1. General Guidelines

Journal of Accounting, Business, and Sustainability (JABS) invites authors to submit scholarly manuscripts addressing issues in accounting, business, sustainability, and related fields. Manuscripts should present clear academic contributions, be systematically structured, and demonstrate relevance to the development of knowledge, theory, practice, policy, or decision-making. Authors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are scientifically sound, clearly written, properly referenced, and prepared in accordance with the JABS manuscript template.

2. Manuscript Language

Manuscripts must be written in English using clear, concise, objective, and academic language. Authors should ensure that the manuscript has appropriate grammar, spelling, terminology, and sentence structure. Arguments should be presented logically and systematically, and all important claims should be supported by relevant and verifiable academic references.

3. Manuscript Title

The manuscript title must be written in English and should clearly represent the main topic, issue, or phenomenon investigated in the study. The title should be concise, specific, informative, and relevant to the content of the manuscript. Unnecessary abbreviations should be avoided. The title must contain a maximum of 20 words and should be formatted using Times New Roman, 14-point font, bold, with 1.5-line spacing. These requirements follow the title format provided in the JABS manuscript template.

4. Author Names and Affiliations

All authors must be listed below the manuscript title without academic or professional titles. Each author's full name should be accompanied by the appropriate institutional affiliation, including the study program or department, faculty, institution, and country. The corresponding author should be identified with an asterisk (*) and an active email address should be provided for editorial communication. The author and affiliation format should follow the structure provided in the JABS manuscript template.

5. Article Information

The Article Info section is provided for editorial purposes and contains information such as the editor, received date, revised date, and accepted date. These fields are completed by the editorial team during the publication process. Authors are not required to complete this information when submitting their manuscripts unless specifically instructed by the editorial office.

6. Abstract

The abstract should provide a concise and comprehensive summary of the manuscript. It should include a brief background of the research, the research problem, the research objectives, the research method, and a summary of the main research findings. The abstract must be written in English, contain a maximum of 250 words, use Times New Roman 10-point font, and be formatted with single line spacing. The abstract should be presented as one paragraph and should avoid unnecessary details.

7. Keywords

Authors must provide keywords that represent the main concepts or topics discussed in the manuscript. A maximum of five keywords may be provided. Keywords should be written in Title Case and separated by semicolons (;). Authors should select keywords that accurately represent the main research concepts and facilitate the identification and indexing of the article.

8. Introduction

The Introduction should provide a clear and logical overview of the research context, the phenomenon or problem being investigated, the development of previous research, the research gap, the novelty, the research contribution, and the research objectives. The discussion should progress logically from the general research issue to the specific research problem. Statements concerning the research phenomenon should preferably be supported by empirical data, official reports, survey findings, or credible scientific sources.

The Introduction must explicitly identify the research gap. A research gap may arise from limitations in previous studies, inconsistent findings, underexplored contexts, insufficiently examined variables or relationships, methodological limitations, or emerging phenomena that have not been adequately addressed by previous research. Authors should provide a clear argument regarding what remains unanswered and why addressing the issue is important.

The novelty and contribution of the study should be clearly demonstrated. Novelty may involve the development of a new model or conceptual framework, the application of a different theoretical perspective, investigation of an underexplored context or population, the use of an appropriate or innovative methodological approach, or empirical findings that extend existing knowledge. The contribution should be articulated in terms of theoretical development, practical application, policy, or decision-making.

The final part of the Introduction should state the research objectives clearly and specifically. The objectives must be consistent with the research problem, research gap, novelty, and methodology. Where appropriate, research questions or hypotheses may be introduced at the end of the Introduction. The Introduction should use Times New Roman 11-point font with 1.15-line spacing and follow the page layout and margins provided in the JABS manuscript template.

9. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development

The Literature Review and Hypothesis Development/Research Question section should provide a comprehensive and critical discussion of the theoretical foundations, relevant concepts, and findings of previous studies that support the development of the research model, hypotheses, or research questions. The section should demonstrate the authors' understanding of the existing literature and establish the theoretical and empirical foundation of the study.

The literature review should not merely summarize previous studies individually. Instead, authors should synthesize and critically evaluate the existing literature by identifying patterns, similarities, differences, inconsistencies, and limitations. The discussion should establish a clear relationship between the theoretical perspective and the variables or constructs examined in the study.

The theoretical framework should explain why and how the variables or constructs are expected to be related. The selected theory must be relevant to the research context and should contribute to explaining the phenomenon under investigation rather than being included merely as a theoretical reference.

For studies using hypotheses, each hypothesis should be developed through a logical and evidence-based argument. The development should begin with the relevant theoretical rationale, followed by evidence from previous empirical studies, and conclude with a clear explanation of the expected relationship between the variables. Each hypothesis should be stated clearly at the end of the corresponding discussion. Hypotheses may address direct effects, indirect or mediating effects, moderating effects, and other theoretically justified relationships.

For qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, or other studies that do not formulate statistical hypotheses, this section may present research questions instead. Research questions should be derived from the identified research gap, theoretical perspective, and research objectives and should be specific, focused, researchable, and sufficiently open to allow the phenomenon to be explored in depth.

The literature should primarily consist of reputable peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly books, and other credible academic sources. Authors are encouraged to prioritize recent publications, particularly those published within the past 10 years, while seminal studies may be retained when they provide essential theoretical or conceptual foundations. Authors should avoid excessive reliance on a single source, unnecessary self-citation, non-academic websites, blogs, and other unreliable sources.

The section should clearly connect the literature review, research gap, theoretical framework, hypotheses or research questions, and proposed research model. Where a conceptual or research framework is used, it should be presented consistently with the hypotheses or research questions and supported by the theoretical and empirical arguments developed in the literature review. The section should use Times New Roman 11-point font with 1.15-line spacing.

10. Research Method

The Research Method section should describe the research approach, research design, population and sample, sampling technique, data sources, data collection procedures, research instruments, operational definitions and measurement of variables or constructs, data analysis techniques, and research ethics where relevant. Authors should provide sufficient methodological information to enable readers to understand, evaluate, and, where possible, replicate the research.

For quantitative studies, the methodology should explain the variables or constructs examined, their indicators and measurement scales, sample size and selection criteria, and the statistical techniques used to test the proposed relationships, hypotheses, or research model. For qualitative studies, authors should describe the research context, participants or informants, data collection procedures, analytical approach, and techniques used to ensure data credibility and validity. For studies using secondary data, authors should clearly state the data sources, observation period, sample selection criteria, and number of observations.

Where applicable, authors should also report the software or analytical tools used in the research. The methodology must be consistent with the research objectives, theoretical framework, hypotheses or research questions and should be presented in a transparent, objective, and reproducible manner. Studies involving human participants should explain relevant ethical considerations, including informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, and data protection. The section should use Times New Roman 11-point font with 1.15-line spacing.

11. Results

The Results section should present the research findings based on the data analysis procedures described in the Research Method section. Findings should be reported factually, objectively, and systematically, without excessive interpretation. For quantitative studies, the results may include descriptive statistics, instrument testing, model assessment, hypothesis testing, relationships among variables, and additional analyses where relevant. For qualitative studies, the results may be presented in the form of themes, categories, patterns, or key findings identified through the data analysis process.

Research findings should directly address the research objectives, hypotheses, or research questions. Statistical values, significance levels, coefficients, effect sizes, confidence intervals, and other relevant analytical measures should be reported accurately. Authors must not alter, omit, or manipulate data to produce particular findings. Findings that do not support the proposed hypotheses or initial expectations must also be reported objectively and transparently.

12. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be used to present research findings clearly and efficiently. Each table and figure must be numbered consecutively, referred to in the manuscript, and provided with a clear and informative title. Where applicable, the source of the data should also be stated. According to the JABS template, the table title is placed above the table, while the source is placed below the table.

For figures, the figure caption or title is placed below the figure. Figures should be sufficiently clear and readable and should contain appropriate source information where necessary. The template provides an example of a figure presenting closing-price and daily-return dynamics together with its title and data source.

13. Discussion

The Discussion section should interpret the research findings by relating them to the theoretical framework, previous studies, research gap, and research context. The Discussion should not merely repeat the Results but should explain the meaning of the findings, the possible reasons behind them, and their consistency with or differences from previous studies. Each major finding should be discussed logically and supported by theoretical and empirical arguments.

The Discussion should demonstrate the theoretical and practical contributions of the study and explain how the findings address or extend the identified research gap. For studies involving multiple hypotheses or research questions, the discussion should be organized systematically so that each finding is clearly connected to its interpretation and implications.

The Discussion should be critical, analytical, coherent, and evidence-based. Authors should not introduce new data or findings that were not presented in the Results section. Tables, figures, and graphs should be used selectively to support the interpretation of findings and must be appropriately numbered, titled, and referred to in the text. The Results and Discussion section should use Times New Roman 11-point font with 1.15-line spacing.

14. Acknowledgment

The Acknowledgment section is optional and may be used to recognize individuals, institutions, funding agencies, research partners, or other parties that provided significant support to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship. Where applicable, authors should clearly state the funding source, grant or project number, institutional support, and other relevant forms of assistance. The Acknowledgment section should use Times New Roman 11-point font with 1.15-line spacing and follow the formatting requirements of the JABS manuscript template.

15. Conclusion

The Conclusion section should provide a concise summary of the main research findings that directly address the research objectives, hypotheses, or research questions. The conclusion must be based on the findings presented in the study and should not introduce new data, arguments, or findings that have not been discussed in the preceding sections.

Authors should highlight the main theoretical and practical contributions of the study and present the key implications of the findings where relevant. The conclusion should be concise, clear, and specific rather than merely repeating the discussion. Where appropriate, the section may also include research limitations and recommendations for future research. Such recommendations should be based on the identified limitations or research findings.

16. References

The References section must contain all sources cited in the manuscript and must be prepared consistently according to the journal's citation and referencing style. JABS uses APA 7th Edition for citations and references. Every source cited in the manuscript must appear in the reference list, and every reference listed must be cited in the manuscript.

Authors are required to use reference management software, such as Mendeley, Zotero, EndNote, or another equivalent reference management tool, to insert in-text citations and generate the reference list. The use of reference management software is intended to maintain consistency between citations and references throughout the manuscript.

Authors should prioritize relevant, credible, and up-to-date scholarly sources, particularly peer-reviewed journal articles and primary sources. Recent publications, especially those published within the past 10 years, are encouraged, while seminal references may be retained when they provide essential theoretical or conceptual foundations. Bibliographic information, including author names, publication year, article or book title, journal or book title, volume, issue, page numbers, and DOI, must be complete and accurate. DOI information should be included whenever available.

The reference list should be generated automatically using the selected reference management software and should not be manually formatted. Any corrections to bibliographic information should be made within the reference management software before refreshing the bibliography. Authors should also avoid unnecessary self-citation, excessive citation of a single source, and the use of unreliable or non-academic sources.