Research involving individuals, employees, consumers, entrepreneurs, students, communities, survey respondents, interview participants, or other human participants must protect their dignity, rights, safety, privacy, and confidentiality.

Where ethics approval is required by an institution, research setting, funding body, or applicable regulation, authors must identify the approving ethics committee or institution and provide the approval number or other relevant approval information where available.

Where applicable, participation must be voluntary and based on appropriate informed consent. Participants should receive sufficient information regarding the purpose, procedures, foreseeable risks, confidentiality arrangements, and voluntary nature of participation.

Names, photographs, personal identifiers, employee records, financial records, confidential corporate information, or other identifiable information must not be disclosed without appropriate authorization, consent, or legal basis.

Research involving vulnerable participants requires particular care to ensure voluntary participation, appropriate consent, confidentiality, proportionality of risk, and protection from coercion, exploitation, or harm.

Editors may request ethics approval documents, informed-consent information, research instruments, institutional permission, or other supporting documentation where ethical compliance is unclear. Failure to provide adequate clarification may result in rejection or other appropriate editorial action.