Withdrawal Policy

The Journal of Strategic Business Research (JSBR) recognizes that, in rare circumstances, authors may request to withdraw their manuscripts after submission. However, because the peer review and publication process requires a significant investment of editorial and reviewer resources, withdrawals are managed under strict guidelines to maintain the integrity of scholarly publishing.

1. Acceptable Grounds for Withdrawal

Manuscript withdrawal requests are considered legitimate only under the following circumstances:

  • Discovery of serious errors or flaws in the data, methodology, or analysis that invalidate the study.
  • Duplicate submission made inadvertently (submitted to JSBR and another journal at the same time, without prior withdrawal from one journal).
  • Ethical concerns identified after submission, such as potential breaches in research integrity.
  • Author incapacity or unforeseen personal circumstances that make completion impossible.

2. Withdrawal Stages and Conditions

a) Before Peer Review:

  • Authors may withdraw their manuscript by sending a formal written request to the editorial office.
  • No penalties apply if the request is made before reviewers are assigned.

b) During Peer Review:

  • Withdrawal is discouraged, as reviewers have already invested time in evaluating the manuscript.
  • A valid reason must be provided in writing. The editorial board will review and approve or deny the request.

c) After Acceptance but Before Publication:

  • Withdrawal is only allowed under exceptional circumstances (e.g., critical errors discovered, ethical issues).
  • Authors must submit a signed withdrawal statement from all co-authors.
  • The editorial board will decide whether the withdrawal is justified.

d) After Publication:

  • Once an article is published, it cannot be withdrawn. If a serious error or ethical violation is discovered, the article will instead be retracted following the journal’s Retraction Policy.

3. Unethical Withdrawal

An unethical withdrawal occurs when an author withdraws a manuscript without sufficient reason, often to submit it to another journal for faster publication or perceived higher impact.

  • In such cases, JSBR reserves the right to impose sanctions, including:
    • A minimum two-year ban on submissions from the corresponding author and all co-authors.
    • Notification of the authors’ affiliated institutions or funding bodies.

4. Withdrawal Procedure

To request a withdrawal, the corresponding author must:

  1. Send a formal email to the editorial office with “Manuscript Withdrawal Request” in the subject line.
  2. Include the manuscript ID, title, names of all authors, and the reason for withdrawal.
  3. Attach a signed withdrawal statement from all authors confirming agreement to withdraw.

5. Editorial Decision

  • The editorial office will review the request and respond within 7–10 business days.
  • If the withdrawal is approved, the manuscript will be removed from the editorial workflow, and confirmation will be sent to the authors.

If denied, the manuscript will continue through the normal review and publication process.