Before submitting, authors should read these instructions in full. Manuscripts that do not comply may be returned without review.

General requirements

•      Manuscripts must be original, written in clear academic English, and not under consideration elsewhere.

•      Submit in Microsoft Word (.docx), A4 page, 12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced, with continuous line and page numbering.

•      A separate title page must contain the title, all authors' full names, affiliations, e-mail addresses, ORCID iDs and the corresponding author's details. The main manuscript must be fully anonymised for double-blind review.

•      Abstract of no more than [250] words, structured as purpose, design/methodology, findings, and implications; followed by [4–6] keywords and [2–3] JEL classification codes where applicable.

Structure of an empirical article

•      Introduction (problem, gap, research questions, contribution)

•      Literature review and theoretical framework / hypotheses

•      Methodology (design, population and sample, instrument, validity and reliability, analytical technique, ethics approval)

•      Results

•      Discussion (theoretical and practical implications)

•      Conclusion, limitations and directions for future research

•      Declarations: funding, conflict of interest, ethics approval, informed consent, data availability, AI use, author contributions (CRediT), acknowledgements

•      References

References and citation style

The journal uses [APA 7th edition]. All references must be complete and include a DOI where one exists. Authors are expected to cite the primary literature and to avoid gratuitous self-citation or citation of sources they have not read. Excessive or coerced citation will be queried by the editors.

Tables, figures and supplementary material

•      Tables and figures must be numbered consecutively, cited in the text, and given self-explanatory titles and notes.

•      Figures must be supplied at a minimum of 300 dpi in an editable or high-resolution format.

•      Permission must be obtained and evidenced for any material reproduced from another source.

Checklist before submission

•      Anonymised manuscript and separate title page prepared

•      Similarity check run by the author; similarity index below [15]% with no single source above [5]%

•      All declarations completed and ethics approval reference stated where human participants are involved

•      Reference list complete, consistent and DOI-enriched

•      Cover letter stating originality and the contribution of the work