Reviewers must not share, copy, download, distribute, or discuss the manuscript or its contents outside the authorized editorial process. Manuscripts must not be used for personal research, publication, teaching, professional activities, or any other purpose before the work has been publicly published or otherwise authorized by the editor.

Reviewers must not contact authors directly about a manuscript under review unless explicitly authorized by the editor. Any questions, requests for clarification, or concerns regarding the manuscript should be communicated through the journal's editorial system or directly to the handling editor.

Confidential information obtained through peer review must not be used to obtain personal, academic, professional, financial, or competitive advantage. Reviewers must also avoid disclosing unpublished ideas, methods, datasets, results, or other intellectual contributions contained in the manuscript.

Reviewers should not upload confidential manuscript content to external websites, online platforms, generative artificial intelligence systems, or other third-party services when doing so could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, or data protection.

• Do not upload complete manuscripts to external AI systems.
• Do not submit substantial portions of confidential manuscript content to third-party services.
• Do not disclose unpublished data, methods, findings, or ideas through external platforms.
• Do not expose author identities or confidential reviewer information to unauthorized services.

Reviewer reports and editorial correspondence are also confidential. Reviewers should not disclose their recommendations, comments, or communications with the editor to authors or other parties unless the journal has explicitly authorized such disclosure.

The obligation of confidentiality continues after the review has been completed and after the editorial decision has been made. If a manuscript is subsequently published, reviewers must still respect any confidential information that was not made publicly available.

Any suspected breach of confidentiality should be reported promptly to the handling editor. Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) may take appropriate action in response to a breach, including discontinuing the review assignment or excluding the reviewer from future peer-review activities.

These confidentiality principles are consistent with recognized publication-ethics practices, including guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which emphasizes that reviewers should treat manuscripts received for review as confidential documents and should not disclose or use unpublished information obtained through peer review.