AIM AND SCOPE

AYBU Business Journal (ABJ) is an international, academic, and peer-reviewed journal published by Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Business School.

ABJ is dedicated to publishing high-quality articles in English across a wide spectrum of business-related disciplines. The journal aims to foster academic excellence and provide a platform for novel, theoretical, and empirical research. ABJ welcomes submissions from scholars and practitioners that meet its rigorous academic standards, featuring robust qualitative or quantitative methodologies.

ABJ is published triannually, serving as a platform for multidisciplinary studies within the fields of business administration, economics, and related areas. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, finance, marketing, production, accounting, human resources, organizational behavior, strategy, decision sciences, and innovative or interdisciplinary approaches to business studies.

We appreciate your interest in ABJ as a potential venue for your research and encourage submissions that align with the journal's aim and scope.

EDITORIAL POLICIES AND PEER REVIEW PROCESS

Publication Policy
Manuscripts submitted to ABJ must align with the journal’s aim and scope. Priority is given to original research papers. Articles previously published or under consideration elsewhere are not eligible.

General Principles
Manuscripts must be approved by all listed authors and adhere to ethical research and publication standards. Submissions undergo a preliminary review by the editor-in-chief for originality, methodology, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

All eligible submissions are checked for plagiarism using iThenticate software. Manuscripts that pass the initial review are sent to at least two national or international referees for peer review. Acceptance is contingent upon authors addressing reviewers' comments and making necessary revisions. Any changes to authorship (addition, removal, or reordering) require written consent from all authors. Rejected manuscripts are not returned.

Open Access Statement
ABJ is an open-access journal, providing unrestricted access to its content under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. This allows users to read, download, copy, print, search, or link to full-text articles for non-commercial purposes without prior permission from the publisher or authors. For details, visit Creative Commons License.

Article Processing Charge
ABJ does not charge any fees for submission, processing, or publication. All journal-related expenses are fully covered by Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University.

Condition for Acceptance for Evaluation
Manuscripts that fail to comply with the journal's guidelines or the requirements outlined in the Manuscript Preparation section will be returned to the corresponding author for revisions before being considered for evaluation.

Thank you for considering ABJ as a publication venue for your research. We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Peer Review Process

The AYBU Business Journal (ABJ) employs a rigorous and transparent peer review process to ensure the quality and integrity of published work.

Manuscripts are only considered if approved by all authors and if they have not been previously published or submitted to another journal.
Submitted manuscripts undergo preliminary control, including plagiarism screening using iThenticate software. Eligible manuscripts are assessed by the Editor-in-Chief for originality, methodology, significance, and alignment with the journal’s scope.
The Editor-in-Chief ensures a fair and unbiased review process, irrespective of authors' ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, religious beliefs, or political affiliations.
Manuscripts passing this stage are sent to at least two national or international referees for double-blind peer review. Final publication decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief based on reviewer feedback and author revisions.
The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for ensuring no conflicts of interest between authors, editors, or reviewers and retains the final decision-making authority for all publications.
Reviewer Guidelines
Reviewers are expected to provide objective evaluations and address the following:

Does the manuscript present new and significant findings?
Is the abstract an accurate and clear summary of the manuscript?
Is the research problem significant and clearly stated?
Are the methods described in sufficient detail?
Are the interpretations and conclusions supported by the data?
Are references to relevant literature adequate?
Is the language of the manuscript acceptable?
Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of all manuscript information.
Reviewers should report any instances of plagiarism or copyright infringement.
If a reviewer feels unqualified to assess a manuscript or cannot provide a timely review, they should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.
The editor ensures that reviewers and editorial board members treat manuscripts as privileged, confidential documents.
Reviewer anonymity is maintained to uphold the integrity of the review process.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The AYBU Business Journal (ABJ) is committed to the highest standards of publication ethics, adhering to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). These principles are accessible at COPE Guidelines.

All participants in the publishing process (editors, reviewers, authors, and publishers) are required to adhere to these ethical standards.

Ethical Guidelines

Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere.
The journal does not tolerate unethical behaviors such as plagiarism, data fabrication, salami slicing, breach of copyright, or undeclared conflicts of interest.
Suspected ethical violations, whether before or after publication, will result in the manuscript being withdrawn, and serious cases may be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Research Ethics
The journal follows international research ethics principles, and authors are responsible for ensuring compliance with ethical guidelines, which include:

Upholding integrity, transparency, and quality in research design, review, and execution.
Fully informing participants of the research aims, methods, potential uses, and risks.
Ensuring the confidentiality and dignity of participants, and obtaining voluntary participation.
Avoiding harm to participants and ensuring their safety.
Disclosing any conflicts of interest and maintaining research independence.
For experimental studies involving human subjects, obtaining written informed consent from participants or legal guardians, where applicable.
Acquiring approval from relevant institutions or organizations, when applicable.
Stating in the manuscript's methods section that participant consent and ethics committee approval were obtained.

The AYBU Business Journal is committed to maintaining high ethical standards and appreciates the cooperation of authors, reviewers, and editors in achieving these goals.

Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting to the AYBU Business Journal (ABJ) must ensure their work adheres to the highest scientific and ethical standards. The following responsibilities apply to all authors:

Originality and Ethical Compliance

Authors must certify that their manuscript is original and has not been published or submitted elsewhere in any language.
Copyright laws and conventions must be observed, and any copyrighted material (e.g., tables, figures, or extensive quotations) must be reproduced only with proper permission and acknowledgment.
Any use of others' work or ideas must be appropriately credited and referenced.

Authorship Criteria

All authors must have made significant scientific and academic contributions to the manuscript, including:
Conceptualizing and designing the study.
Collecting and analyzing data.
Writing and critically revising the manuscript.
Planning, conducting, and/or revising the study.
Roles such as fund-raising, data collection, or general supervision are not sufficient for authorship.
The order of authors must reflect a mutual decision among all contributors and must be indicated in the Copyright Agreement Form.
Contributors who do not meet the authorship criteria but have provided support (e.g., technical, writing assistance, or financial/material contributions) should be acknowledged in the acknowledgment section.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial relationships, conflicts of interest, or competing interests that could potentially influence the results or scientific judgment.
Corrections and Retractions

Authors are responsible for promptly notifying the Editor and cooperating to correct or retract published work if significant errors or inaccuracies are discovered.
Responsibilities of the Editor and Reviewers

Editor-in-Chief

Evaluates manuscripts solely based on their scientific merit, without discrimination regarding ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, religious beliefs, or political affiliations.
Ensures fair, unbiased, and confidential double-blind peer reviews for all submissions.
Oversees the overall quality and integrity of the publication, issuing corrections or retractions as necessary.
Maintains transparency and avoids conflicts of interest among authors, editors, and reviewers.
Holds the sole authority to assign reviewers and makes the final decision regarding publication.

Reviewers

Must have no conflicts of interest related to the research, authors, or funders of the manuscript.
Are expected to provide objective and constructive evaluations based on the manuscript’s content.
Must keep all manuscript information confidential and notify the Editor if plagiarism or copyright infringement is detected.
Should promptly inform the Editor if they feel unqualified to review a manuscript or cannot complete the review within the requested timeframe.
May be asked to clarify points by sharing one reviewer's feedback with another, while ensuring confidentiality.

Confidentiality and Anonymity

Both editors and reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents and maintain privileged interactions.
The anonymity of reviewers is strictly maintained to preserve the integrity of the review process.
The AYBU Business Journal is committed to upholding these responsibilities to maintain the integrity, quality, and ethical standards of academic publishing.

MANUSCRIPT ORGANIZATION

Language
The official language of the AYBU Business Journal (ABJ) is English. All submissions must be written in English.

Manuscript Organization and Submission
All correspondence will be directed to the first-named author unless specified otherwise. Manuscripts should be submitted online via the AYBU Business Journal’s submission platform and accompanied by a cover letter. The cover letter must include:

A statement that the manuscript is intended for publication in the AYBU Business Journal.
Specification of the article category (e.g., research article, review article, etc.).
Additional information about the manuscript (refer to the Submission Checklist).
Manuscripts should be prepared using Microsoft Word (version 2003 or higher). Additionally, a signed Copyright Agreement Form by all authors must be submitted alongside the manuscript.

Formatting Guidelines

Page Layout: Use A4 paper standards with 2.5 cm margins on all sides. The manuscript should be written in Times New Roman, 12-point font, with 1.5 line spacing.
Word Count: Manuscripts should contain between 4,500 and 8,500 words. Page numbers must be centered at the bottom of each page.
Title and Author Information:
The title of the manuscript should appear at the top, centered, and in bold.
Author names should be listed beneath the title, aligned to the left.
Affiliation, title, email, and phone number for each author should be provided as a footnote at the bottom of the first page, marked with an asterisk (*).
Abstract: Provide an abstract of 180–200 words summarizing the purpose, methodology, results, and scope of the study. Include 3 to 5 keywords below the abstract.
Components of the Manuscript: Manuscripts should be organized as follows:
Title, Abstract, and Keywords.
Main text with appropriate sections and subsections.
Footnotes.

References.

Extended Abstract (if applicable).
Referencing Style: Use the APA 6th Edition citation style for in-text citations and references. For detailed guidelines, visit the journal's References section or consult the APA manual.
Tables, Graphs, and Figures:
Tables and figures should only be included if essential.
Titles for tables should be placed above the table, while captions for figures should appear below the figure.
Demographic or straightforward data should be integrated into the text rather than presented as tables.
Tables must be submitted as editable text (not images) and avoid vertical rules or shading. Use consistent grid formatting and tabs (not spaces) to align columns.
File Format: Save the file in the native format of the word processor. Use spell-check and grammar-check tools to minimize errors.
Layout: Use a single-column format and keep the text layout simple. Avoid unnecessary formatting.
Title Page: Include a title page with:
Fully descriptive title of the manuscript.
Author names, affiliations, titles, email addresses, postal addresses, phone, and fax numbers.
Responsibility Statement: Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of all statements in their submitted work.
Revisions: Authors may be required to make changes to their manuscripts based on peer reviewers’ feedback.
Journal Copy: Upon request, one copy of the journal issue containing the accepted article will be sent to each author.
The AYBU Business Journal reserves the right to request additional revisions or information to ensure compliance with journal standards. Thank you for your contribution!