Editorial Policy
Peer Review Policy
All manuscripts submitted to the African Journal of Contemporary Business and Management (AJCBM) undergo a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure the publication of high-quality scholarly research. Following an initial editorial screening for compliance with the journal's scope, formatting requirements, and ethical standards, suitable manuscripts are evaluated by at least two independent experts with relevant subject expertise. Throughout the review process, the identities of both the authors and reviewers remain anonymous to ensure fairness, objectivity, and impartiality. Reviewers assess each manuscript based on its originality, scholarly contribution, methodological rigour, theoretical and practical significance, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, clarity of presentation, quality of data analysis and interpretation, validity of the conclusions, and compliance with accepted ethical and publication standards. The reviewers' recommendations assist the Editorial Board in making informed decisions regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection, while the final decision on publication rests with the Editor-in-Chief.
Reviewer Guidelines
Reviewers play a vital role in maintaining the quality, credibility, and scholarly standards of the AJCBM. They are expected to provide fair, objective, impartial, constructive, and timely evaluations of submitted manuscripts while maintaining strict confidentiality throughout the review process. Each manuscript should be assessed solely on its academic merit and relevance to the journal's scope. Reviewers should evaluate the originality and novelty of the study, its contribution to existing knowledge, the adequacy and relevance of the literature review, the appropriateness and methodological rigour of the research design, the quality of data collection and analysis, the interpretation and discussion of findings, the validity of the conclusions and recommendations, compliance with ethical research and publication standards, and the overall organization, clarity, language quality, and presentation of the manuscript. Where improvements are required, reviewers should provide clear, specific, and constructive comments to help authors strengthen their work. Reviewers are also expected to declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest and complete their reviews within the timeframe specified by the Editorial Office while preserving the confidentiality of all manuscripts and related information.
Editorial Decision
Following the completion of the double-blind peer-review process, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision regarding the publication of each manuscript after carefully considering the recommendations of the reviewers, the quality of the manuscript, and its suitability for the journal's scope and standards. While reviewers provide expert evaluations and recommendations, the Editor-in-Chief has the sole authority to make the final editorial decision. Authors will be notified of the outcome together with the reviewers' comments and any required revisions. All editorial decisions are made fairly, objectively, and independently based on academic merit, originality, scientific quality, and relevance to the aims and scope of the AJCBM.
Accept Accept with Minor Revisions Major Revisions Required Reject
Publication Ethics
The African Journal of Contemporary Business and Management (AJCBM) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and responsible research in accordance with internationally recognized ethical principles and best publishing practices. The journal expects all participants in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial staff, to conduct themselves with honesty, transparency, fairness, professionalism, and confidentiality. Authors are required to submit original work, accurately present research findings, appropriately acknowledge the contributions of others, and disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest. The journal has zero tolerance for plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, citation manipulation, authorship misconduct, unethical research involving human or animal subjects, and any other form of scientific or academic misconduct. Any allegation of unethical conduct will be investigated thoroughly and fairly. Where misconduct is confirmed, the journal reserves the right to reject manuscripts, publish corrections, retract articles, notify relevant institutions or funding agencies where appropriate, and take any other necessary action to preserve the integrity, credibility, and reliability of the scholarly record.
Plagiarism Policy
The AJCBM is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical publishing. All submitted manuscripts are screened using Turnitin plagiarism detection software before they are considered for peer review. Manuscripts found to contain unacceptable levels of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, unattributed quotations, improper paraphrasing, or any other form of academic misconduct, may be rejected without further consideration. Authors are expected to ensure that their work is original, properly cites and acknowledges all sources, and complies with internationally accepted standards of research and publication ethics. Where concerns regarding plagiarism or research misconduct arise before or after publication, the Editorial Office reserves the right to investigate the matter and take appropriate action, including requesting revisions, rejecting the manuscript, retracting the published article, or notifying the relevant institutions where necessary.
Ethical Considerations
Authors submitting manuscripts to the AJCBM are expected to adhere to the highest standards of research ethics and academic integrity. Authors must ensure that their work is original and has not been published or submitted elsewhere for publication. All ideas, data, figures, tables, and other materials obtained from other sources must be properly acknowledged and cited in accordance with the APA 7th Edition referencing style. Authors are also required to disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest, including financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence the research or its interpretation. For studies involving human participants or animals, authors must confirm that the research was conducted in accordance with recognised ethical standards and approved by an appropriate ethics review committee or institutional review board, where applicable. Authors should also ensure that informed consent was obtained from participants where required and that the privacy, confidentiality, and rights of research participants have been adequately protected throughout the study.
Copyright
Upon acceptance for publication, authors may be required to transfer or grant the necessary publication rights to the AJCBM in accordance with the journal's copyright and licensing policy. Such transfer or licensing enables the journal to publish, reproduce, distribute, archive, and preserve the article in both print and electronic formats, ensuring its long-term accessibility and dissemination. Authors retain responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the content, including all opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and data presented in their articles. The views expressed in published manuscripts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board, the Publisher, or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated. Authors are also responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce any copyrighted material included in their manuscripts and for ensuring that such materials are appropriately acknowledged. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.
Open Access Policy
The AJCBM is committed to promoting the broad dissemination of scholarly knowledge through an open access publishing model. All published articles are made freely and permanently accessible online without subscription or access fees, enabling researchers, academics, practitioners, policymakers, students, and the general public worldwide to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, and cite published articles in accordance with the journal's copyright and licensing policy. By providing immediate open access to its content, AJCBM seeks to enhance the visibility, accessibility, readership, citation impact, and global exchange of scholarly research while supporting the advancement of knowledge and evidence-based practice in business, management, and related disciplines. The journal believes that unrestricted access to high-quality research promotes innovation, collaboration, and informed decision-making across academia, industry, and public policy.
Conflict of Interest
The AJCBM is committed to ensuring transparency, fairness, and integrity throughout the editorial and publication process. Authors, editors, and reviewers are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the preparation, review, editorial decision, or publication of a manuscript. Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to, financial interests, employment relationships, research funding, consultancy, stock ownership, patents, institutional affiliations, personal relationships, academic competition, or any other circumstances that may affect objectivity. Authors should disclose all relevant conflicts of interest at the time of manuscript submission, while reviewers and editors should declare any conflicts before accepting a review assignment or participating in editorial decisions. Where a conflict of interest exists, the Editorial Office may respond appropriately, including assigning alternative reviewers or editors, requesting additional disclosures, or, where necessary, declining the manuscript, to ensure that editorial decisions are made impartially and solely on the basis of scholarly merit.
Retraction Policy
The AJCBM is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the scholarly record. Published articles may be corrected, withdrawn, or retracted where there is credible evidence of ethical misconduct, major errors, data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, copyright infringement, or other forms of scientific or academic malpractice that significantly compromise the validity or integrity of the published work. Allegations of misconduct will be investigated thoroughly, fairly, and confidentially by the Editorial Office in accordance with internationally recognized publication ethics and best editorial practices. Where necessary, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or formal retraction to ensure the accuracy of the published record. Retraction notices will clearly state the reasons for the retraction and will remain permanently linked to the original article to maintain transparency and preserve the integrity of the scholarly literature.
Notification and Publication Procedure
AJCBM is committed to ensuring a transparent, timely, and professional editorial and publication process. Authors will normally receive the editorial decision and reviewers' comments within three (3) months from the date the manuscript is sent for review. The manuscript will undergo a maximum of three review rounds and will be rejected after the third round if the authors fail to address the reviewers' comments. The authors are responsible for editing and refining their manuscript and are responsible for any errors. Before publication, the authors will receive the manuscript for final editing. The journal reserves the right to make minor editorial changes to improve clarity, consistency, and formatting of the manuscript returned by authors without altering the substantive content of the manuscript.
Immediately
Acknowledgement of receipt sent upon submission.
Within 3 Days
Chief Editor's desk review decision on whether the manuscript proceeds to review.
Within 3 Months
Editorial decision and reviewers' comments from the date sent for double-blind review.
Within 15 Days
Online publication after final acceptance and completed corrections.
