Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) requires authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial staff to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the research or editorial process.

A conflict of interest may arise from financial, professional, personal, academic, institutional, or other relationships that could affect, or reasonably appear to affect, independent judgment.

• Financial relationships with organizations that may benefit from the research.
• Employment or consultancy relationships.
• Research funding or sponsorship.
• Patents or pending intellectual-property interests.
• Personal or professional relationships with authors.
• Recent collaboration with an author.
• Institutional relationships that may affect impartiality.
• Direct academic or professional competition.
• Other circumstances that could reasonably affect independent judgment.

The existence of a conflict does not necessarily mean that a manuscript cannot be published or reviewed. The important requirement is that relevant conflicts are disclosed and appropriately managed.

Authors should disclose relevant conflicts at submission and update the disclosure if circumstances change during the editorial process.

Reviewers must disclose conflicts before accepting a review assignment. A reviewer should decline the assignment when the conflict could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, impartiality.

Editors must not handle manuscripts where they have a conflict that could affect independent decision-making. The manuscript should be reassigned to an appropriately independent editor where necessary.

Declared conflicts may be disclosed in the published article when relevant to transparency and scholarly interpretation.

Failure to disclose a relevant conflict may result in further editorial investigation and, where necessary, corrective action.

Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) expects all contributors to act transparently regarding competing interests. The journal follows established publication-ethics principles, including relevant COPE guidance, which recommends that contributors disclose competing interests and that journals establish appropriate procedures for managing such matters.