Editorial Policy

Peer Review Policy

Peer-reviewed articles are essential to the advancement of structured, credible, and high-quality academic knowledge. Kertas of Management and Social Science (KMSS) upholds rigorous peer-review standards to ensure the integrity and scholarly contribution of all published work.

KMSS uses a single-blind peer review process: reviewers remain anonymous to the authors, but the authors' identities are known to the reviewers.

Initial Editorial Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial evaluation by the Editor-in-Chief or designated Section Editors to assess their suitability for the journal. This evaluation considers:

Alignment with the scope and themes of KMSS
Originality and scholarly contribution
Compliance with submission guidelines and formatting standards

Manuscripts that pass this preliminary screening are sent for external peer review.

Peer Review Process

Each manuscript is typically evaluated by at least two independent expert reviewers. Reviewers are selected based on their academic expertise and familiarity with the manuscript’s subject matter.

Reviewers assess manuscripts using the following criteria:

Originality: Novel contributions to the field
Significance: Sound interpretations and justified conclusions
Structure and Format: Compliance with KMSS author guidelines
Relevance: Value and applicability to KMSS readership
Language Quality: Clear, academic use of English
Overall Merit: Scientific rigor and intellectual contribution

The Editor-in-Chief makes the final publication decision. Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict of interest exists, including personal, institutional, or commercial relationships. Such manuscripts are reassigned to an unbiased editorial representative.

Review Outcomes

Following peer review, the Editor-in-Chief may issue one of the following decisions:

Accept as is – No revisions required (rare)
Accept with minor revisions – Minor editorial or formatting changes requested
Accept after major revisions – Substantial improvements needed in content, methods, or structure
Revise and resubmit – Manuscript requires significant revision for reconsideration
Reject – The submission is declined due to methodological flaws, lack of originality, or misalignment with journal scope

Reviewer comments may be edited by the editorial team to ensure professionalism and remove confidential or inappropriate content. Any private remarks for the editors are kept in the confidential section of the review form.

Editorial Discretion

Editors or Editorial Board members may serve as reviewers for submissions within their domain of expertise, provided there are no conflicts of interest.
The Editor-in-Chief may seek additional expert input as needed.
Final decisions are based on the reviewers' reports, author revisions, and the manuscript's contribution to the field.