Conflict of Interest Policy
Intercom adopts a rigorous conflict of interest management policy to ensure the impartiality and credibility of the editorial process. Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any situations that could influence — or be perceived as influencing — the review, publication, or interpretation of scientific work.
What is considered a conflict of interest?
A conflict of interest is understood to be any personal, professional, academic, or financial relationship that compromises the objectivity of the editorial process, including, but not limited to:
- funding from commercial entities with a direct interest in the research results;
- personal or professional relationships (for example, advisor–advisee, frequent collaboration) that could affect neutrality in peer review;
- academic or institutional competition that interferes with the fair evaluation of a manuscript.
Disclosure and Handling
- Authors: must declare potential conflicts at the time of submission, using the journal's specific form.
- Reviewers and editors: must report conflicts upon accepting the review of a manuscript and, if necessary, withdraw from the process.
The existence of a declared conflict does not necessarily result in rejection of the work. Each case is reviewed by the Editorial Committee, which may adopt measures such as:
- publication of a conflict of interest statement alongside the article;
- assignment of alternative reviewers;
- in serious cases, retraction or public correction.
Failure to disclose a conflict of interest that is later identified results in editorial action, which may include disqualification of the manuscript or public notification.
