Editorial ethics

1. Code of ethics

The journal adheres to the guidelines of the Committee on Publications Ethics (COPE) "Guidelines on Good Publication Practice" in terms of the responsibilities and procedures for good research conduct.

2. Access, use and reutilization policies

Desafíos: Economía y Empresa is an open-access journal. All of its content is freely available, immediately and without any embargo period, from the moment of publication. Any user may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles without economic, legal, or technical barriers beyond access to the internet itself.

The journal does not charge authors any fees at any stage: no submission charges, editorial processing charges, article processing charges (APCs), page charges, or colour charges apply.

3. Anti-plagiarism policy

Articles will undergo a plagiarism detection process using the Turnitin system. If plagiarism is detected, the author will be notified and asked to provide an explanation within a maximum of 10 days. Subsequently, as appropriate, the matter will be reported to the relevant office of the institution to which the author belongs.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy

Desafíos: Economía y Empresa follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the editorial process. No AI tool may be listed as an author, as it cannot assume ethical, legal, or scientific responsibility for the content.

Authors may use AI tools to improve the writing, visual design, translation into other languages, or readability of their text; when AI is used to generate substantive content, this must be transparently disclosed in the article. In all cases, authors bear full responsibility for the content submitted and must critically review any AI-generated output. Creating or altering images through AI is not permitted, except for duly justified and disclosed methodological cases.

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts, in whole or in part, to generative AI platforms, as this breaches the confidentiality of the review process; the review report must be prepared independently. Editors, in turn, will not use generative AI to make editorial decisions or to draft communications about manuscripts; editorial decisions rest solely with humans. Only non-generative AI-assisted tools are allowed for technical tasks such as plagiarism detection or reviewer suggestion.

If a submitted manuscript shows a medium level of AI use as identified through Turnitin, only then will modifications and resubmission be requested.

5. Commitments and responsibilities

Author commitments

  • Submit original, unpublished work that is not published or under simultaneous review by another journal or outlet.
  • Credit as authors only those who made a significant intellectual contribution, following the CRediT taxonomy, and agree on the order of authorship in advance. All authors are responsible for the entire article.
  • Cite and reference according to APA style; the reference list must include only the sources cited in the text, and vice versa.
  • Disclose all funding sources and any actual or potential conflict of interest.
  • Ensure the accuracy, accessibility, and adequate protection of the data and sources underlying the research.
  • Notify the editor of any error found in the published work so that the corresponding correction or retraction may be issued.
  • Maintain formal communication with the journal through its official email address.

Reviewer commitments

  • Preserve the confidentiality of the manuscript before, during, and after the review process, without disclosing or using its content for personal purposes.
  • Decline to review when a conflict of interest exists or when the author can be identified.
  • Inform the editorial team if they lack sufficient expertise to assess the article.
  • Provide objective, impartial, and constructive reports, free of hostile language or judgments based on the author's nationality, gender, religion, or other characteristics.
  • Meet the agreed deadlines and promptly report any inability to do so.
  • Report to the editor any sign of misconduct (plagiarism, data falsification, multiple submissions, among others).

Editorial team commitments

  • Base editorial decisions on the quality, originality, and relevance of the work, without discrimination of any kind.
  • Screen manuscripts for plagiarism before initiating peer review and analyze the reports in detail.
  • Select suitable reviewers and safeguard the confidentiality of the entire editorial process.
  • Uphold the integrity, transparency, and honest reporting of the process, taking responsibility for the published material.
  • Charge no submission, processing, or publication fees (no APC) and guarantee open access to all content.
  • Handle errata, corrigenda, and retractions in accordance with COPE guidelines.

6. Procedure for handling misconduct

Handling of misconduct or breaches of publication ethics

In any situation that compromises the journal's ethical principles, the editorial team will act in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). It will contact the parties involved to request information clarifying the facts. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of those involved to provide such information. Each case will be handled individually.

If the article in question is under review, the process will be suspended until the facts are clarified; the editorial team will then decide whether to cancel or continue it. If the article has already been published, it will be temporarily withdrawn from the digital version until the matter is clarified; the editorial team will then determine its permanent removal or retention, with the corresponding notice. No retraction will be made without prior notice. The decision of the editorial team is final.

7. License

Content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

8. Reutilization

The author or authors must be credited and the original source cited. Under this license, authors are free to reuse the PDF version of their published article, including depositing it in research portals, personal websites, and institutional repositories, among others.

9. Copyright

Authors retain all copyright to their work and grant the journal solely the right of first publication. These terms apply only to the published content and are independent of the website's copyright terms.

10. Conflict of interest statement

Authors must declare whether any conflict of interest exists in their research. If any person or institution has funded the research, this must be stated in a footnote associated with the article's title (for example: "This research was funded by …").

11. Corrections and Retractions

If an author finds any error in their published work, they are obligated to inform the journal's Editor in order to carry out the corresponding correction or retraction process.