No Article Processing Charges

Contemporary Research on Organization Management and Administration does not charge authors any fees for submission, editorial assessment, peer review, language evaluation, manuscript processing, publication or online access.

There are no article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, review fees, publication fees, page charges, colour charges or supplementary material fees.

This no-fee policy applies to all manuscript categories accepted by the journal, including:

original research articles;
review articles;
systematic reviews;
scoping reviews;
theoretical and conceptual papers;
qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies;
comparative studies;
case studies;
policy analyses;
methodological articles;
research notes;
doctoral research reports;
book reviews;
review essays;
invited contributions.

Editorial decisions are based exclusively on scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness and compliance with the journal’s policies. An author’s institutional affiliation, nationality, financial resources or professional status does not influence the editorial decision.

Author Guidelines

1. Before Submission

Before submitting a manuscript, authors must ensure that:

the manuscript falls within the journal’s Aim and Scope;
the work is original and has not previously been published;
the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;
all listed authors have made a genuine scholarly contribution;
all authors have approved the submitted version;
the corresponding author has received authorization from all co-authors to communicate with the journal;
all sources are appropriately acknowledged;
the manuscript does not contain plagiarism, fabricated data or falsified results;
necessary ethics approval and participant consent have been obtained;
conflicts of interest and funding sources are fully disclosed;
permissions have been obtained for copyrighted material;
the manuscript has been prepared in clear academic English;
all data, tables, figures and supplementary files are accurate and complete.

Simultaneous submission to more than one journal is prohibited. If the manuscript is under evaluation elsewhere, it must not be submitted to CROMA until the other editorial process has formally ended.

2. Language

The journal publishes manuscripts exclusively in English.

Authors are responsible for submitting a manuscript written in clear, professional and grammatically accurate academic English. Language should be precise, inclusive and appropriate to the relevant discipline.

The editorial office may request language revision when poor presentation interferes with scientific evaluation. Language quality alone cannot compensate for weak methodology, insufficient originality or limited scholarly contribution.

Authors should avoid discriminatory, stereotypical, insulting or unnecessarily politicized language. Sex, gender, ethnicity, nationality, disability, age, religion and other personal characteristics should be reported only when relevant to the research question and methodology.

3. Manuscript File

Manuscripts should normally be submitted in Microsoft Word format.

The submitted file should:

use a clear and readable font;
use 12-point font size;
use 1.5 line spacing;
have standard page margins;
include numbered pages;
use continuous line numbering where possible;
present headings in a consistent hierarchy;
place tables and figures near their first citation or at the end of the manuscript;
use editable tables rather than images of tables;
avoid unnecessary decorative formatting;
use automatic reference-management formatting carefully;
contain active and accurate DOI links where available.

Authors should remove personal information from the anonymous manuscript file when the journal requests a version for double-blind peer review.

4. Recommended Manuscript Length

The appropriate length depends on the manuscript category and research design. As a general guide:

original research articles: 5,000–9,000 words;
review articles: 6,000–10,000 words;
systematic and scoping reviews: 6,000–12,000 words;
theoretical or conceptual articles: 5,000–9,000 words;
case studies: 4,000–8,000 words;
methodological articles: 4,000–8,000 words;
research notes: 2,500–4,000 words;
book reviews: 1,000–2,000 words.

These limits include the main text but may exclude references and supplementary materials. Longer manuscripts may be considered when their length is justified by the research design or subject.

5. Title Page

The title page must contain:

complete manuscript title;
full name and surname of each author;
academic degree or professional title, where applicable;
department or organizational unit;
institution;
city and country;
institutional email address;
ORCID identifier;
identification of the corresponding author;
corresponding author’s email address;
funding information;
conflict-of-interest declaration;
acknowledgements, where applicable.

The author order must be agreed upon by all contributors before submission. Requests to change authorship after submission are subject to editorial review.

6. Manuscript Title

The title should be:

concise and informative;
directly related to the research problem;
understandable to an international readership;
free from unnecessary abbreviations;
free from exaggerated claims;
specific about the principal variables, population, setting or analytical focus where appropriate.

Titles should normally contain approximately 10–20 words.

7. Abstract

Research articles should include a structured or clearly organized abstract of approximately 200–300 words.

The abstract should state:

the background or research problem;
the purpose of the study;
the methodology;
the principal results;
the main conclusion;
the theoretical or practical contribution.

The abstract must accurately represent the manuscript. It should not introduce results, arguments or claims that do not appear in the main text.

References, unexplained abbreviations, tables, figures and promotional language should not be included in the abstract.

8. Keywords

Authors should provide five to eight keywords.

Keywords should:

reflect the central subject of the manuscript;
include important concepts, methods, regions or populations;
avoid simply repeating every word from the title;
support accurate indexing and online discovery;
use internationally recognizable terminology.

9. Recommended Structure for Research Articles

Original research articles should normally include the following sections:

Introduction

The Introduction should:

present the research problem;
explain its academic and practical importance;
identify the relevant context;
summarize the principal research gap;
state the study’s aim;
present research questions or hypotheses;
explain the expected contribution.

Literature Review

The Literature Review should:

critically examine relevant scholarship;
identify theoretical and empirical debates;
distinguish established knowledge from unresolved questions;
explain the conceptual or theoretical framework;
demonstrate the originality of the study;
include recent and internationally relevant sources.

A literature review should not merely list previous studies. It should synthesize, compare and critically evaluate existing research.

Methodology

The Methodology section should provide sufficient information for readers to assess the validity and reproducibility of the research.

It should explain, where applicable:

research design;
theoretical or methodological approach;
research setting;
population and sample;
participant selection;
inclusion and exclusion criteria;
data sources;
data-collection procedures;
research instruments;
variables and measurements;
analytical methods;
software used;
reliability and validity procedures;
ethical approval;
informed consent;
methodological limitations.

Results

The Results section should present the findings clearly and objectively.

Authors should:

organize results according to research questions or hypotheses;
avoid repeating all table data in the text;
report relevant statistical information;
distinguish results from interpretation;
explain qualitative themes transparently;
report negative or non-significant findings where relevant;
avoid selective reporting.

Discussion

The Discussion should:

interpret the findings;
connect results to the research questions;
compare findings with previous literature;
explain theoretical implications;
discuss practical or policy implications;
consider alternative interpretations;
identify strengths and limitations;
avoid claims not supported by the evidence.

Conclusion

The Conclusion should:

summarize the principal contribution;
answer the research question;
explain the significance of the findings;
provide appropriate recommendations;
identify possible directions for future research;
avoid introducing new evidence.

10. Review Articles

Review articles must have a clearly defined objective, scope and analytical approach.

Authors should explain:

the review question;
information sources and databases;
search strategy;
search period;
eligibility criteria;
screening process;
data-extraction procedure;
synthesis method;
limitations of the review.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should follow the applicable PRISMA recommendations.

Official PRISMA guidance is available at:

PRISMA Statement

Scoping reviews should follow the PRISMA-ScR extension where appropriate.

11. Reporting Guidelines

Authors should use recognized reporting guidelines appropriate to their research design.

Relevant guidance may be found through:

EQUATOR Network

Examples include:

PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses;
CONSORT for randomized trials;
STROBE for observational studies;
COREQ for qualitative interview and focus-group research;
SRQR for qualitative research;
CARE for case reports;
CHEERS for health-economic evaluations;
SAGER for reporting sex and gender information.

Where applicable, the completed reporting checklist should be submitted as supplementary material.

12. Tables

Tables must:

be numbered consecutively;
have a concise and informative title;
be cited in numerical order in the text;
be understandable without excessive reference to the main text;
define all abbreviations in notes;
identify the source of reproduced or adapted material;
use editable text rather than screenshots;
avoid unnecessary duplication of information.

Each table should present a meaningful analytical relationship rather than raw, unexplained data.

13. Figures and Illustrations

Figures must:

be numbered consecutively;
include a descriptive caption;
be cited in numerical order;
have adequate resolution;
use readable labels;
present data accurately;
avoid visual manipulation;
include units and legends where needed;
identify the source of reproduced or adapted material.

Authors must obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted figures, photographs, maps or illustrations.

Manipulation that changes the meaning of an image or conceals relevant information is prohibited.

14. References

The journal uses APA 7th edition style.

Authors should ensure that:

every in-text citation appears in the reference list;
every reference-list entry is cited in the text;
author names and publication years are accurate;
titles and publication details are complete;
DOI links are included whenever available;
retracted or unreliable sources are not cited as valid evidence;
excessive self-citation is avoided;
references are directly relevant to the research;
recent international literature is adequately represented;
primary sources are preferred when available.

DOIs should be presented as active links:

https://doi.org/xxxxx

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all references.

15. Research Data and Materials

Authors are encouraged to make supporting data, instruments, analytical code and research materials available in a trustworthy repository whenever legally, ethically and practically possible.

The manuscript should contain a Data Availability Statement explaining:

where the data can be accessed;
whether access restrictions apply;
why data cannot be shared, if applicable;
how qualified researchers may request access.

Examples include:

Data are openly available in [repository name] at [persistent link].

Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Data cannot be publicly shared because they contain confidential participant information.

Authors must not share data when doing so would violate privacy, consent, legal or contractual obligations.

16. Research Ethics

Research involving human participants, personal data, vulnerable groups or sensitive information must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

The manuscript should report:

the name of the approving ethics committee;
approval number;
approval date, where applicable;
consent procedures;
protection of confidentiality;
data-protection measures;
any justified waiver of consent.

Research involving participants must be based on voluntary and appropriately documented informed consent unless a recognized ethics committee has approved an exception.

Personal identifying information must not be published without explicit authorization.

17. Authorship

Authorship must be based on a substantial scholarly contribution.

Each author should have contributed meaningfully to:

the conception or design of the study; or
data collection, analysis or interpretation; and
drafting or critically revising the manuscript; and
approving the final version; and
accepting accountability for the work.

Individuals who provided administrative assistance, routine language editing, technical support or general supervision without a substantial scholarly contribution should normally be acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

The journal follows the principles set out in the following COPE resources:

COPE Discussion Document: Authorship

COPE Guidance Resources

Reference to COPE guidance does not imply that the journal or publisher is a formal COPE member.

18. Changes in Authorship

Any request to add, remove or reorder an author after submission must include:

a clear explanation;
written agreement from all listed authors;
written agreement from the person being added or removed;
an updated contribution statement.

The editorial office may reject unexplained or disputed authorship changes. The editorial process may be suspended until the matter is resolved.

Authorship changes are normally not accepted after publication unless required to correct the scholarly record.

19. Contributor Roles

Authors are encouraged to describe individual contributions using the CRediT taxonomy.

Possible roles include:

conceptualization;
methodology;
software;
validation;
formal analysis;
investigation;
resources;
data curation;
writing—original draft;
writing—review and editing;
visualization;
supervision;
project administration;
funding acquisition.

More information is available at:

CRediT Contributor Roles Taxonomy

20. Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose financial and non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research.

Relevant interests may include:

employment;
consultancy;
institutional responsibilities;
research funding;
commercial relationships;
stock ownership;
paid expert testimony;
patents;
personal relationships;
academic competition;
political or ideological commitments directly related to the manuscript.

If no conflict exists, authors should state:

“The authors declare that they have no competing interests.”

Editors and reviewers must also disclose relevant conflicts and withdraw from the evaluation when impartiality could reasonably be questioned.

21. Funding

All financial and material support must be disclosed.

The Funding Statement should identify:

the funding organization;
grant number;
funded author;
role of the funder in research design;
role of the funder in data collection and analysis;
role of the funder in manuscript preparation;
role of the funder in the decision to publish.

If the study received no specific funding, authors should state:

“This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.”

22. Acknowledgements

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

Acknowledgements may recognize:

technical assistance;
language support;
institutional assistance;
access to facilities;
data-access support;
non-author intellectual contributions.

Authors must not use acknowledgements to imply endorsement without the person’s consent.

23. Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must be original.

The journal may screen submissions using similarity-detection or other research-integrity tools.

The following practices are prohibited:

plagiarism;
self-plagiarism;
unauthorized translation of previously published work;
duplicate publication;
redundant publication;
data fabrication;
data falsification;
image manipulation;
citation manipulation;
purchased authorship;
ghost authorship;
paper-mill submissions;
submission of content produced through identity fraud;
concealment of previous publication.

A similarity report is an editorial aid and is not the sole basis for a misconduct determination. Editors assess the nature, source and context of overlapping material.

The journal consults relevant COPE guidance when addressing suspected publication misconduct:

COPE Guidance

COPE Flowcharts

24. Duplicate and Prior Publication

Authors must disclose any related manuscript, preprint, conference paper, report, thesis or previous publication that overlaps with the submitted work.

Publication of an abstract, academic thesis or preprint does not automatically disqualify a submission, but it must be disclosed.

The submitted article must provide a substantial and clearly identifiable original contribution. Authors must cite relevant earlier versions and explain the relationship between them.

The same manuscript must not be submitted to multiple journals simultaneously.

25. Preprints

Posting a manuscript on a recognized preprint server before journal submission is not automatically considered prior publication.

Authors must:

disclose the preprint at submission;
provide its persistent link or DOI;
ensure that journal submission does not violate another agreement;
update the preprint record with the published article’s citation and DOI after publication where possible.

Editors assess preprint-related submissions according to the same scholarly criteria as other manuscripts.

26. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

Generative artificial intelligence systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the integrity, accuracy and originality of scholarly work.

Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content, including material developed with automated tools.

Any substantive use of artificial intelligence must be disclosed. The disclosure should identify:

the tool and version;
purpose of use;
sections affected;
extent of human review and verification.

AI tools must not be used to:

fabricate data;
create false references;
misrepresent results;
conceal plagiarism;
generate fraudulent images;
replace necessary scholarly judgement;
compromise confidential participant information.

Basic spelling, grammar and formatting assistance generally does not require extensive disclosure, provided it does not generate or materially alter the scholarly content.

27. Citation Practices

Citations must be selected for scholarly relevance rather than to manipulate metrics.

The journal does not permit:

coercive citation;
excessive journal self-citation;
unnecessary author self-citation;
citation cartels;
references added only to increase citation counts;
citation of sources not consulted by the authors.

Editors and reviewers must not request irrelevant citations to their own work or to the journal.

28. Peer Review

Manuscripts passing initial editorial screening are normally evaluated by at least two independent reviewers using double-blind peer review.

Possible decisions include:

accept;
accept subject to minor revisions;
major revisions required;
revise and resubmit;
reject.

Acceptance is not guaranteed by submission, revision or invitation.

Authors must respond to reviewer comments respectfully and systematically. A revised submission should contain:

a clean revised manuscript;
a marked or tracked-changes version, if requested;
a point-by-point response to reviewers;
an explanation for recommendations not adopted.

The journal bases decisions on academic merit rather than payment because all editorial and publication services are free of charge.

29. Appeals

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that:

a material factual error affected the decision;
the manuscript was substantially misunderstood;
a significant conflict of interest was overlooked;
editorial procedure was not properly followed.

An appeal must:

identify the manuscript;
explain the grounds clearly;
respond to the decision and reviewer comments;
provide evidence rather than personal accusations;
be submitted within a reasonable period.

An appeal does not guarantee reconsideration or acceptance.

30. Complaints

Complaints concerning editorial conduct, peer review, publication ethics or procedural fairness should be submitted in writing to the editorial office.

The complaint should include:

complainant’s identity and contact information;
manuscript or article details;
clear description of the concern;
relevant evidence;
requested resolution.

Complaints are handled confidentially and, where appropriate, in accordance with COPE guidance:

COPE Complaints and Appeals

31. Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to maintaining an accurate scholarly record.

After publication, the journal may issue:

a correction;
an author correction;
an editorial correction;
an expression of concern;
a retraction;
a notice of removal in exceptional legal circumstances.

Retraction may be considered when findings are unreliable because of misconduct or major error, plagiarism, unethical research, duplicate publication or serious authorship problems.

Relevant international guidance is available from:

COPE Retraction Guidelines

32. Manuscript Withdrawal

Authors requesting withdrawal must provide a written explanation signed or approved by all authors.

Withdrawal may be accepted when:

the submission was made in error;
a significant problem has been identified;
all authors agree;
the request is made before publication.

Authors must not submit the manuscript elsewhere until the editorial office confirms withdrawal.

33. Copyright

Authors retain copyright in their published work.

By accepting publication, authors grant the journal and its publishers the non-exclusive right to:

publish the article;
identify itself as the original place of publication;
distribute the version of record;
preserve and archive the article;
deposit article metadata;
register and maintain persistent identifiers;
authorize indexing and discovery;
reproduce the article in journal-related databases and archives;
undertake necessary corrections to the scholarly record.

Copyright retention means authors remain the legal owners of their work, subject to the terms of the applicable open-access licence.

34. Licensing

Unless otherwise stated on the published article, CROMA articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

The CC BY 4.0 licence permits users to:

read and download the article;
copy and redistribute it in any medium or format;
share it with students and colleagues;
include it in repositories;
translate or adapt it;
reuse it for academic, educational or commercial purposes.

Users must:

provide appropriate credit to the author;
cite the original article;
identify the journal as the original publication venue;
provide a link to the licence;
indicate whether changes were made;
avoid implying author or publisher endorsement.

Material owned by third parties may be subject to separate copyright restrictions and may not automatically be covered by the article’s CC BY 4.0 licence.

35. Author Rights

Authors may, subject to accurate citation and the applicable licence:

retain copyright;
share the published article;
deposit the accepted manuscript or version of record in an institutional repository;
publish the article on a personal or institutional website;
use the work in teaching;
include the article in a thesis or dissertation;
reuse figures and tables created by the author;
present the findings at conferences;
prepare an expanded work that appropriately cites the original article;
distribute copies for scholarly and professional purposes.

Authors must ensure that reuse does not misrepresent the published record and that the original article is fully cited.

36. Self-Archiving

Authors may deposit the published article in:

institutional repositories;
subject repositories;
personal academic profiles;
university websites;
funder repositories;
national research-information systems.

The deposited version should contain:

the article title;
author names;
journal title;
volume and issue;
publication year;
page or article number;
DOI;
licence information;
link to the version of record.

37. Permissions and Third-Party Material

Authors must obtain written permission for any third-party material not covered by an applicable exception or licence.

This may include:

previously published figures;
photographs;
maps;
assessment instruments;
questionnaires;
extensive quotations;
tables;
proprietary datasets;
illustrations;
copyrighted scales.

Evidence of permission should be retained and supplied to the journal upon request.

38. Author Declarations

The following declarations should appear before the References section where applicable:

Author Contributions

State the contribution of each author.

Funding

Identify all funding or state that no specific funding was received.

Conflicts of Interest

Disclose relevant interests or state that no competing interests exist.

Ethics Approval

Provide the committee name and approval reference where required.

Informed Consent

State how consent was obtained or explain why it was not applicable.

Data Availability

Explain where supporting data may be accessed.

Acknowledgements

Identify non-author assistance with permission.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Disclose substantive use of generative or automated tools.

39. Submission Checklist

Before submission, authors should confirm that:

the manuscript fits the journal’s scope;
the submission is original;
the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere;
all authors approved the submission;
author information is complete;
ORCID identifiers are provided;
the abstract and keywords are included;
the manuscript follows the required structure;
tables and figures are numbered and cited;
references follow APA 7;
DOI links have been added where available;
ethics information is included where necessary;
funding is disclosed;
competing interests are declared;
data availability is addressed;
AI use is disclosed where applicable;
permissions for third-party materials have been obtained;
personal information has been removed from the anonymous review file;
the manuscript has been checked for language and formatting;
all supplementary files have been included.

40. Publication Charges

Submission: Free
Editorial screening: Free
Peer review: Free
Manuscript processing: Free
Publication: Free
Online access: Free
Supplementary material: Free
Corrections initiated by the journal: Free

CROMA does not require authors to pay an APC or other mandatory publication fee at any stage of the standard editorial and publication process.

Publication-Ethics Resources

The journal’s policies are informed by recognized international guidance, including:

Committee on Publication Ethics

COPE Core Practices

COPE Guidance and Flowcharts

COPE Retraction Guidelines

Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

EQUATOR Network

PRISMA Statement