Role of Editors

Editors play a central role in safeguarding the quality, integrity, and reputation of the Journal of Performance Management. Editorial decisions must be based exclusively on the scholarly merit of submitted manuscripts, regardless of the authors’ nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, ethnicity, or personal beliefs.

Editors are expected to ensure that all submissions are evaluated fairly, objectively, and in accordance with the journal’s policies and ethical standards.

Manuscript Assessment and Initial Screening

Upon submission, editors should conduct an initial evaluation to determine whether the manuscript is suitable for peer review. This assessment includes:

• Alignment with the journal’s aims and scope
• Compliance with submission and formatting requirements
• Originality and scholarly significance
• Language quality and clarity of presentation
• Ethical compliance and research integrity
• Similarity and plagiarism screening

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s minimum requirements may be declined without external review, with clear and professional feedback provided to the authors.

Peer Review Management

Editors are responsible for managing a fair, rigorous, and timely double-blind peer-review process.

Editors should:

• Assign qualified and independent reviewers with relevant expertise
• Ensure reviewer anonymity and confidentiality
• Monitor review progress and timelines
• Evaluate reviewer comments objectively
• Seek additional reviews when necessary
• Resolve conflicting reviewer recommendations through informed editorial judgment

The quality and integrity of the review process must remain the highest priority throughout manuscript evaluation.

Editorial Decisions

Editorial decisions should be based on reviewer feedback, scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, and contribution to the field.

Possible editorial decisions include:

• Accept
• Accept with Minor Revisions
• Revise and Resubmit (Major Revisions)
• Reject

Editors should provide clear, constructive, and evidence-based feedback to assist authors in improving their work.

Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

Editors are responsible for upholding the highest standards of publication ethics.

Editors must:

• Maintain confidentiality throughout the review process
• Avoid actual or perceived conflicts of interest
• Recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts exist
• Address allegations of plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, or unethical research practices
• Follow internationally recognized ethical publishing principles

Any suspected misconduct should be investigated fairly and confidentially before a final decision is made.

Special Issues and Guest Editors

For special issues, editors must ensure that the same standards applied to regular submissions are maintained.

Editors should:

• Appoint qualified Guest Editors where appropriate
• Monitor editorial quality and consistency
• Ensure independent peer review of all submissions
• Prevent favoritism, conflicts of interest, and editorial bias

The Editor-in-Chief retains ultimate responsibility for all content published in special issues.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial communications, and related materials must be treated as confidential documents.

Editors must not:

• Share manuscript content with unauthorized individuals
• Disclose reviewer identities
• Reveal author identities during double-blind review
• Use unpublished information for personal or professional advantage

Timeliness and Professional Conduct

Editors should strive to ensure efficient manuscript processing and timely communication with authors and reviewers.

Editors are expected to:

• Respond promptly to editorial matters
• Maintain professionalism in all communications
• Support transparency and accountability throughout the publication process
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of journal quality and standards