Complaints Policy

We handlies complaints against the journal, its staff, editorial board or publisher. We welcome complaints as they provide an opportunity and a spur for improvement, and we aim to respond quickly, courteously, and constructively. We hold awareness of the following complaints:

  • Authorship complaints
  • Plagiarism complaints
  • Multiple, duplicate, concurrent publication/Simultaneous submission
  • Research results misappropriation
  • Allegations of research errors and fraud
  • Research standards violations
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • Reviewer bias or competitive harmful acts by reviewers

Our definition of a complaint is as follows:

  • The complainant defines his or her expression of unhappiness as a complaint.
  • We infer that the complainant is not simply disagreeing with a decision we have made or something we have published (which happens every day) but thinks that there has been a failure of process - for example, a long delay or a rude response - or a severe misjudgment.
  • The complaint must be about something that is within the responsibility of the Asian Business Review - content or process.

Policy for Handling Complaints 
If the Journal receives a complaint that any contribution to the Journal infringes intellectual property rights or contains material inaccuracies, libelous materials or otherwise unlawful materials, the Journal will investigate the complaint. Investigation may include a request that the parties involved substantiate their claims. The Journal will make a timely decision whether to remove the allegedly wrongful material. A decision not to remove material shall represent the Journal's belief that the complaint is without sufficient foundation. Asian Business Review shall document its investigation and decision. As far as possible, we will investigate complaints in a blame-free manner, looking to see how systems can be improved to prevent mistakes occurring.

Guiding Principles
Asian Business Review takes each complaint with seriousness and handles it professionally as guided by COPE’s guidelines. Our general approach to complaints is that they are a rare but we accept that we make mistakes and try to treat all complaints with urgency, however small. We believe that timely solutions can prevent problems escalating. The procedure outlined here aims to be fair to those making complaints and those complained about. All complaints will be acknowledged (within three working days if by email). If possible a definitive response will be made within two weeks. If this is not possible an interim response will be given within two weeks. Interim responses will be provided until the complaint is finally resolved. If the complainant remains unhappy, complaints should be escalated to the EIC, whose decision is final. 

How to Make a Complaint
Complaints about content should be made as soon as possible after publication, preferably in writing by email. Contact us for your query and please address in a detailed manner. You can also use Skype to talk with us on abcjournals and ask to speak to the consulting editor.