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This journal operates on Open Journal Systems (OJS) an open-source journal management and publishing platform developed and maintained by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) For author instructions and guidance, see OJS Author's Guide. (see link)

Guidelines for Authors

Welcome to Poslovna izvrsnost – Business Excellence! We invite original contributions aligned with the Journal's aims and scope on business performance, quality, and organizational excellence. We're committed to the highest ethical and professional standards in all aspects of publication. Please review the following guidelines carefully before submitting manuscript.

Timeline for manuscript

Initial editorial check: 2 weeks
Peer review completion: 4-6 weeks
Editor decision: 2 weeks
Revision submission by author: 4 weeks
Final decision & acceptance: 2 weeks

Open Access and Author Fees

The journal operates under a Diamond Open Access model.
No submission, processing, or publication fees are charged at any stage.
All articles are freely accessible upon publication.

Authorship and Contributions

Only individuals who have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the manuscript may be listed as authors.
All authors must approve the final version prior to submission.
Contributors not meeting authorship criteria (e.g., administrative or technical support) should be acknowledged in a separate Acknowledgments section.

Correspondence and Confidentiality

All communication with our editorial team is confidential until a formal decision.
Authors are expected to respond to all editorial queries, reviewer comments, and revision requests.
Once accepted, the Editorial team will manage post-acceptance correspondence, including proofreading and metadata.

Professional and Ethical Conduct

Authors are expected to:

Submit original and accurate work
Avoid misconduct such as plagiarism, data manipulation, or duplicate submission
Disclose all funding sources and the role of sponsors, if any

Misconduct will be handled according to COPE-recommended procedures.

Research Ethics Compliance

Research involving human or animal subjects must be conducted in accordance with recognized ethical standards. Authors must confirm:

Ethics committee approval
Informed consent (if applicable)
Privacy protection for sensitive data

Please include ethical approval details in the manuscript where relevant.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose potential conflicts of interest, including financial (grants, employment, investments) and institutional or personal connections. Disclosures must appear on the title page of the manuscript. Please refer to our Conflict of Interest Policy (see link).

Licensing

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) (see link), enabling sharing and adaptation with proper attribution.

Complaint policy

For details regarding our complaint resolution process, please refer to our Complaint Policy (see link).

If you have any questions, please contact:

Dario Dunković, Editor

✉  ddunkovic@net.efzg.hr

Subject: Business Excellence Author Inquiry – [Your Topic]

Abstracted and Indexed

To give your manuscript the best chance of publication, follow these formatting guidelines.

1 Article types

Journal publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed contributions that advance theoretical understanding and empirical knowledge in the areas of business performance, quality management, organizational excellence. All submissions must demonstrate academic rigor, methodological soundness, and where applicable, practical relevance preferably in the context of transitional and emerging economies.

The journal accepts the following types of manuscripts:

Research Articles (5,000–8,000 words): Original, data-driven studies employing quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods that offer new empirical insights or test theoretical frameworks.
Conceptual or Theoretical Papers (4,000–7,000 words): Contributions that develop, refine, or challenge existing theories and concepts relevant to the journal’s scope.
Case Studies and Practice-Based Insights (3,000–6,000 words): Real-world applications, interventions, or organizational experiences that offer evidence-based reflections or lessons for practice.
Book Reviews and Commentary (up to 2,000 words): Invited contributions offering critical reviews of recent scholarly publications or commentary on current issues relevant to the journal's themes.

Word count includes all elements of the manuscript excluding references.

2 Language

The language of Journal is English, and a high quality of English is required. While we can assist with minor English corrections for accepted papers in the final publication stage, extensive corrections or copy-editing are not provided by the editorial office. Please note that poor English quality can lead to desk rejections or publication delays.

3 Manuscript Structure and Formatting

Only .docx (MS Word) submissions are accepted
Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the APA Style, 7th Edition.
Margins

A4, 2.5 cm (1 inch) on all sides

Authors are expected to follow the standard structure and page order:

Title page, abstract, main text, references, tables, figures, appendices.

Each section starts on a new page. Tables and figures may be embedded or placed after references.

Font

Cambria, 11 pt

Page header

Each page must include a right-aligned page number in the top margin, starting with 1 on the title page.

Paragraph

Align text to the left margin (ragged right). Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 in. using the tab key. Do not use full justification or manual hyphenation.

Line Spacing

All text must be 1.2, including the abstract, main text, block quotations, table and figure numbers, titles and notes, as well as the reference list (both between and within entries). Do not add extra space before or after paragraphs.

Exceptions:

Content within tables and figures may be different, depending on clarity.

Footnotes: Use your word processor’s default settings (typically single-spaced and slightly smaller font).

Displayed equations: Triple or quadruple spacing may be used before and after for visual clarity.

For full guidance, see: APA Style – Line Spacing

Title Page

The title page format is outlined at APA Style – Title Page. It should include the following:

Article Title
Cambria, 14 pt, bold, centered, with two blank lines above and below.

Author Details
Each author listed on a new line, left-aligned: full name, academic title, institutional affiliation (institution, department, city, country), and ORCID iD. Mark the corresponding author with an asterisk (*) and include full contact details (email and postal address) below the list.

Funding Acknowledgements
Left-aligned, preceded by two blank lines. Clearly indicate all funding sources. If there is no external funding, include the statement:
“The authors declare no specific funding for this research.”

(Optional) Author Contributions and Conflicts of Interest

Left-aligned; list each statement on a new line.

Authors should disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

If there are no conflicts, please include the statement: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”

For details, refer to the [Conflict of Interest Policy].

Abstract and Keywords

Label font: Cambria, 10 pt, bold, italic

Font: Cambria, 10 pt, italic

Alignment: justify-aligned

150–250 words

Structure: Purpose; Design/Methodology; Findings; Practical Implications; Originality/Value

Four to five keywords (e.g., performance; quality) one line before and two lines after

Main text (anonymous for review)

Main sections (use numbered headings)
Please structure your manuscript using the following suggested main sections (with numbered headings): 1. Introduction, 2. Literature Review, 3. Methodology, 4. Results, 5. Discussion, 6. Conclusion.

Formatting notes

Use clear hierarchical headings (1., 1.1., etc.)

Explain all abbreviations at first mention.

Avoid use of bold, underlining, or italics.

Figures, Graphs and Tables

11 pt; label (e.g., “Table 1”) in bold, title in regular font without a period; one line before; left-aligned; number consecutively (Table 1, Table 2, Graph 1, Figure 1)

Cite sources directly below each item; italics; left-aligned (e.g., "Source: author(s)"); one line after

Reference each in the text (e.g., "data in Table 1 show"); maintain consistent formatting and numbering throughout.

All illustrations should be centered.

Removing Personal Information (for Blind Review)

4 Headings

First-level headings

Font: 14 pt, bold; two lines before, one line after; (e.g., 1. Introduction, 2. Literature Review);

Second- and lower-level headings

Font: 12 pt, bold; one line before and after; (e.g., 1.1 Research Objective, 2.1 Theory, 2.1.1 Previous Studies)

All headings should be left-aligned, Title Case and consistently numbered accordingly.

5 Referencing and Citations

Submissions should follow the Seventh Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), available at: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines. Some fundamental guidelines are also available below.
Use the APA 7th edition referencing style (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples#textual-works)

Each study cited must appear in the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix). Both paraphrases and quotations require citations.

All references in the text and notes must be specified by the authors’ last names and year of publication together with page numbers for direct quotations from print sources. Do not use ibid., op. cit., infra., supra.

Every in-text citation must be hyperlinked (e.g., According to Smith & Jones (2020) many...") to its full reference entry in the Reference list [*], and each reference list entry must include an active hyperlink to the original source (DOI or URL). Authors are strongly encouraged to include CrossRef DOIs where available.

Reference entries should be left-aligned and hanging, numbered (e.g., "1.", "2.") and listed alphabetically by the first author's surname.

Example journal article:

5. Smith, J. A., & Jones, B. C. (2020). Innovation in

business excellence. Journal of Excellence, 45(2), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.1234/jms.2020.123456

Only sources cited in the manuscript should appear in the reference list. Use italics as required (e.g., journal titles, book titles, volume numbers), and ensure all citation details are accurate.
In-text citation example: (Novak, 2025); (Smith & Jones, 2023); (Keller et al., 2025)

For works with three authors, list all three authors’ surnames the first time the reference occurs (e.g., Smith, Jones, & Lee, 2021), and use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” in all subsequent citations (e.g., Smith et al., 2021).

For works with four or more authors, use only the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” for all in-text citations, including the first mention (e.g., Brown et al., 2021).

6 Ethical Standards and Complaints

Authors must ensure that all submissions are original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere. Manuscripts that are derived from conference proceedings may be considered, provided that:

The original conference paper is clearly disclosed at submission.
The conference version is publicly available online.
No copyright or exclusive publishing rights have been assigned to the conference organizer.

If any substantial part of the manuscript has been previously published or overlaps with existing work, this must be transparently declared to the Editor at the time of submission.

All submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism and self-plagiarism screening using Turnitin software

Authors are required to:

Fully disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including financial, institutional, or personal relationships that might influence the research.
Clearly state all sources of research funding.
Ensure compliance with ethical standards for studies involving human participants. Where applicable, authors must confirm that the research received ethical approval from a relevant institutional review board (IRB), and that it adheres to international standards (e.g., the Declaration of Helsinki).

Failure to meet these ethical obligations may result in immediate rejection of the submission or retraction after publication.

We maintain a transparent Complaint Policy (see link).

Authors who wish to raise concerns related to the editorial process, ethical breaches, or publication misconduct may refer to our Complaint Policy.

All complaints will be handled confidentially and fairly.

7. Plagiarism and AI-generated Content Screening

All manuscripts submitted are subject to rigorous screening for both plagiarism and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools.

The Journal uses iThenticate plagiarism and AI detection service to detect unoriginal content and identify AI-generated text.
By submitting a manuscript, authors consent to the use of iThenticate and other tools for content integrity checks.
Submissions containing substantial plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or undeclared AI-generated content will be rejected or returned for revision.

Use of AI Tools

Authors must explicitly declare any use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) in manuscript preparation.
Declarations must include:
- The name of the tool used
- The scope of its use (e.g., editing, language refinement, idea generation)
AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

Author Responsibility

Authors are fully responsible for:

The originality and accuracy of their manuscript
Adhering to ethical research and writing standards
Ensuring transparency in the use of any generative tools

The journal adheres to international publication ethics and evolving best practices regarding responsible AI use.

8 Peer Review Process

All manuscripts undergo double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent reviewers. Based on reviewer reports, the editorial board may decide to:

Accept the manuscript
Request minor or major revisions
Reject the submission

In case of conflicting reviews, a third reviewer may be invited. Revised manuscripts may undergo additional review.

Average review time: 4–6 weeks.

9 Removing Personal Information (for Blind Review)

Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure that all identifying information has been removed from the file properties, document metadata, and the main text, to ensure a double-blind peer review process. To check for and remove personal information from Word (.docx) files:

Click the File tab
Click Info in the column
Click the Check for Issues drop-down menu, then select Inspect Document
In the dialog box, check the box for Document Properties and Personal Information (you may uncheck the other options), then click Inspect.
If any personal information is found, click Remove All next to that category, then click Close.
Save your document before submitting.

Note: Repeat this process for all files you intend to submit (manuscript, tables, figures, appendices, etc.). Failure to remove personal information may compromise the anonymity of the review process.

10 Submission Procedure

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically via Online Journal System (OJS), available through the Hrcak Portal.

To submit a manuscript, authors are required to register and log in to the journal's OJS platform. The submission process involves the following steps:

Uploading the Title Page, Anonymus manuscript and any supplementary materials
Entering metadata such as the title, abstract, and keywords
Confirming adherence to the Journal’s submission guidelines.

Authors can monitor the progress of their manuscript and communicate with the editorial team directly through the OJS platform at all stages of the review process.

A detailed guide for authors (seel link), including step-by-step submission instructions and explanations of submission status updates.

Please note: Submissions sent via e-mail will not be considered.

Open Access and Copyright

Poslovna izvrsnost – Business Excellence is a Diamond Open Access journal, meaning that neither authors nor readers are charged any fees for submission, processing, or access. All content is freely and immediately available upon publication.
This publishing model supports the principles of equitable access to knowledge, in line with standards endorsed by Science Europe, Plan S and cOAlition S.

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license permits: Non-commercial use, sharing, and reproduction in any medium, proper attribution to the original authors and source.
Authors retain full copyright of their work while granting the journal the right of first publication.
The journal is published by the Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb, which also acts as the copyright holder.

Archiving and Indexing

All published content is permanently archived on the Hrčak portal, the central platform for Croatian open-access scholarly journals. Hrčak ensures long-term digital preservation and provides stable access to all issues and articles.
Additionally, all articles are assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) via Crossref, guaranteeing persistent and globally citable access.

Author Identifiers and Research Data

Authors are encouraged to include their ORCID iD to ensure proper attribution and integration with global research databases.
In line with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), authors are invited to share relevant underlying research data in public repositories when appropriate, supporting transparency and reproducibility.

Self-Archiving Policy

Authors are permitted to deposit all versions of their manuscripts, submitted (preprint), accepted (postprint), and published (Version of Record); in institutional or subject repositories, provided that full bibliographic details and the DOI link to the published version are included.
The journal’s self-archiving policy is registered with the Jisc Open Policy Finder, where Journal is listed as supporting the Green level of self-archiving, in accordance with open access best practices.

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