African Journal of Business, Economics and Management

Author Guidelines

Before You Start

Authors are encouraged to carefully review the journal's Aims and Scope before submitting a manuscript to ensure that the submission aligns with the journal's academic focus and publication objectives.

For questions regarding manuscript preparation or submission, authors may contact the Editorial Office at:

Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to the African Journal of Business, Economics and Management (AJBEM) are expected to:

• Ensure the originality, accuracy, and integrity of the submitted work.
• Confirm that the manuscript has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal.
• Ensure that all listed authors have made significant scholarly contributions to the research.
• Properly acknowledge all sources, citations, and contributors.
• Respond promptly to editorial communications and revision requests.
• Disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that may influence the research or publication process.
• Be prepared to provide underlying research data if requested during editorial evaluation.
• Promptly notify the journal if a significant error is discovered in a published article.

Research involving human participants, animals, surveys, interviews, or sensitive data must comply with relevant ethical standards and institutional requirements. Where applicable, authors should obtain appropriate ethics approval before conducting the research.

Publication Ethics

The African Journal of Business, Economics and Management (AJBEM) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The journal follows internationally recognized ethical publishing principles and applies its editorial policies in accordance with the guidelines of:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

All manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism detection software (e.g., iThenticate) before peer review. Manuscripts containing plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, duplicate publication, manipulated images, unethical research practices, or other forms of research misconduct may be rejected or withdrawn in accordance with the publisher's ethical policies.

Data Availability Statement

Authors are required to include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript where applicable. The statement should indicate where supporting research data can be accessed, including recognized repositories such as Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad, GenBank, institutional repositories, or other appropriate data archives. If data cannot be shared because of ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, or commercial restrictions, authors should clearly explain the reason within the manuscript.

Policy on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Authors may use generative AI tools for language improvement, grammar assistance, or editorial support. However, authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and scientific validity of the submitted work.

• AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
• Any significant use of generative AI must be disclosed in the Acknowledgements or Methods section of the manuscript.
• Authors remain fully responsible for verifying all AI-assisted content.
• AI-generated material must not contain plagiarism, fabricated information, or inaccurate citations.

Manuscript Preparation

File Format

• Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.
• Manuscripts should be written in clear academic English.
• Use Times New Roman, font size 12, with appropriate spacing and margins.

Article Types

The journal welcomes submissions in the following categories: Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Short Communications, Case Studies, and Technical Reports.

Article Length

The recommended manuscript length varies according to article type. Authors should prepare manuscripts that present the research clearly and concisely.

Manuscript Structure

Where applicable, manuscripts should contain the following sections:

1. Title
2. Author Names and Affiliations
3. Abstract
4. Keywords
5. Introduction
6. Literature Review (where applicable)
7. Materials and Methods / Methodology
8. Results
9. Discussion
10. Conclusion
11. Acknowledgements (optional)
12. Data Availability Statement (where applicable)
13. Conflict of Interest Statement
14. References

Abstract and Keywords: All manuscripts must include an abstract of no more than 250 words. Authors should provide 3–8 keywords representing the principal topics of the manuscript.

Figures and Tables: Figures and tables should be numbered consecutively. Images should be high quality (JPEG/PNG). Tables should be editable.

Submission Process

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's official online submission system. Before submission, authors should ensure that all required files and information have been provided. The submission should include: Manuscript (Word format), Author information, Cover letter (where applicable), and Ethics approval statement (where applicable).

Peer Review Process

All submitted manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process. Following an initial editorial screening, manuscripts that satisfy the journal's basic editorial requirements are evaluated by at least two independent expert reviewers based on originality, scientific quality, methodological rigor, clarity, ethical compliance, technical contribution, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Editorial decisions may include: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, Reject. The peer review process generally takes between 6 and 12 weeks.

Open Access Policy & Article Processing Charge (APC)

The African Journal of Business, Economics and Management (AJBEM) operates under the Gold Open Access publishing model. All published articles are immediately and permanently available free of charge under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

The African Journal of Business, Economics and Management (AJBEM) applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) of USD 50 for accepted manuscripts. No submission fee is charged. The APC becomes payable only after a manuscript has been formally accepted for publication.

The APC supports: Editorial management, Double-blind peer review coordination, Professional copyediting and typesetting, DOI registration, Online publication and hosting, and Long-term digital archiving and preservation. Payment of the APC does not influence editorial decisions, peer review outcomes, or the acceptance of any manuscript.

Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain full copyright of their published work. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing unrestricted sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.

Contact Information

For questions regarding manuscript preparation, submission, or publication policies, please contact:

Reviewer Information

Peer Review Process

The African Journal of Business, Economics and Management (AJBEM) follows a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure fairness, objectivity, and academic integrity. In this model, the identities of both authors and reviewers remain confidential throughout the editorial process.

Following an initial editorial screening, each manuscript that meets the journal's basic editorial requirements is assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers with relevant subject expertise. Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on:

• Originality and contribution to the field
• Scientific and methodological rigor
• Relevance to the journal's scope
• Clarity, organization, and quality of presentation
• Validity of results and conclusions
• Ethical compliance and research integrity
• Adequacy and relevance of references

Constructive reviewer feedback plays an essential role in improving manuscript quality and supporting fair editorial decision-making.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to:

• Provide objective, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations.
• Complete reviews within the requested review period whenever possible.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and associated materials.
• Identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited.
• Report any concerns regarding plagiarism, duplicate publication, image manipulation, data fabrication, ethical misconduct, or other research integrity issues.
• Inform the editorial office immediately if they identify any conflict of interest that could affect their impartiality.
• Decline review invitations when they are unable to provide an unbiased or timely review.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts received for review are confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, distribute, reproduce, or discuss any manuscript or its contents with third parties without prior permission from the Editorial Office.

Information obtained during the peer review process must not be used for personal research, commercial purposes, or any other advantage before publication.

Conflict of Interest

Reviewers should disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could influence their judgment. If a conflict of interest exists, reviewers should decline the invitation to review and notify the Editorial Office promptly.

Use of Generative AI

To protect the confidentiality and integrity of the peer review process, reviewers must not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate or substantially write peer review reports.

Reviewers remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, confidentiality, and professional judgment expressed in their reviews. The use of AI tools that could compromise manuscript confidentiality or produce inaccurate or misleading evaluations is not permitted.

Mission

Our peer review process is dedicated to maintaining excellence in scholarly publishing by ensuring that every published article meets high standards of scientific quality, ethical integrity, methodological rigor, and academic significance.

Vision

We aim to build a diverse international community of expert reviewers who contribute their knowledge and experience to promote transparent, rigorous, and trustworthy scholarly communication.

Core Values

The journal is committed to the following principles:

• Academic integrity
• Fairness and impartiality
• Confidentiality
• Transparency
• Professionalism
• Respectful and constructive communication
• Excellence in scholarly publishing

Recognition of Reviewers

The journal sincerely appreciates the valuable contributions of its reviewers. Reviewer recommendations assist editors in making informed editorial decisions and help authors improve the quality, clarity, and impact of their research.