Retraction Policy

Journal of Accounting and Management (JAM)  |  e-ISSN 3048-345X

1. Purpose and Boundary

Retraction corrects the scholarly record when published work is unreliable, seriously unethical, redundant, or unlawfully published. It is not a punishment and does not erase publication history. Pre-publication author withdrawal is governed only by the Manuscript Withdrawal Policy.

2. Grounds for Retraction

• Clear evidence that findings or conclusions are unreliable because of major error, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate analysis, or another fundamental problem.
• Plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, unauthorized translation or republication, or substantial copyright infringement.
• Unethical research, absent required consent or approval, serious privacy breach, or material participant harm.
• Manipulated peer review, fraudulent authorship, fabricated identities or approvals, or other misconduct that undermines the article.
• A correction cannot adequately repair the article because unreliable material is central, pervasive, or inseparable from the conclusions.
• A lawful authority or compelling legal finding requires retraction or equivalent action.

3. Partial Retraction and Correction

JAM will not use a vague “partial retraction” when a clear correction can identify and repair a limited error. If the principal findings remain reliable, a correction is preferred. If the central record is unreliable, the article is retracted. Unresolved credible risk may first require an Expression of Concern.

4. Who May Initiate a Case

Authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, funders, regulators, copyright holders, and other parties may report evidence. JAM may also initiate review. Retraction may be issued by authors and/or JAM; author disagreement or non-response does not prevent action needed to protect the literature.

5. Assessment Procedure

6. Retraction Notice Requirements

• Be titled “Retraction: [article title]” and identify the article, authors, year, issue, and DOI.
• State who is retracting the article and give the reason, distinguishing verified facts from allegations.
• Identify which findings or portions are unreliable and whether authors agree, disagree, or did not respond.
• Avoid defamatory, speculative, or unnecessary confidential information.
• Be freely accessible, dated, citable, assigned a DOI when supported, and linked bidirectionally with the article.
• Use clear metadata so readers and indexing systems can identify the retracted status.

7. Treatment of the Retracted Article

The article normally remains accessible to preserve the record, with a prominent retraction label or watermark on every version and links to the notice. The original text is not silently replaced. Citations and download pages must not present the article as valid without the retracted status.

8. Removal from Online Access

Removal is exceptional and may occur only when continued display creates a serious legal, privacy, safety, national-security, or public-health risk that cannot be mitigated. The DOI and landing page remain with bibliographic information and a transparent removal notice whenever legally possible.

9. Authorship and Institutional Findings

JAM may act before an institutional investigation concludes when reliable evidence and reader risk justify it, but does not determine employment sanctions. Author roles are assessed individually. Institutional findings inform but do not automatically replace the journal’s responsibility for the publication record.

10. Appeals and Relationships

A directly affected party may appeal a factual error, overlooked evidence, conflict, or serious procedural defect. An appeal does not automatically remove the retracted label.