The Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) distinguishes between withdrawal of an unpublished manuscript and retraction of a published article.

An article or manuscript may be withdrawn before publication when there is a legitimate reason to discontinue the editorial process. Once an article has been formally published and becomes part of the journal's published record, issues affecting its reliability are generally handled through the journal's correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction procedures rather than ordinary withdrawal.

Authors may request withdrawal of a manuscript before publication by contacting the Editorial Office.

A withdrawal request should include:

• Manuscript title.
• Manuscript identification number.
• Author information.
• Reason for withdrawal.

The journal may assess the request before confirming withdrawal.

Legitimate reasons may include:

• Substantial errors identified before publication.
• Inability to complete necessary revisions.
• Discovery that the manuscript has been submitted or accepted elsewhere.
• Authorship disputes that require resolution.
• Ethical concerns.
• Legal or copyright concerns.
• Other circumstances that make continued editorial processing inappropriate.

Authors may request withdrawal while a manuscript is under review. The journal will consider the request in light of the manuscript's editorial stage and any relevant publication ethics concerns.

If there are indications of misconduct, duplicate submission, plagiarism, fabricated data, or other serious concerns, the journal may investigate the matter before confirming withdrawal.

A manuscript that has been accepted but has not yet been formally published may be withdrawn when there is a legitimate and documented reason.

Acceptance does not automatically create an unconditional right to withdraw a manuscript without editorial consideration.

If substantial editorial, production, or publication work has already been completed, the journal may assess the circumstances before confirming the withdrawal.

Where withdrawal is requested in circumstances involving suspected misconduct, the journal may suspend the withdrawal process while the concern is assessed.

The journal may contact the authors or relevant institutions where appropriate.

Withdrawal will not be used to prevent the journal from investigating suspected publication misconduct.

Once an article has been formally published and assigned its publication record and DOI, it should not ordinarily be removed from the journal's archive.

If serious concerns arise after publication, Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) will normally use an appropriate post-publication mechanism such as:

• Correction.
• Erratum.
• Corrigendum.
• Expression of Concern.
• Retraction.

This preserves the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record.

Where an accepted manuscript is withdrawn after being publicly posted or otherwise made available, the journal may retain a bibliographic record indicating that the manuscript was withdrawn.

Where appropriate, a withdrawal notice may state:

• The manuscript title.
• Authors.
• Manuscript identification.
• Date of withdrawal.
• General reason for withdrawal.

The journal will avoid unnecessarily disclosing confidential or personal information.

Where applicable, withdrawal does not automatically eliminate legitimate financial obligations already incurred under the journal's publication policies.

Any financial matter will be considered separately from editorial and research integrity issues.

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to another journal while it is under active consideration by Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA), unless the manuscript has been formally withdrawn or the journal has otherwise agreed to the arrangement.