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Journal identity

• Title: KnowledgeSphere Journal (KSJ).

• Publisher: KnowledgeSphere International (independent academic publisher, registered in India).

• Format & Access: Fully open-access, online-only, with immediate and free access to all articles; no registration required to read content.​

• ISSN: Demo placeholder – e.g., ISSN 0000-0000 (Online); obtain and display officially once assigned.​

• Frequency: Quarterly (4 issues per year) with rolling online publication.

• Language: English (with abstracts permitted in additional languages where appropriate).​

• Target audience: Researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in business, economics, management, and interdisciplinary social sciences.

Aims and scope

Aims

• To provide a rigorous, international platform for empirical and theoretical research in business, management, economics, and related interdisciplinary fields.

• To promote responsible, reproducible, and ethically sound scholarship with global relevance, especially from emerging markets.​

Scope (example wording)
KnowledgeSphere Journal welcomes original research articles, review papers, short communications, and case studies in areas including but not limited to:

• Microeconomics, industrial organization, and market design.

• Entrepreneurship, innovation, and small business management.

• International business, strategy, and cross-border trade.

• Marketing, consumer behavior, and digital platforms.

• Organizational behavior, leadership, and human resource management.

• Financial markets, corporate finance, and fintech innovations.

The journal prioritizes submissions that demonstrate methodological clarity, strong theoretical framing, and practical implications for business and policy.

Editorial governance

Editorial structure

• Editor-in-Chief: Senior scholar with a PhD or equivalent in a relevant field.

• Associate Editors: Responsible for thematic areas (economics, management, marketing, finance, etc.).

• International Editorial Board: Diverse membership across regions and institutions, with full names and affiliations listed on the website.​

Editorial independence & management

• Editorial decisions are made independently of the publisher’s commercial interests, in line with COPE’s expectations for journal management.​

• Roles, responsibilities, and conflict-of-interest expectations for editors and reviewers are formally documented and publicly available.​

Peer review and publication process

Peer review model

• Double-blind peer review for all research articles: authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other.​

• Minimum of two independent expert reviews for each manuscript that passes initial editorial screening.

• Clear description of peer review, selection, and appeals processes published on the journal website, as recommended by COPE.​

Workflow (demo)

1. Initial screening by Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor for fit with aims, basic quality, and ethical compliance.

2. Assignment to at least two qualified reviewers with clear reviewer guidance and timelines.

3. Decision options: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, Reject, or Reject & Resubmit as new submission.

4. Appeals process: Authors may submit a reasoned appeal to the Editor-in-Chief; appeals are handled by an uninvolved senior editor or advisory board member.​

Publication timelines and transparency

• Typical decision time: 4–8 weeks from submission to first decision; median times reported annually on the website.​

• Accepted articles are published online as “Ahead of Print” before assignment to an issue, to support rapid dissemination.​

Open access, copyright, and licensing

Open access policy

• All articles are freely available online immediately upon publication; no embargo periods or reader registration.​

• The journal aligns with DOAJ’s definition of open access and seeks inclusion in DOAJ after one year of consistent publication or at least 10 research articles published.​

Copyright and licensing

• Authors retain copyright.

• Articles are published under a Creative Commons license, preferably CC BY 4.0, to allow sharing and adaptation with attribution, consistent with many leading OA journals.​

• Detailed copyright and reuse terms are clearly displayed on the website and in each article.​

Article processing charges (APCs)

• Transparent APC policy displayed on the website, including all potential fees (submission, processing, color figure charges, waivers, and discounts).​

• If no fees are charged, a clear statement indicates that the journal does not levy APCs or other author charges.​

Ethics, misconduct, and integrity

Ethical framework

• KnowledgeSphere Journal follows COPE Core Practices on authorship, conflicts of interest, data integrity, peer review, and post-publication corrections.​

• Policies cover: authorship criteria, contributorship statements, conflicts of interest, research ethics approvals, data sharing, and corrections/retractions.​

Authorship and contributorship

• Authorship is based on substantial contribution to conception, design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation; drafting or revising the work; and final approval.​

• Each article includes an authorship contribution statement specifying individual roles (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, data curation, writing, supervision).​

Plagiarism and research misconduct

• All submissions are screened using plagiarism-detection software before peer review.

• Confirmed misconduct (plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, redundant publication) is handled according to COPE flowcharts and may result in rejection, retraction, and notification of institutions.​

Conflicts of interest

• Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare all relevant financial and non-financial competing interests.​

• Conflicts and funding sources are disclosed in each article under dedicated headings.​

Data and reproducibility

• Authors are encouraged or required to share underlying data, code, and materials where feasible, with repository links in the article.​

• For sensitive data, authors must explain access restrictions and ethical safeguards.​

Author guidelines and manuscript preparation

Article types

• Original Research Articles (typically 6,000–8,000 words).

• Review Articles (up to 10,000 words).

• Short Communications (2,000–3,000 words).

• Case Studies and Teaching Cases (3,000–5,000 words).

General structure

• Title page: article title, author names, affiliations, corresponding author details, ORCID iDs, acknowledgements, funding, and conflict-of-interest statements.​

• Main text (double-blind version): title, abstract (150–250 words), 3–6 keywords, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references.

• Citation style: a standard style such as APA, Vancouver, or similar, with examples showcased on the website using uniform reference formats derived from established guidelines.​

Tables, figures, and supplementary material

• Tables and figures should be high quality, numbered consecutively, and cited in the text; legends must be self-explanatory.​

• Supplementary files (data, appendices, instruments) are accepted and published online with clear labeling.​

Indexing, archiving, and long-term access

Indexing objectives (demo)

• Initial targets: inclusion in Google Scholar and general scholarly databases.

• Medium-term targets (after sufficient publication history and quality): DOAJ, EBSCO, ProQuest, and subject-specific indices where applicable.​

Archiving and preservation

• Long-term digital preservation via participation in an archiving solution such as LOCKSS/CLOCKSS or a similar service.​

• Each article assigned a DOI via a recognized registration agency to support persistent citation and discovery.