Poslovna izvrsnost - Business Excellence Journal

Complaints Policy

Poslovna izvrsnost – Business Excellence is committed to maintaining the highest standards of editorial integrity, publication ethics, and editorial quality. This Complaints Policy defines the procedure for receiving, assessing, and responding to complaints related to the journal’s editorial processes and published content.

This policy serves as the journal’s entry point for complaints and concerns. Any post-publication actions affecting the scholarly record (Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern) are governed by the Correction and Retraction Policy (including Crossmark updates).

The journal accepts complaints related to:

Editorial decisions (e.g., perceived unjustified rejection, lack of peer review, excessive editorial delays)
Editorial or procedural concerns regarding the handling of manuscripts
Conflicts of interest affecting editorial decisions, peer review, authorship, or publication integrity
DOI or metadata errors (e.g., incorrect article title, author name(s), affiliations, abstract, keywords, publication date, pagination, ORCID iDs)
Technical or production issues affecting access to or presentation of published articles.

Complaints that indicate potential research misconduct (e.g., data fabrication, falsification, serious ethical breaches) are not investigated under this policy, but are formally referred to the Research Misconduct and Investigation Procedure.

How to Submit a Complaint

Please send your complaint by email to the Editorial Office:

✉ editor-be@net.efzg.hr

Subject line: Complaint – [Brief Description or Manuscript DOI/ID]

Please include:

Your full name and affiliation (optional if anonymity is preferred)
Article title or DOI (if applicable)
A clear description of the issue
Any supporting documentation.

All correspondence is handled securely and in accordance with applicable data protection regulations.

Initial Handling and Assessment

Acknowledgement

Receipt of the complaint will be acknowledged within 5 business days.

Preliminary Assessment

The Associate Editor conducts an initial assessment to determine:

- whether the complaint concerns editorial or procedural matters, or
- whether it raises a credible allegation of research misconduct.
Routing of the Complaint
- Editorial, procedural, technical, or metadata-related complaints are handled under this policy.
- Complaints involving suspected research misconduct are formally transferred to the Research Misconduct and Investigation Procedure, which governs investigation, timelines, decision-making, and outcomes.

Resolution of Complaints

For complaints handled under this policy, a formal response outlining the decision and any corrective actions will be provided within 30 calendar days of acknowledgement.

Where a complaint is transferred to the Research Miscunduct and Investigation Procedure, the complainant will be informed that the matter is being handled under the dedicated investigation framework.

Escalation

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the resolution, the issue may be referred to:

a designated member of the International Editorial Advisory Board who was not involved in the case, and/or
the Publisher.

The advisory board’s role is consultative and may include recommending process improvements; it does not make editorial decisions on manuscripts.

Appeals (Editorial Decisions Only)

Authors may appeal an editorial decision by emailing a reasoned request within 30 days of the decision letter. Appeals are first assessed by the Associate Editor. In cases of conflicting reviews, ethical concerns, or complex submissions, the case is escalated to the Editor-in-Chief, who retains final authority and accountability for all editorial decisions. A response will be provided within 4 weeks.

Please send your appeal by email to Editorial Office:

✉ editor-be@net.efzg.hr

Subject line: Appeal – [Brief Description or Manuscript DOI/ID]

Confidentiality and Fairness

All complaints and appeals are handled confidentially, respectfully, and without retaliation.