1. Purpose and scope of publications

The purpose of the Kautz Conference on Business and Economics is to promote academic dissemination and to present and discuss research in the field of economics and business studies at an international level.

The conference publishes peer-reviewed scientific publications that meet international academic standards. The following types of manuscripts may be submitted:

• abstract,
• full papers,
• theoretical and empirical research studies,
• case studies.

The conference topics cover, in particular, but are not limited to, the following fields of science:

• business and management sciences,
• economics and applied economics,
• entrepreneurship and innovation research,
• digital transformation and sustainability,
• regional and socio-economic analyses.

2. Publication forums

The conference offers several complementary publication forums in various formats.

2.1. Book of Abstracts

Registration for the conference is completed upon submission and acceptance of an abstract.

• All accepted abstracts will be published in the official Book of Abstracts for that year.
• Publication in the Book of Abstracts does not constitute preliminary publication and does not preclude the subsequent publication of the full study.

2.2. Proceedings of Kautz Conference on Business and Economics / Kautz Academic Yearbook – Studies in Business and Economics

Full papers will be published in the official, peer-reviewed institutional/publishing publication entitled Proceedings of Kautz Conference on Business and Economics / Kautz Academic Yearbook – Studies in Business and Economics.

2.3. Partner journals

For outstanding quality studies, there is the possibility of publication in partner journals, on an invitation-only basis. An invitation to publish in a journal does not guarantee acceptance; the fate of the manuscript is always decided by the journal's editorial board. All papers submitted to partner journals are subject to standard editorial and peer review processes.

3. Peer Review Policy

3.1. Preliminary editorial review

Submitted manuscripts undergo preliminary editorial review to ensure that they meet formal, technical, and ethical requirements, in accordance with the conference's Author Guidelines (https://kautzconference.sze.hu/guidelines).

Manuscripts that do not comply with ethical guidelines will be rejected before the review process begins.

Manuscripts containing formal deficiencies may be returned for correction and resubmission.

Following the preliminary review, the editor in charge—or, in the event of a conflict of interest, a designated member of the Scientific Committee—will decide on the scientific merit and thematic relevance of the manuscript. Preliminary rejections are approved by the chair of the Scientific Committee.

3.2. Reviewer recommendations and conflicts of interest

Authors may suggest potential reviewers. The editorial board checks for conflicts of interest in all cases.

Reviewers:

• are required to disclose any conflicts of interest,
• may not have been co-authors with the author(s) in the past five years,
• and may not have any current institutional affiliation with the authors.

Authors may also indicate persons whom they do not wish to be involved in the review process, provided that this does not compromise the objectivity of the evaluation.

 3.3. The review process

At least two independent experts are invited to review the manuscripts.  Proceedings of Kautz Conference on Business and Economics / Kautz Academic Yearbook – Studies in Business and Economics are reviewed using a double-blind peer review process.

Reviews are confidential. The editorial decision is made by the editor, with the final decision resting with the chair of the Scientific Committee.

 3.4. Editorial decisions and corrections

The decision categories are:

• Acceptance
• Acceptance with minor corrections (deadline: 1 week),
• Resubmission after significant improvements (deadline: 2 weeks, typically one round),
• Rejection.

Authors are required to respond to each comment made by the reviewers.

 3.5. Appeal procedure

A justified appeal may be lodged against a rejection decision.
The appeal will be reviewed by a designated member of the Scientific Committee or an independent expert. The decision taken at this stage is final.

4. Selection and allocation logic

Studies are assigned to a publication forum based on the following criteria:

• scientific quality,
• reviewer evaluations,
• thematic fit,
• editing and length restrictions.

Proceedings of Kautz Conference on Business and Economics / Kautz Academic Yearbook – Studies in Business and Economics: Only studies actually presented at the conference may be published in this publication.

5. Publication ethics and scientific integrity

The conference's publication practices are in line with the principles of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

5.1. Similarity check

All complete studies undergo a Turnitin similarity check.

• The condition for publication is a Similarity Index < 30%.
• Manuscripts exceeding the threshold value cannot be published.

5.2. Publication misconduct

Cases of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate submission, data manipulation, and unauthorized authorship may result in rejection or retraction.

5.3. Use of artificial intelligence (AI)

The conference recognizes the supportive use of artificial intelligence-based tools.

• Artificial intelligence cannot be listed as an author.
• Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscripts, regardless of the use of AI tools.
• AI tools may only be used as aids (e.g., language correction, data processing).
• If AI tools have contributed significantly to the preparation of the manuscript, authors are required to indicate this in a transparent manner.
• Inappropriate or non-transparent use of AI constitutes a violation of publication ethics.

6. Copyright and terms of use

The condition for publication is the signing of the relevant publication agreement. The agreement is signed upon submission of the abstract/full paper. Copyright and access conditions are determined by the publication forum's rules.

7. Indexing and visibility

The conference only publishes confirmed, factual indexing information. The status "submitted for indexing" does not guarantee indexing.

8. Authors' obligations

Authors are required to:

• comply with submission, revision, and publication deadlines;
• comply with formal, content and publication ethics requirements;
• actively participate in the conference and present the paper;
• accept all relevant rules and statements of the conference.

In order to ensure the scientific quality of the conference and the balance of the review process, a person may appear as an author or co-author in a maximum of three (3) papers at the Kautz Conference on Business and Economics, regardless of the publication forum.

In case of violation of this rule, the editorial board reserves the right to reject the manuscript for administrative reasons.

The conference reserves the right to amend the rules in line with changes in international academic standards.