Conflict of Interest

Startupreneur Business Digital (SABDA Journal) is committed to maintaining transparency, impartiality, and editorial independence throughout the scholarly publication process. A conflict of interest arises when financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, research findings, peer-review assessments, or editorial decisions. All parties involved in publication are expected to disclose relevant competing interests and uphold the integrity of academic evaluation.

1. Authors' Disclosure Requirements

Authors must declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript. Disclosures should identify relationships that may affect the objectivity of the research or its interpretation.

Relevant competing interests may include:

• Financial Interests: Research sponsorships, consultancy fees, investments, or financial benefits associated with the subject of the study.

• Commercial Relationships: Ownership, employment, or partnerships involving startups, digital platforms, financial technology companies, or other businesses examined in the research.

• Intellectual Property: Patents, software licenses, proprietary technologies, or commercial rights related to the reported findings.

• Personal and Professional Relationships: Collaborations, affiliations, or personal connections that may compromise independent scientific judgment.

• Institutional Interests: Organizational responsibilities or contractual obligations that could influence the collection, analysis, or presentation of research data.

Authors must include a dedicated Conflict of Interest statement in their manuscripts.

If no competing interests exist, the following declaration should be used:

“The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this research.”

When competing interests exist, authors must describe their nature and relevance accurately.

2. Reviewers' Responsibilities

Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts independently, objectively, and solely on their scientific merit.

Before accepting a review assignment, reviewers are required to disclose relationships that could affect their impartiality, including recent collaborations, shared institutional affiliations, financial interests, personal relationships, or direct academic and commercial competition.

Reviewers with significant conflicts must decline the assignment or seek guidance from the handling editor. Any conflict identified during the review process must be reported promptly.

Unpublished manuscripts, research data, and information obtained during peer review must remain confidential and must not be used for personal, professional, or commercial advantage.

3. Editorial Independence

Editors are responsible for ensuring that publication decisions are based on originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's Focus and Scope.

Editors must disclose competing interests and withdraw from handling manuscripts when personal relationships, institutional connections, research collaborations, or commercial involvement could compromise their judgment.

When an editorial conflict occurs, the manuscript must be reassigned to a qualified editor without the relevant competing interest.

The publisher, sponsors, and affiliated organizations must not interfere with reviewer evaluations or editorial decisions.

4. Funding and Third-Party Involvement

Authors must identify all relevant financial and non-financial support received during the research process, including grants, institutional assistance, corporate sponsorships, and access to proprietary datasets or technologies.

The role of funding bodies or external organizations must be disclosed when they participate in:

• Research design or methodological decisions.

• Data collection, processing, or analysis.

• Interpretation and reporting of findings.

• Manuscript preparation or publication decisions.

Where applicable, authors should disclose contractual restrictions affecting data access, research independence, or the publication of results.

Financial support alone does not constitute a conflict of interest; however, relationships that may influence scientific judgment must be reported transparently.

5. Management of Conflicts of Interest

The SABDA Journal Editorial Team evaluates disclosed or subsequently identified competing interests to determine whether additional safeguards are necessary.

Appropriate measures may include requesting clarification, updating disclosure statements, replacing conflicted editors or reviewers, or temporarily suspending manuscript evaluation.

Undisclosed conflicts discovered after publication may require a formal correction or disclosure notice. Cases involving deliberate concealment, compromised research integrity, or manipulation of editorial procedures may be addressed under the journal's Allegation of Research Misconduct policy.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically result in manuscript rejection. Editorial decisions consider the adequacy of disclosure, the measures taken to maintain independence, and the scientific reliability of the submitted work.