KBR Research Ethics Regulations

Enacted: 2007. 09. 12.

Revised: 2019. 04. 05.

Revised: 2019. 05. 20.

Chapter 1 General Provisions

KBR is an academic journal that aims to promote the sharing of relevant information on research in management education among members of the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, disseminate beneficial and useful (new and emerging) management education scholarship, develop and utilize educational cases that contribute to improving the quality of management education, develop and utilize more meaningful research methodologies closely aligned with corporate realities, and innovate management performance education through collaboration between academia and industry.

Article 1 (Purpose)

The purpose of these Research Ethics Regulations (hereinafter “the Ethics Regulations”) is to ensure the research ethics and integrity of members of the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration (hereinafter “members”), prevent research misconduct, and present standards for fairly verifying whether misconduct has occurred.

Article 2 (Scope of Application)

These Ethics Regulations apply to all persons related to KBR, including members of the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, the KBR Editorial Board, and non-members who wish to submit manuscripts.

Chapter 2 Research Integrity and Social Responsibility

Article 3 (Research Integrity)

1. Authors shall perform all research activities (including proposing research, conducting research, reporting and presenting research results, and research review/evaluation activities) honestly and with integrity.
2. Authors shall describe the research content and its significance objectively and accurately, and shall not arbitrarily delete or add research results.
3. Authors shall ensure that all research activities are conducted without bias or intent.

Article 4 (Obligations to Record, Preserve, Report, and Disclose Research Information)

1. All research information shall be reported accurately and recorded, processed, and preserved clearly and precisely so that it can be interpreted and verified.
2. Authors shall use appropriate research methods and statistical techniques and, when necessary, disclose them.

Chapter 3 Fairness in Relations Among Researchers

Section 1 Responsibilities and Obligations of Authors

Article 5 (Collaborative Research)

When conducting collaborative research, authors shall clearly define roles and relationships and fulfill their respective responsibilities. Before starting the research, mutual agreement and understanding shall be reached regarding the research goals and expected outcomes, each party’s role in the collaboration, methods for collecting/storing/sharing data, criteria for determining authorship and author order, appointment of the responsible researcher, and issues of intellectual property rights and ownership.

Article 6 (Responsibilities and Obligations of Authors)

1. Authors bear responsibility and receive credit only for research that they have actually performed or to which they have contributed.
2. The corresponding author or responsible author bears overall responsibility for the manuscript data and authorship indications, and also has managerial and supervisory responsibility for the work of co-researchers.
3. Authors shall comply when asked to substantiate their contributions.

Article 7 (Corresponding Author)

1. The corresponding author shall be a person who can assume overall responsibility for the research results and their verification.
2. The corresponding author bears the burden of proof regarding the author order and the indication of co-authors.

Section 2 Criteria for Determining Authorship and Indicating Authors

Article 8 (Criteria for Determining Authorship)

1. The order of authors shall accurately reflect scholarly contributions to the research content or results, regardless of relative status. It cannot be justified for a person to be listed as an author or to be credited as first author merely because they hold a certain position.
2. Persons who did not make a scholarly contribution to the research content or results shall not be included as authors for reasons such as expressing gratitude or courtesy. However, contributions such as data collection or entry, translation into another language, or other assistance may be acknowledged as an exception.

Article 9 (Determining the Order of Authors)

The order of authors shall be determined fairly through agreement among the authors to reflect research contributions.

Article 10 (Affiliation of Authors)

In principle, authors’ affiliations shall be indicated as their affiliations at the time the research was conducted. However, in fields where other practices are accepted, such practices may be followed.

Chapter 4 Research Misconduct and Other Unethical Research Practices

Section 1 Citation Methods and Principles

Article 11 (Citation Methods and Principles)

1. Authors may cite portions of others’ works by incorporating or translating them into a manuscript through methods such as introduction, reference, or commentary.
2. Authors shall ensure the accuracy of source attributions and reference lists. All citation elements (author name, journal volume/issue, pages, publication year, etc.) should be verified directly from the original work rather than relying on secondary sources; however, when unavoidable, re-citation may be disclosed and used.
3. Authors shall cite in a reasonable manner based on good faith so that cited works are clearly distinguishable from the author’s own work.
4. In principle, authors shall cite published works. If an author obtains unpublished academic materials through peer review, research contracts, or private verification, the author must obtain the relevant researcher’s consent before citing.
5. When introducing another person’s unpublished work or using another person’s ideas (including adapted ideas) in one’s own work, the source must be clearly indicated.
6. When drawing heavily from a single source, authors shall write so that readers can clearly distinguish which ideas are the author’s own and which are derived from referenced sources.
7. If a published work is important in shaping the direction of the research or helps readers understand the study, it shall be included in the reference list, except where the relevant researcher can be theoretically/empirically aware of it.
8. Authors should avoid using an abstract in a study plan while citing the journal article in the reference list, or citing the published version of a paper while actually relying on an earlier or preliminary version published in conference proceedings.

Article 12 (Citing Common Knowledge)

1. When using another person’s ideas or factual information provided by another person, the source should be disclosed; however, this does not apply when the information is generally known or commonly recognized by readers.
2. If it is unclear whether a concept or fact constitutes common knowledge, it is advisable to cite the source.

Section 2 Research Misconduct

Article 13 (Definition of Research Misconduct)

“Research misconduct” refers to fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, improper authorship, duplicate publication, and similar acts that occur throughout the entire research process (including proposing research, conducting research, reporting and presenting results, and research review/evaluation activities).

1. “Fabrication” refers to creating false data or research results that do not exist.
2. “Falsification” refers to manipulating the research process or arbitrarily transforming or deleting data to distort research content or results. (Here, “deletion” includes intentionally excluding data that hinder desired results and using unreasonable data additions.)
3. “Plagiarism” refers to using others’ works protected under copyright law, research concepts and ideas, hypotheses, theories, research results, etc. without proper approval or citation, and claiming them as one’s own results or using them as one’s own work.
4. “Improper authorship” refers to failing to grant authorship without just cause to a person who made a scholarly contribution to the research content or results, or granting authorship to a person who made no scholarly contribution.
5. “Duplicate publication” refers to submitting and publishing an author’s paper in another journal that is identical or nearly identical in text to an already published paper, without informing editors or readers of the existence of the already published paper.

Article 14 (Idea Plagiarism)

1. “Idea plagiarism” refers to appropriating, wholly or partially, another person’s idea (including explanations, theories, conclusions, hypotheses, studies, etc.) as-is or with derivative modifications, without acknowledging the originator and credit.
2. Authors have an ethical obligation to disclose the source of ideas, typically through footnotes or references.
3. Authors shall not appropriate others’ ideas learned through peer review of research proposals or manuscripts without proper source indication and citation.

Article 15 (Text Plagiarism)

“Text plagiarism” refers to copying portions of another person’s text without identifying the author.

Article 16 (Mosaic Plagiarism)

“Mosaic plagiarism” refers to using another person’s text by combining parts of it, adding or inserting words, or replacing words with synonyms, without disclosing the source of the original work.

Article 17 (Duplicate Publication)

1. Authors shall not publish the same research (including work already published or under review) in multiple academic journals domestically or internationally by presenting it as new. Even if the later paper uses different wording or presents a slightly different perspective, or includes a somewhat different analysis using the same data as the already published paper, it may still constitute duplicate publication if substantially the same.
2. If an author wishes to publish using an already published paper, the author must provide publication information to the KBR Editor-in-Chief, confirm whether it constitutes duplicate publication or redundant publication, and obtain permission.

Article 18 (Caution Regarding Research Misconduct and Copyright Infringement)

1. For papers and cases published in KBR, the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration grants copyright to the society; however, authors may freely retain usage rights to their papers.
2. Duplicate publication may entail a risk of copyright infringement and should be avoided.
3. Even when citations are properly indicated or permissions are obtained, extensive quotation of text from copyrighted sources may still infringe copyright; authors should exercise caution.

Section 3 Inappropriate Writing Practices

Article 19 (Inappropriate Writing Practices)

The following constitute inappropriate writing practices:

1. Improper source citation
2. Distortion of references
3. Relying on abstracts, etc. when citing published papers
4. Citing sources that have not been read or understood
5. Drawing heavily from a single source while only partially disclosing citations
6. Recycling of text

Article 20 (Prohibition of Distorting References)

1. The reference list shall include only literature directly relevant to the paper’s content. Authors shall not intentionally include weakly related references to boost citation indices of journals or papers or to increase the likelihood of acceptance.
2. Authors shall not include only literature favorable to their data or theory in a biased manner, and have an ethical duty to cite literature that may contradict their perspective.

Article 21 (Recycling of Text)

1. “Recycling of text” refers to reusing portions of text that the author has already used in the author’s other writings.
2. Because text recycling is contrary to ethical writing, authors should avoid recycling published text. If reuse is unavoidable, authors must follow plagiarism-related citation practices by indicating citations or providing appropriate attribution, and must ensure that no copyright infringement occurs.

Chapter 5 Fairness in the Peer Review Process

Section 1 Responsibilities and Obligations of Reviewers

Article 22 (Responsibilities and Obligations of Reviewers)

1. Reviewers shall faithfully evaluate manuscripts requested by the KBR Editorial Board and notify the Editorial Board of the results within the designated review period (within 30 days). If a reviewer judges that they are not a suitable evaluator for the manuscript, the reviewer shall promptly notify the Editorial Board.
2. Reviewers shall respect the author’s dignity and independence as a professional. In review comments, reviewers shall state their judgments and, where revision is deemed necessary, provide detailed explanations with reasons.
3. Reviewers shall maintain confidentiality of manuscripts under review. Unless special advice is sought for the purpose of evaluation, it is undesirable to show the manuscript to others or discuss its content with others.

Section 2 Unethical Conduct by Reviewers

Article 23 (Unethical Conduct in the Review Process)

1. Reviewers shall not use specific information learned through reviewing a research plan or manuscript for research in which the reviewer is directly or indirectly involved, without the original author’s consent.
2. The following may constitute unethical conduct in the review process and should be avoided:

1. Asking students or third parties to conduct a review on the reviewer’s behalf
2. Discussing the content of a manuscript under review with colleagues in a department or academic society
3. Retaining copies of review materials instead of returning them after the review is completed
4. Engaging in words or actions that damage reputation or involve personal attacks while reviewing
5. Reviewing or evaluating without actually reading the manuscript

Section 3 Personal and Intellectual Conflicts of Interest

Article 24 (Personal Conflicts)

Reviewers shall avoid personal bias in peer review. If there is a conflict of interest relationship, including personal conflicts, the reviewer shall immediately notify the Editorial Board.

Article 25 (Intellectual Conflicts)

Reviewers shall evaluate fairly based on objective standards, apart from their personal academic beliefs. A manuscript shall not be rejected solely because it conflicts with the reviewer’s own viewpoint or interpretation.

Chapter 6 Fairness in Editorial Management

Section 1 Responsibilities and Obligations of Editors

Article 26 (Responsibilities and Obligations of Editors)

1. Editors bear full responsibility for deciding whether manuscripts submitted to KBR are accepted for publication, shall verify the integrity of the review process, and shall manage and supervise participants in the editorial process.
2. Editors shall respect the author’s dignity and independence as a scholar, and shall clearly disclose the review process for papers and cases upon request.
3. Editors shall treat manuscripts submitted for publication fairly based solely on the quality of the manuscript and the submission guidelines, regardless of the author’s gender, age, or institutional affiliation.
4. Editors shall request reviews from reviewers who possess professional knowledge in the relevant field and the ability to evaluate objectively and fairly. If reviewers’ evaluations differ markedly, editors may seek advice from experts in the relevant field.
5. Editors shall not disclose information about authors or manuscript content to anyone other than reviewers until a final publication decision is made.

Chapter 7 Enforcement of the Ethics Regulations

Section 1 Pledge and Compliance

Article 27 (Pledge to Comply)

New members of the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration shall pledge to comply with these Ethics Regulations after becoming familiar with research ethics and these Ethics Regulations when submitting to KBR. Existing members shall be deemed to have pledged compliance when these Ethics Regulations are revised.

Article 28 (Reporting Violations)

If a member becomes aware that another member has violated these Ethics Regulations, the member should endeavor to correct the issue by calling attention to the Ethics Regulations. However, if the issue is not corrected or if an evident violation is revealed, the member shall immediately report it to the Ethics Committee.

Section 2 Ethics Committee

Article 29 (Purpose of the Ethics Committee)

The Ethics Committee aims to verify not only research ethics but also research integrity, based on these Ethics Regulations established by KBR.

Article 30 (Composition of the Ethics Committee)

The Ethics Committee shall consist of at least five members. The Editor-in-Chief shall serve as Chair and shall appoint committee members based on recommendations from the Editorial Board.

Article 31 (Authority of the Ethics Committee)

The Ethics Committee may conduct an independent investigation into reported violations of these Ethics Regulations through informants, respondents, witnesses, reference persons, and evidence, and, if a violation is determined to have occurred, may recommend appropriate sanctions to the President.

Article 32 (Investigation and Deliberation)

Members reported for violating these Ethics Regulations shall cooperate with the Ethics Committee’s investigation. Failure to cooperate itself constitutes a violation of these Ethics Regulations. In principle, misconduct that occurred more than five years prior to the date of receiving the report shall not be processed, even if reported.

Article 33 (Confidentiality Protection for Informants)

The Ethics Committee shall protect informants so that they do not suffer disadvantages such as disciplinary action for reporting misconduct, and shall protect anonymity. If necessary, an informant may request that the Committee act as a proxy in reporting, and may request updates on investigation procedures and schedules after reporting; the Committee shall respond in good faith.

Article 34 (Confidentiality Protection for Respondents)

Until the Society reaches a final conclusion on an alleged violation, the Committee shall not disclose the identity of the member concerned to the outside so as to prevent infringement of the member’s honor or rights.

Article 35 (Determination and Sanctions)

The verification procedure for “misconduct” shall proceed in stages of preliminary investigation, main investigation, and determination, and all investigation schedules shall, in principle, be completed within six months. If it is judged difficult to complete within this period, the investigation period may be extended with the Chair’s approval. If an informant or respondent objects to the determination, they may file a written objection within 30 days from the date of notification, and the Committee may review and, if necessary, conduct a reinvestigation.

Article 36 (Disciplinary Procedure and Content)

When the Ethics Committee recommends disciplinary action, the Chair shall convene the Editorial Board to make the final decision on whether to impose discipline and on the disciplinary content. For members found to have violated these Ethics Regulations, the relevant research results shall be removed from the KBR index/list, submission of manuscripts shall be prohibited for five years, and, where the severity is serious, sanctions such as warnings, suspension or revocation of membership may be imposed. The Society may notify the sanctioned person’s affiliated institution and the Society of the disciplinary outcome.

Article 37 (Revision of the Ethics Regulations)

The revision procedure for these Ethics Regulations shall follow the revision procedure for the KBR Operating Bylaws. If these Ethics Regulations are revised, members who previously pledged to comply with the prior regulations shall be deemed to have pledged to comply with the revised regulations without requiring an additional pledge.