1. General Principles of Authorship

Economics, Business and Management Science Journal (EBMSJ) (Online ISSN: 2775-3794) adheres strictly to international standards of scholarly authorship established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authorship confers academic credit and carries direct accountability for the integrity, accuracy, and originality of the published research in economics, business, accounting, finance, and management science.

2. Four Mandatory Criteria for Authorship

An individual listed as an author on any manuscript submitted to EBMSJ must meet all four of the following criteria:

1. Substantial Contribution: Made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception or design of the economic/business study, OR to the acquisition, econometric analysis, financial modeling, or interpretation of empirical data; AND
2. Drafting or Critical Revision: Drafted the manuscript OR revised it critically for important intellectual, theoretical, and methodological content; AND
3. Final Approval: Approved the final version of the manuscript to be published; AND
4. Accountability: Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the research are appropriately investigated and resolved.

3. Contributors and Acknowledgments

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all four authorship criteria (such as enumerators, survey assistants, language editors, financial sponsors, or general departmental heads) must not be listed as authors. Instead, their contributions should be recognized in the Acknowledgments section with their permission.

4. Prohibited Authorship Practices

• Ghost Authorship: Omitting individuals who participated substantially in the research or writing of the manuscript is a breach of publication ethics.
• Guest, Gift, or Honorary Authorship: Including individuals as authors solely because of their seniority, institutional position, or academic reputation without substantial intellectual contribution is strictly prohibited.
• Sale of Authorship (Paper Mills): Adding or purchasing authorship slots after manuscript acceptance or through commercial third-party brokers results in immediate manuscript rejection or post-publication retraction.
• AI Tools as Authors: Generative AI and Large Language Models (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) cannot fulfill accountability requirements and must never be listed as authors or co-authors.

5. Order of Authors and Corresponding Author Duties

The order of authors should be determined collectively by all co-authors prior to submission. The Corresponding Author acts as the primary point of contact with the editorial office during submission, double-blind peer review, revision, and post-publication, and is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and disclosed any competing interests.

6. Changes to Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange author names after initial submission requires a formal written explanation signed by all listed authors (including the author being added or removed) submitted to the Editor-in-Chief. Changes to authorship are not permitted after a manuscript has been formally accepted for publication.