistent and unified review of the information by the Editor-in-Chief and/or peer reviewers and may speed up the handling of the paper. Declarations include Funding, Competing interests, Ethics approval, Consent, Data, Materials and/or Code availability and Authors’ contribution statements. Please use the title page for providing the statements.

Once and if the paper is accepted for publication, the production department will put the respective statements in a distinctly identified section clearly visible for readers.

Please see the various examples of wording below and revise/customize the sample statements according to your own needs.

When all authors have the same (or no) competing interests and/or funding it is sufficient to use one blanket statement.

Examples of statements to be used when funding has been received:

Examples of statements to be used when there is no funding:

Examples of statements to be used when there are interests to declare:

Non-financial interests: Author C is an unpaid member of committee Z.

Non-financial interests: Author A is on the board of directors of Y and receives no compensation as member of the board of directors.

Non-financial interests: none.

Non-financial interests: Author D has served on advisory boards for Company M, Company N and Company O.

Examples of statements to be used when authors have nothing to declare:

Authors are responsible for correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript. See also Authorship Principles. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject submissions that do not meet the guidelines described in this section.

When reporting a study that involved human participants, their data or biological material, authors should include a statement that confirms that the study was approved (or granted exemption) by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee (including the name of the ethics committee) and certify that the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration or comparable standards, the authors must explain the reasons for their approach, and demonstrate that an independent ethics committee or institutional review board explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. If a study was granted exemption from requiring ethics approval, this should also be detailed in the manuscript (including the reasons for the exemption).

Retrospective ethics approval

If a study has not been granted ethics committee approval prior to commencing, retrospective ethics approval usually cannot be obtained and it may not be possible to consider the manuscript for peer review. The decision on whether to proceed to peer review in such cases is at the Editor's discretion.

Ethics approval for retrospective studies

Although retrospective studies are conducted on already available data or biological material (for which formal consent may not be needed or is difficult to obtain) ethics approval may be required dependent on the law and the national ethical guidelines of a country. Authors should check with their institution to make sure they are complying with the specific requirements of their country.

Ethics approval for case studies

Case reports require ethics approval. Most institutions will have specific policies on this subject. Authors should check with their institution to make sure they are complying with the specific requirements of their institution and seek ethics approval where needed. Authors should be aware to secure informed consent from the individual (or parent or guardian if the participant is a minor or incapable) See also section on Informed Consent.

Cell lines

If human cells are used, authors must declare in the manuscript: what cell lines were used by describing the source of the cell line, including when and from where it was obtained, whether the cell line has recently been authenticated and by what method. If cells were bought from a life science company the following need to be given in the manuscript: name of company (that provided the cells), cell type, number of cell line, and batch of cells.

It is recommended that authors check the NCBI database for misidentification and contamination of human cell lines. This step will alert authors to possible problems with the cell line and may save considerable time and effort.

Further information is available from the International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC).

Authors should include a statement that confirms that an institutional or independent ethics committee (including the name of the ethics committee) approved the study and that informed consent was obtained from the donor or next of kin.

Research Resource Identifiers (RRID)

Research Resource Identifiers (RRID) are persistent unique identifiers (effectively similar to a DOI) for research resources. This journal encourages authors to adopt RRIDs when reporting key biological resources (antibodies, cell lines, model organisms and tools) in their manuscripts.

Examples:

Organism: Filip1tm1a(KOMP)Wtsi RRID:MMRRC_055641-UCD

Cell Line: RST307 cell line RRID:CVCL_C321

Antibody: Luciferase antibody DSHB Cat# LUC-3, RRID:AB_2722109

Plasmid: mRuby3 plasmid RRID:Addgene_104005

Software: ImageJ Version 1.2.4 RRID:SCR_003070

RRIDs are provided by the Resource Identification Portal. Many commonly used research resources already have designated RRIDs. The portal also provides authors links so that they can quickly register a new resource and obtain an RRID.

Clinical Trial Registration

The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to assess, improve, maintain, promote or modify health, functioning or health conditions” and a health-related outcome is generally defined as a change in the health of a person or population as a result of an intervention.

To ensure the integrity of the reporting of patient-centered trials, authors must register prospective clinical trials (phase II to IV trials) in suitable publicly available repositories. For example www.clinicaltrials.gov or any of the primary registries that participate in the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

The trial registration number (TRN) and date of registration should be included as the last line of the manuscript abstract.

For clinical trials that have not been registered prospectively, authors are encouraged to register retrospectively to ensure the complete publication of all results. The trial registration number (TRN), date of registration and the words 'retrospectively registered’ should be included as the last line of the manuscript abstract.

Standards of reporting

Springer Nature advocates complete and transparent reporting of biomedical and biological research and research with biological applications. Authors are recommended to adhere to the minimum reporting guidelines hosted by the EQUATOR Network when preparing their manuscript.

Exact requirements may vary depending on the journal; please refer to the journal’s Instructions for Authors.

Checklists are available for a number of study designs, including:

Randomised trials (CONSORT) and Study protocols (SPIRIT)

Observational studies (STROBE)

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) and protocols (Prisma-P)

Diagnostic/prognostic studies (STARD) and (TRIPOD)

Case reports (CARE)

Clinical practice guidelines (AGREE) and (RIGHT)

Qualitative research (SRQR) and (COREQ)

Animal pre-clinical studies (ARRIVE)

Quality improvement studies (SQUIRE)

Economic evaluations (CHEERS)

Summary of requirements

The above should be summarized in a statement and placed in a ‘Declarations’ section before the reference list under a heading of ‘Ethics approval’.

Examples of statements to be used when ethics approval has been obtained:

• All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Medical University of A (No. ...).

• This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of University B (Date.../No. ...).

• Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of University C. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

• The questionnaire and methodology for this study was approved by the Human Research Ethics committee of the University of D (Ethics approval number: ...).

Examples of statements to be used for a retrospective study:

• Ethical approval was waived by the local Ethics Committee of University A in view of the retrospective nature of the study and all the procedures being performed were part of the routine care.

• This research study was conducted retrospectively from data obtained for clinical purposes. We consulted extensively with the IRB of XYZ who determined that our study did not need ethical approval. An IRB official waiver of ethical approval was granted from the IRB of XYZ.

• This retrospective chart review study involving human participants was in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The Human Investigation Committee (IRB) of University B approved this study.

Examples of statements to be used when no ethical approval is required/exemption granted:

• This is an observational study. The XYZ Research Ethics Committee has confirmed that no ethical approval is required.

• The data reproduced from Article X utilized human tissue that was procured via our Biobank AB, which provides de-identified samples. This study was reviewed and deemed exempt by our XYZ Institutional Review Board. The BioBank protocols are in accordance with the ethical standards of our institution and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Authors are responsible for correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript. See also Authorship Principles. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject submissions that do not meet the guidelines described in this section.

All individuals have individual rights that are not to be infringed. Individual participants in studies have, for example, the right to decide what happens to the (identifiable) personal data gathered, to what they have said during a study or an interview, as well as to any photograph that was taken. This is especially true concerning images of vulnerable people (e.g. minors, patients, refugees, etc) or the use of images in sensitive contexts. In many instances authors will need to secure written consent before including images.

Identifying details (names, dates of birth, identity numbers, biometrical characteristics (such as facial features, fingerprint, writing style, voice pattern, DNA or other distinguishing characteristic) and other information) of the participants that were studied should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and genetic profiles unless the information is essential for scholarly purposes and the participant (or parent/guardian if the participant is a minor or incapable or legal representative) gave written informed consent for publication. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve in some cases. Detailed descriptions of individual participants, whether of their whole bodies or of body sections, may lead to disclosure of their identity. Under certain circumstances consent is not required as long as information is anonymized and the submission does not include images that may identify the person.

Informed consent for publication should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of participants is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic profiles, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort meaning.

Exceptions where it is not necessary to obtain consent:

• Images such as x rays, laparoscopic images, ultrasound images, brain scans, pathology slides unless there is a concern about identifying information in which case, authors should ensure that consent is obtained.

• Reuse of images: If images are being reused from prior publications, the Publisher will assume that the prior publication obtained the relevant information regarding consent. Authors should provide the appropriate attribution for republished images.

Consent and already available data and/or biologic material

Regardless of whether material is collected from living or dead patients, they (family or guardian if the deceased has not made a pre-mortem decision) must have given prior written consent. The aspect of confidentiality as well as any wishes from the deceased should be respected.

Data protection, confidentiality and privacy

When biological material is donated for or data is generated as part of a research project authors should ensure, as part of the informed consent procedure, that the participants are made aware what kind of (personal) data will be processed, how it will be used and for what purpose. In case of data acquired via a biobank/biorepository, it is possible they apply a broad consent which allows research participants to consent to a broad range of uses of their data and samples which is regarded by research ethics committees as specific enough to be considered “informed”. However, authors should always check the specific biobank/biorepository policies or any other type of data provider policies (in case of non-bio research) to be sure that this is the case.

Consent to Participate

For all research involving human subjects, freely-given, informed consent to participate in the study must be obtained from participants (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children under 16) and a statement to this effect should appear in the manuscript. In the case of articles describing human transplantation studies, authors must include a statement declaring that no organs/tissues were obtained from prisoners and must also name the institution(s)/clinic(s)/department(s) via which organs/tissues were obtained. For manuscripts reporting studies involving vulnerable groups where there is the potential for coercion or where consent may not have been fully informed, extra care will be taken by the editor and may be referred to the Springer Nature Research Integrity Group.

Consent to Publish

Individuals may consent to participate in a study, but object to having their data published in a journal article. Authors should make sure to also seek consent from individuals to publish their data prior to submitting their paper to a journal. This is in particular applicable to case studies. A consent to publish form can be found

here. (Download docx, 36 kB)

Summary of requirements

The above should be summarized in a statement and placed in a ‘Declarations’ section before the reference list under a heading of ‘Consent to participate’ and/or ‘Consent to publish’. Other declarations include Funding, Competing interests, Ethics approval, Consent, Data and/or Code availability and Authors’ contribution statements.

Please see the various examples of wording below and revise/customize the sample statements according to your own needs.

Sample statements for "Consent to participate":

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Informed consent was obtained from legal guardians.

Written informed consent was obtained from the parents.

Verbal informed consent was obtained prior to the interview.

Sample statements for “Consent to publish”:

The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of the images in Figure(s) 1a, 1b and 1c.

The participant has consented to the submission of the case report to the journal.

Patients signed informed consent regarding publishing their data and photographs.

Sample statements if identifying information about participants is available in the article:

Additional informed consent was obtained from all individual participants for whom identifying information is included in this article.

Authors are responsible for correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript. See also Authorship Principles. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject submissions that do not meet the guidelines described in this section.

Images will be removed from publication if authors have not obtained informed consent or the paper may be removed and replaced with a notice explaining the reason for removal.

For editors and reviewers to accurately assess the work presented in your manuscript you need to ensure the English language is of sufficient quality to be understood. If you need help with writing in English you should consider:

Free online grammar check

English language tutorial

Nature Research Editing Service

American Journal Experts

Please note that the use of a language editing service is not a requirement for publication in this journal and does not imply or guarantee that the article will be selected for peer review or accepted.

If your manuscript is accepted it will be checked by our copyeditors for spelling and formal style before publication.

.

为便于编辑和评审专家准确评估您稿件中陈述的研究工作，您需要确保您的英语语言质量足以令人理解。如果您需要英文写作方面的帮助，您可以考虑：

● 获取快速、免费的在线 语法检查。

● 请一位以英语为母语的同事审核您的稿件是否表意清晰。

● 查看一些有关英语写作中常见语言错误的教程。

● 使用专业语言编辑服务，编辑人员会对英语进行润色，以确保您的意思表达清晰，并识别需要您复核的问题。我们的附属机构 Nature Research Editing Service 和合作伙伴 American Journal Experts 即可提供此类服务。

免费在线 语法检查

教程

Nature Research Editing Service

American Journal Experts

请注意，使用语言编辑服务并非在期刊上发表文章的必要条件，同时也并不意味或保证文章将被选中进行同行评议或被接受。

如果您的稿件被接受，在发表之前，我们的文字编辑会检查您的文稿拼写是否规范以及文体是否正式。

.

エディターと査読者があなたの論文を正しく評価するには、使用されている英語の質が十分に高いことが必要とされます。英語での論文執筆に際してサポートが必要な場合には、次のオプションがあります：

・高速なオンライン 文法チェック を無料で受ける。

・英語を母国語とする同僚に、原稿で使用されている英語が明確であるかをチェックしてもらう。

・英語で執筆する際のよくある間違いに関する英語のチュートリアルを参照する。

・プロの英文校正サービスを利用する。校正者が原稿の意味を明確にしたり、問題点を指摘し、英語の質を向上させます。Nature Research Editing Service とAmerican Journal Experts の2つは弊社と提携しているサービスです。Springer の著者は、いずれのサービスも初めて利用する際には10%の割引を受けることができます。以下のリンクを参照ください。

無料のオンライン 文法チェック

英語のチュートリアル

Nature Research Editing Service

American Journal Experts

英文校正サービスの利用は、投稿先のジャーナルに掲載されるための条件ではないこと、また論文審査や受理を保証するものではないことに留意してください。

原稿が受理されると、出版前に弊社のコピーエディターがスペルと体裁のチェックを行います。

.

영어 원고의 경우, 에디터 및 리뷰어들이 귀하의 원고에 실린 결과물을 정확하게 평가할 수 있도록, 그들이 충분히 이해할 수 있을 만한 수준으로 작성되어야 합니다. 만약 영작문과 관련하여 도움을 받기를 원하신다면 다음의 사항들을 고려하여 주십시오:

• 귀하의 원고의 표현을 명확히 해줄 영어 원어민 동료를 찾아서 리뷰를 의뢰합니다.

• 영어 튜토리얼 페이지에 방문하여 영어로 글을 쓸 때 자주하는 실수들을 확인합니다.

• 리뷰에 대비하여, 원고의 의미를 명확하게 해주고 리뷰에서 요구하는 문제점들을 식별해서 영문 수준을 향상시켜주는 전문 영문 교정 서비스를 이용합니다. Nature Research Editing Service와 American Journal Experts에서 저희와 협약을 통해 서비스를 제공하고 있습니다. Springer 저자들이 본 교정 서비스를 첫 논문 투고를 위해 사용하시는 경우 10%의 할인이 적용되며, 아래의 링크를 통하여 확인이 가능합니다.

영어 튜토리얼 페이지

Nature Research Editing Service

American Journal Experts

영문 교정 서비스는 게재를 위한 요구사항은 아니며, 해당 서비스의 이용이 피어 리뷰에 논문이 선택되거나 게재가 수락되는 것을 의미하거나 보장하지 않습니다.

원고가 수락될 경우, 출판 전 저희측 편집자에 의해 원고의 철자 및 문체를 검수하는 과정을 거치게 됩니다.