Reviewer Guidelines

1. Introduction

Jurnal Manajemen Retail Indonesia (JMARI) is committed to publishing high-quality scholarly articles that contribute to the development of knowledge, theory, and practice in retail management and related fields. To maintain publication quality, all manuscripts that meet the journal's initial requirements undergo peer review by reviewers with expertise relevant to the subject matter. Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the academic quality, objectivity, scientific integrity, and relevance of articles published by JMARI. Reviewers are therefore expected to conduct their assessments professionally, independently, objectively, constructively, and within the specified timeframe.

2. Reviewer Qualifications

JMARI reviewers are expected to meet the following qualifications:

  • Possess academic or professional expertise relevant to the manuscript under review.
  • Have an appropriate record of research, scholarly publications, or professional experience in the relevant field.
  • Be able to assess research methodology, analytical accuracy, the validity of findings, and the manuscript's scholarly contribution.
  • Understand publication ethics and the principles of peer review.
  • Be willing to conduct reviews independently, objectively, and within the deadlines established by the editor.

3. Ethical Principles and Professional Conduct

Reviewers must adhere to the following principles:

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review are confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, distribute, quote, or use information contained in a manuscript for personal or third-party purposes without appropriate authorization, in accordance with the editor's instructions and the journal's policies.

Objectivity and Independence

Assessments must be based on scientific quality, empirical evidence, methodological rigor, argumentation, and academic contribution. Reviewers must avoid judgments influenced by authors' identities, affiliations, gender, backgrounds, beliefs, or personal characteristics.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any potential academic, professional, financial, or personal conflicts of interest to the editor. If a conflict could compromise the objectivity of the assessment, reviewers should decline the assignment or ask the editor to determine the appropriate course of action.

Research Integrity

Reviewers are expected to help identify potential plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, data fabrication, inappropriate citation practices, or other research ethics violations. Any suspected misconduct should be reported confidentially to the editor, together with relevant evidence or supporting reasons.

Use of Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Reviewers must maintain manuscript confidentiality when using digital tools. Unpublished manuscripts or portions thereof must not be uploaded to unauthorized artificial intelligence (AI) services or third-party platforms when doing so could disclose confidential information or violate journal policies.

Reviewers remain responsible for all assessments and recommendations they provide. AI tools must not replace reviewers' academic judgment or result in the disclosure of confidential manuscript information.

4. Manuscript Evaluation Criteria

Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts according to the following criteria:

  • Relevance and scope: The manuscript's alignment with JMARI's focus and scope.
  • Originality and novelty: The clarity of its new contribution to knowledge, theory, methodology, or retail management practice.
  • Theoretical framework and literature review: The relevance, adequacy, currency, and appropriate use of scholarly literature.
  • Research problem and objectives: The clarity of the research problem, objectives, research questions, or hypotheses.
  • Research methodology: The appropriateness of the research design, sample or informant selection, instruments, data collection procedures, and analytical methods.
  • Results and discussion: The accuracy of the results, depth of analysis, consistency of arguments, and relationship between the findings, theoretical perspectives, and previous studies.
  • Academic and practical contributions: The implications of the research for the advancement of knowledge and retail management practice.
  • Conclusions and limitations: The consistency of conclusions with the findings and the acknowledgment of research limitations and opportunities for future research.
  • References and citations: The relevance of sources, consistency of citations, and correspondence between in-text citations and the reference list.
  • Writing and presentation quality: Language clarity, article structure, tables, figures, and compliance with JMARI's manuscript preparation guidelines.
  • Research ethics: Compliance with ethical research principles, including participant protection and ethical approval where applicable.

Within the field of retail management, reviewers should also consider the manuscript's relevance to topics such as consumer behavior, retail strategy, marketing, merchandise management, supply chain management, customer experience, digital transformation, electronic commerce, sustainability, and innovation and developments in the retail industry.

5. Review Procedure

Reviewers are expected to follow these steps:

  • Receive the review invitation. Examine the title, abstract, and available information to determine whether the manuscript falls within their area of expertise.
  • Confirm availability. Accept or decline the assignment within the period specified by the editor.
  • Check for conflicts of interest. Inform the editor of any relationships or interests that could influence the assessment.
  • Conduct a comprehensive review. Evaluate the manuscript's scholarly substance, methodology, analysis, ethics, and presentation quality.
  • Provide constructive comments. Identify the manuscript's strengths, weaknesses requiring attention, and clear, actionable recommendations for improvement.
  • Submit a recommendation. Upload the review through the journal's manuscript management system within the specified deadline.
  • Review revisions when requested. Assess the authors' responses and the changes made to the revised manuscript.

6. Review Format and Recommendations

Reviewers should provide specific, objective, and constructive comments aimed at improving the manuscript's quality. Substantive issues should be distinguished from technical or editorial matters.

Reviewers may recommend one of the following decisions:

  • Accept: The manuscript meets the journal's scholarly standards and requires no substantive revision.
  • Minor Revision: The manuscript requires limited improvements that do not alter the study's principal contribution.
  • Major Revision: The manuscript requires substantial improvements, for example in its argumentation, analysis, methodology, or discussion, before it can be reconsidered.
  • Reject: The manuscript does not meet the journal's scholarly standards, falls outside the journal's scope, or contains fundamental weaknesses that cannot be adequately addressed.

Reviewers' recommendations inform the editor's decision. The final decision to accept or reject a manuscript rests with the editor in accordance with JMARI's editorial policies.

7. Review Timeline

Reviewers are expected to complete their assessments within 14 calendar days of accepting the assignment, or within the deadline specified by the editor. Reviewers who require additional time should inform the editor promptly.

If a reviewer is unable to complete the assessment or determines that the manuscript falls outside their expertise, they should notify the editor as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary delays in the editorial process.

8. Communication Standards and Reviewer Comments

Reviewers must use professional, respectful, and non-discriminatory language. Criticism must address the manuscript's content and quality rather than the author's personal characteristics.

Reviewers are encouraged to provide:

  • An overall assessment of the manuscript's quality and contribution.
  • Identification of the article's principal strengths.
  • Explanations of weaknesses and issues requiring improvement.
  • Specific recommendations for improvement supported by academic reasoning.
  • Confidential comments to the editor when certain concerns are not appropriate to communicate directly to the authors.

Comments provided to the authors should be consistent with the recommendation submitted to the editor.

9. Editorial Responsibilities

JMARI editors are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the review process, selecting competent and independent reviewers, managing potential conflicts of interest, and making editorial decisions based on the manuscript's scholarly quality and the review reports.

Editors are not automatically required to follow every reviewer recommendation. However, they must consider reviewers' comments objectively and in accordance with the journal's editorial policies.

10. Final Statement

By accepting a review assignment, reviewers are expected to comply with these guidelines and support JMARI's commitment to high-quality, ethical, transparent, and responsible scholarly publishing. Reviewers' contributions are essential to maintaining the journal's credibility and advancing knowledge and practice in retail management in Indonesia and internationally.