About the Journal

About the Journal

Scope

The RAN - Revista Academia & Negocios is a journal that publishes original, unpublished, and open-access manuscripts, with an interest in the change adaptation and the challenges faced by management and businesses in developing countries. The RAN considers the practical, applied, and educational points of view valid. Likewise, RAN accepts manuscripts that include economic, financial, and marketing analyses of the environment in which companies in developing countries operate, as long as the methodology is rigorously implemented and validated

The RAN is a biannual publication, which apply a "double-blind peer review" to each manuscript received, and considers valid the points of view of both academics and professionals and practitioners, from the world of administration. Articles are accepted in both Spanish and English, but it is highly recommended that manuscripts submitted to the RAN be written in English, in order to reach a greater number of readers.

Publication Frequency

Manuscripts are accepted for review at any time of the year. The publication dates are:

  • Number 1: Last week of January
  • Number 2: Last week of July

Peer Review Process

RAN is a double blind peer-reviewed journal.

Upon submission, the manuscript will be cursorily inspected in the editorial office for compliance with the author instructions. Manuscripts that do not achieve the prerequisites for publication (please refer to these guidelines) will be immediately rejected. Remaining manuscripts will be assigned to the corresponding Editor-in-Chief, which may reject or allocate them to one of the twelve Section Editors, depending on the topic. Section Editors maintain a global vision of their topic areas. They select Associate Editors, who are responsible for identifying relevant referees for single-blind peer review (the referees know the identity of the authors, but the authors do not know the identity of the referees).

Two referees are invited to comment on each submission. When the opinions of the referees differ significantly, the manuscript is usually sent to a third referee. When a decision has been reached, the decision is communicated to the author.

The editors' decision is final unless there is a proven error in the process of manuscript evaluation or peer review. If you believe that there has been a process error in the handling of your manuscript, please address your concerns to the Editor-in-Chief and include the manuscript submission number.

After the author has submitted the final version and this has been accepted for publication, the manuscript undergoes a copyediting process. The copyeditor performs the clean-up edit. This edit occasionally generates new queries, which are sent to the author. RAN reserves the right to correct grammar, improve clarity, and impose the RAN style. Authors are responsible for content, including the spelling of personal and place names. RAN reserves the right to refuse publication of articles that, upon repeated resubmission, do not meet stylistic standards. After copyediting is complete, the issue is produced.

The review of each manuscript is under double blind peer review. Such referees will be (at-least) 100% outside the University of Concepción, 90% outside the regions of Bío-Bío and Ñuble, and 50% outside Chile.

All manuscripts submitted to the RAN follow this review process: First, they are assigned to the editor, who decides with the associated editors whether the manuscript conforms to the scope of the RAN. If the resolution is positive, the associated editors assign an editorial committee member to manage the manuscript, selecting and contacting the blind reviewers to conform to the manuscript.

Second, the manuscripts that continue with the process will be handed over to two blind reviewers for four weeks so that, at the end of this period, they should forward their recommendations to the associated editors through the review form.

The editor, with the associates, has 2 weeks to decide according to the recommendation of the reviewers, being able to request the recommendation of a third blind reviewer.

A manuscript may be accepted with minor corrections or major changes, or substantial changes may be requested, resulting in a new submission. Manuscripts whose quality is lower than the current RAN standard will be rejected.

In the event that modifications are required, the author must follow the proposed indications and resubmit the work with these incorporated within 2-4 weeks from the notification. The Editorial Committee, in this case, would be in charge of assigning new reviewers to reassess the work.

Publication Fees

The RAN no charge to require the submission of a manuscript. Additionally, the RAN will not request a fee for processing and / or publish an article when it is accepted for publication.
However, this policy does not apply when the authors wish to republish his manuscript in another language.

Copyright and Licensing

Following the submission of a manuscript, authors should indicate their agreement to comply with an open accesslicense. The license allows any user to download, print, extract, archive and distribute the article, as long as propercredit is given to the authors of the work and the RAN. The license ensures that your article will be distributed as widely as possible and that your article can be included in any scientific database.

Authors who publish in RAN copyright and moral rights at work are reserved.

All kinds of reuse of any article in RAN (whether commercial or not) should be referred to the RAN, who will manage permissions.

Please read about the Creative Commons license Atributtion before submitting your manuscript.

Archiving and Digital Preservation

This journal uses the LOCKSS system to create a file system distributed among collaborating libraries, which allows creating permanent archives of the journal for conservation and restoration purposes. More...

Editorial Disclaimer

The editorial board of the RAN and advised by anonymous referees, is responsible for the selection and acceptance of papers received for publication. These must be original and unpublished.

It is the sole responsibility of the author the accuracy and validity of the data and facts as well as the opinions expressed in the articles, which do not necessarily express the point of view of the Escuela de Administración y Negocios at the Universidad de Concepción.

Publication Ethics

Revista Academia & Negocios (RAN) is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct in academic publishing. This statement outlines the journal's ethical principles and editorial policies for all stakeholders involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and readers.

Adherence to COPE Principles

RAN – Revista Academia & Negocios follows the Core Practices and ethical recommendations developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Although the journal is not a member of COPE, its editorial policies and procedures are aligned with COPE's internationally recognized principles for publication ethics, peer review, editorial integrity, transparency, and the management of publication malpractice. Editorial decisions and ethical issues are handled in accordance with these principles, together with internationally accepted standards for scholarly publishing.

Responsibilities of Editors

The Editorial Board of RAN is responsible for ensuring a fair, transparent, and timely peer-review process. Manuscripts are evaluated solely on the basis of their intellectual merit, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope. The journal employs a double-blind peer-review system to promote impartiality. Editors will recuse themselves from handling a manuscript if there is any conflict of interest.

The Editor and the Editorial Committee guarantee that all work will be treated confidentially and that the most suitable reviewers will be selected to do a critical and expert assessment of the work without any kind of bias, and will comply with deadlines to ensure a quick diffusion of the results. The Editor and the Editorial Committee will avoid conflicts of interest between their personal research and those being submitted for revision.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the integrity and quality of the editorial process at RAN and are expected to uphold strict ethical standards. All manuscripts under review must be treated as confidential documents and should not be shared or discussed with others unless explicitly authorized by the editor. Reviews should be conducted with objectivity and professionalism; personal criticism of the authors is unacceptable.

Reviewers must also disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may influence their judgment, including personal or professional relationships with the authors. If a reviewer has collaborated with the author, co-published within the last three years, or belongs to the same institution, they should decline the review assignment. In addition, if AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) are used to support the evaluation process, this must be disclosed. However, reviews generated entirely by AI without human oversight are not permitted, as they compromise the accountability and critical assessment expected in scholarly peer review.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting to RAN are expected to adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct. Submitted manuscripts must be original, and any use of others' work must be properly cited and quoted. All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software to ensure compliance (Compilatio). Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research. All listed authors must approve the final manuscript and consent to its submission.

Authors must also ensure data integrity and transparency. Raw data should be retained and made available upon request for editorial review. Fabrication, falsification, or selective reporting of data is strictly prohibited and will result in rejection or retraction. Additionally, any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that may influence the research must be disclosed, including funding sources and affiliations. For studies involving human participants, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee and ensure informed consent is secured. Confidentiality and anonymity must be protected, and explicit consent is required for the publication of any identifiable data. A statement confirming ethical approval and informed consent must be included in the manuscript.

Authorship and Author Contributions (CRediT)

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the conception or design of the research; the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; and/or the drafting or critical revision of the manuscript. All authors must approve the final version prior to publication and agree to be accountable for the integrity of the work.

Following acceptance, the corresponding author will be asked to provide a Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) statement describing the specific contributions of each author. The CRediT statement is published together with the article to enhance transparency regarding individual contributions.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately with their permission.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the design, conduct, interpretation, or reporting of the submitted research. Potential conflicts include, but are not limited to, employment, consultancies, grants, honoraria, stock ownership, paid expert testimony, patents, or close personal relationships.

As part of the submission process, corresponding authors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest in the originality statement submitted with their manuscript. If no conflicts exist, authors should explicitly indicate that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Editors and reviewers are also expected to disclose any conflicts of interest and must recuse themselves from the editorial or peer-review process whenever such conflicts could compromise their objectivity.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must have been conducted in accordance with recognized ethical standards and applicable institutional and national regulations. Authors are expected to indicate, where appropriate, that the study received approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB).

When research involves human participants, authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation in the study. If any information, images, or other materials could potentially identify individual participants, authors must also confirm that explicit consent for publication was obtained.

Authors are responsible for protecting participants' privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity throughout the research and publication process. The journal reserves the right to request additional documentation regarding ethical approval or participant consent whenever necessary.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

RAN recognizes that authors may use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar technologies, to assist with language editing, grammar correction, or other editorial tasks. However, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and scientific content of their manuscripts.

AI tools may not be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the content of a scholarly work or satisfy internationally accepted authorship criteria.

As part of the submission process, corresponding authors are required to disclose the use of AI tools in the originality statement submitted with their manuscript. This declaration should describe the extent and purpose of the AI assistance. Failure to disclose substantial AI-assisted content may constitute a breach of the journal's publication ethics policies.

Publication Malpractice

RAN maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward publication malpractice and research misconduct. Unethical behaviors such as plagiarism (including self-plagiarism), duplicate or redundant publication, data fabrication or falsification, manipulation of the peer review process, and failure to disclose conflicts of interest are strictly prohibited. Such actions compromise the integrity of the academic record and violate the trust placed in authors and reviewers.

Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern

When misconduct is identified, the journal may take corrective actions including rejection of the manuscript, retraction of a published article, formal notification to the authors' institutions, and banning of the responsible individuals from future submissions. In accordance with COPE guidelines, RAN will issue corrections when honest errors are discovered that do not undermine the validity of the research. Retractions will be published in cases of proven misconduct or when findings are deemed unreliable due to error or fraud. Additionally, Expressions of Concern may be issued during ongoing investigations. All retractions and corrections will be clearly identified and directly linked to the original publication to ensure transparency and maintain the scholarly record.

RAN adheres to COPE guidelines for handling corrections and retractions:

  • Corrections will be issued when honest errors affect the publication record but do not invalidate the findings.
  • Retractions will be issued when there is evidence of serious misconduct or unreliable findings due to error or fraud.
  • Expressions of Concern may be published while an investigation is ongoing.

All corrections and retractions will be clearly labeled and linked to the original article.

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is the unethical act of copying someone else’s prior ideas, processes, results or words without explicit acknowledgement of the original author and source. Self-plagiarism occurs when an author utilizes large part of his/her own previously published work without using appropriate references. This can range from getting the same manuscript published in multiple journals to modifying a previously published manuscript with some new data.

RAN is strictly against any unethical act of copying or plagiarism in any form. Plagiarism is said to have occurred when large portions of a manuscript have been copied from existing previously published resources. All manuscripts submitted for publication to RAN are cross-checked for plagiarism using Compilatio software. Manuscripts found to be plagiarized during initial stages of review are out-rightly rejected and not considered for publication in the journal. In case a manuscript is found to be plagiarized after publication, the Editor-in-Chief will conduct preliminary investigation, may be with the help of a suitable committee constituted for the purpose. If the manuscript is found to be plagiarized beyond the acceptable limits, the journal will contact the author’s Institute / College / University and Funding Agency, if any. A determination of misconduct will lead RAN to run a statement bi-directionally linked online to and from the original paper, to note the plagiarism and provide a reference to the plagiarized material. The paper containing the plagiarism will also be marked on each page of the PDF. Upon determination of the extent of plagiarism, the paper may also be formally retracted.

Types of Pladiarism

The following types of plagiarism are considered by RAN:

  1. Full Plagiarism: Previously published content without any changes to the text, idea and grammar is considered as full plagiarism. It involves presenting exact text from a source as one’s own.
  2. Partial Plagiarism: If content is a mixture from multiple different sources, where the author has extensively rephrased text, then it is known as partial plagiarism.
  3. Self-Plagiarism: When an author reuses complete or portions of their pre-published research, then it is known as self-plagiarism. Complete self-plagiarism is a case when an author republishes their own previously published work in a new journal.

Data Availability

RAN promotes transparency and reproducibility. Authors are encouraged to make datasets, instruments, and code available in trusted repositories when possible.