Privacy Statement

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

The Journal of Business Ethics and Strategic Management (JBESM), published by Sohu Academic Publishing, is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all users, including authors, reviewers, readers, and editorial board members. This Privacy Statement explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you interact with our journal platform.

By accessing or using www.sohupub.com, you consent to the practices described in this statement.

Information We Collect

Account Registration When you register on our platform, we collect your name, email address, institutional affiliation, country, and ORCID iD (optional). This information is necessary to manage your account, process submissions, and facilitate peer review.

Manuscript Submissions When submitting a manuscript, we collect author names, affiliations, contact details, and manuscript files. Co-author information provided by the submitting author is also collected.

Peer Review Reviewer information, including expertise areas, review history, and editorial correspondence, is collected to manage the peer review process.

Website Usage We automatically collect technical data including IP addresses, browser type, device information, pages visited, and timestamps to improve platform performance and user experience.

How We Use Your Information

We use collected information exclusively for:

  • Processing and managing manuscript submissions
  • Facilitating double-blind peer review
  • Communicating editorial decisions and publication updates
  • Sending table of contents alerts and journal announcements (with consent)
  • Improving website functionality and user experience
  • Generating anonymized usage statistics
  • Complying with legal and ethical obligations

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Data Sharing

Your personal data may be shared only in the following circumstances:

  • Editorial Process: Author and reviewer information is shared with editors and, where necessary, with co-editors to facilitate peer review. Reviewer identities remain confidential under our double-blind review policy.
  • Publishing Partners: Upon acceptance, author metadata (names, affiliations, ORCID) is shared with Crossref for DOI registration and with indexing databases for discoverability.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of JBESM, its users, or the public.

Cookies and Tracking

JBESM uses essential cookies to enable core website functionality, including user authentication and session management. We may also use analytics cookies (e.g., Google Analytics) to understand website traffic and improve user experience.

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect certain website features.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this statement:

  • Author and Reviewer Accounts: Retained for the duration of account activity plus 5 years for publication records and editorial correspondence
  • Unpublished Submissions: Retained for 2 years after final decision, then permanently deleted
  • Published Articles: Author metadata associated with published works is retained permanently as part of the scholarly record

You may request account deletion at any time by contacting editor@sohupub.com.

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include:

  • Secure HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
  • Password-protected user accounts
  • Role-based access controls for editorial staff
  • Regular security updates and platform maintenance

While we take reasonable precautions, no internet transmission is completely secure. Users share information at their own risk.

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal and archival obligations)
  • Restriction: Request limitation of data processing in certain circumstances
  • Portability: Request transfer of your data in a machine-readable format
  • Objection: Object to data processing based on legitimate interests
  • Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for optional communications at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at editor@sohupub.com.

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to external websites, databases, or services not operated by JBESM. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites. We encourage users to review the privacy policies of any external sites they visit.

Changes to This Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The revised statement will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of the website after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised statement.

Contact Us

For questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Statement or your personal data, please contact:

Data Controller: Dr. Jan Muhammad Sohu Editor-in-Chief, JBESM Sukkur IBA University Sukkur, Sindh, Pakistan

Email: editor@sohupub.com Phone: +92 333 604 3150 Website: www.sohupub.com

Effective Date: January 1, 2025 Last Updated: February 1, 2026