In pursuit of its organizational objectives, the International Association of Chinese Management Research (IACMR) is committed to excellence. This commitment to excellence extends from the work of the organization and its members to the approach of the organization to its constituencies.

IACMR defines excellence as the highest or finest quality of both the effort and the goal. It includes the following responsibilities:

1. Creation and dissemination of knowledge about management in Chinese contexts that is academically rigorous, a true reflection of the practical world and useful in the development of excellence in business practice.
2. Development and promotion of research that is prudent in design, human subject use, confidentiality, result reporting and in the proper attribution to source.
3. Facilitation of fair, transparent and culturally appropriate exchanges among researchers and practitioners.
4. Recognition of the dignity and personal worth of the members, the students of management, the practitioners of management, and the global community with whom and from whom we learn.
5. Sensitivity to the emerging ethical dimensions which are found in the diversity of cultures and perspectives that we seek to represent through our research and writing.
6. Maintenance of objectivity and fairness in our presentation of the research results and in our treatment of our colleagues.
7. Adherence to the highest professional standards.
8. Continuous renewal of the organization and its members through the induction of new members and the encouragement of the fullest participation by all members.

Research Code of Ethics

IACMR members have a responsibility to represent their credentials, capabilities, and research reports in an accurate and objective manner. IACMR members must also uphold the highest standards of integrity, caring, and respect for those involved in the research studies and in their interactions within the larger professional community.

Research Integrity.

It is the duty of IACMR members conducting research to design, implement, analyse, report, and present their findings rigorously. Research rigour includes the careful design, execution, analysis, and interpretation of results and the retention of data. Presentation of research should include a treatment of data that is honest and that reveals both the strengths and weaknesses of the findings. When important alternative hypotheses or explanations exist, they should be noted, and the data that disconfirm hypotheses should be acknowledged. Authorship and credit should be shared in correct proportion to the various parties’ contributions. Whether published or not, ideas or concepts derived from others should be acknowledged, as should advice and assistance received. To not do so constitutes plagiarism. Once findings are published, authors are expected to share data to the extent necessary, unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release, for the sole purpose of assessment and verification of results by responsible researchers, with appropriate safeguards, where applicable, to protect the anonymity of research participants.

Journal Submission Policies.

IACMR members should closely observe the policies of journals that prohibit or restrict the concurrent review of potential articles by multiple outlets. More than one report of essentially the same data and results should not be published unless the reports are explicitly directed to different audiences through different types of outlets. Under such circumstances, the member should initiate an explicit discussion with the relevant journal editors concerning the intended multiple submissions. When several separate but related reports result from a single study, the existence of the different reports should be made known to the relevant journal editors, and the reports should reference each other.

Respect for Research Participants.

IACMR members accept responsibility for preserving and protecting the privacy, dignity, well-being, and freedom of research participants and human subjects. This responsibility requires careful research design and informed consent of the participants. Risks and the possibility of harm to research participants must be carefully considered and, to the extent possible, minimized. Both participating organizations and participating individuals must be informed when there is a degree of risk or harm inherent in the research. Informed consent means explaining the purposes and nature of the research to all participants so that they can freely choose whether or not to become involved. Such explanations should include a warning of possible harm and should provide explicit opportunities to refuse to participate or to terminate participation at any time. Students and employees are particularly subject to possible coercion, even when not intended; thus, special care must be taken in obtaining their informed consent. Third party review is one way of protecting the interests of research participants and human subjects. Research plans involving human subjects should be reviewed by the appropriate third party, such as the university human subjects committee or a focus group of potential participants. Questions regarding confidentiality or anonymity must be resolved between the researcher and participant. If confidentiality or anonymity is requested, it must be honoured. Deception should be held to a minimum. The degree and effects of deception must be mitigated as much as possible. Researchers should carefully weigh the gains achieved against the costs in human dignity. The researcher must provide a full and accurate explanation of any necessary deception or concealment to all participants at the conclusion of the study. If appropriate, counseling should be available to participants.

Reviewer and Editor Responsibilities.

It is the duty of IACMR reviewers and journal editors to exercise their position of privilege in a confidential, unbiased, prompt, constructive, and sensitive manner. They have the duty to judge manuscripts only on their scholarly merits. Conflicts of interest, which arise when a reviewer is in basic disagreement with the research approach or line of research represented by a manuscript, should be referred to the journal editor to decide whether to accept or to decline the review of the manuscript. Protecting intellectual property is a responsibility of both the reviewer and the editor. It is inappropriate for a reviewer or editor to use ideas from a manuscript or show a manuscript to a third party without the explicit permission of the authors. Advice on specific, limited aspects of a manuscript may be sought from a qualified colleague as long as the author’s intellectual property remains secure. Sharing review responsibilities without editor approval is inappropriate. The review is the sole responsibility of the person assigned by the journal editor. Students and/or colleagues should not be asked to prepare reviews unless the journal editor has given explicit approval. Anyone contributing to a review should receive formal recognition. A constructive review means providing critiques and comments in the spirit of collegiality with thoroughness, timeliness, compassion, and respect and in all ways intended to improve the quality of the manuscript.

Professional Interaction and Exchange.

IACMR members have a responsibility to foster meaningful exchanges. Members should foster a climate of free exchange and constructive criticism within the organization and should be willing to share research findings and insights fully with other members. As a voluntary organization, the IACMR is dependent on the cooperation, involvement, and leadership of its members. Members should abide by the constitution, bylaws, policies, and codes. Officers and members should fulfill obligations and responsibilities without regard to friendships or personal gains. Members should contribute to the renewal of the IACMR by encouraging participation of all eligible individuals and by assisting new or prospective members to develop their skills, knowledge, and understanding of their professional obligations. All members, whether affiliated with a university, a business, a government, a service, or other organizations, have an obligation to interact with others in a professional manner. In all interactions, IACMR members are expected to rise to the professional standards of conduct.

Conference Participation.

Conference participation is encouraged whether or not a paper has been submitted. When an author or group of authors submit a paper to a conference, it should be done with a commitment to the conference by the author(s) that at least one of the authors of the paper has agreed to attend the conference to present the paper, should it be accepted. It is an honour to have a paper accepted. Recognition of one’s work cannot be treated lightly. This expected professional conduct is also a sign of respect for other conference attendees who wish to learn about the research discussed in the paper. Conferences are occasions for exchanging research ideas, for meeting potential collaborators, and for discussing research projects. It is a venue for actively engaging with others, not just passively listening to paper presentations. Conferences provide the attendees with the opportunity to engage in the intellectual exchanges of giving feedback to others on their research and receiving feedback from others on their own work, without regard to status or rank. In our professional exchange, we are all equals.

IACMR Member Responsibility.

Through this commitment to ethical research behavior, the IACMR provides ongoing, socially responsible guidance for its members. Members should work to raise the awareness of other members concerning social and ethical responsibilities and encourage the acceptance of these responsibilities. Members should notify officers or appropriate committees of practices or actions of members that may violate the spirit of this commitment to ethical research behaviour, professional standards, or the organization’s rules and regulations. Confidentiality and anonymity of the reporter will be assured unless the reporter agrees to the disclosure of the reporter’s identity. The goals and aspirations of this commitment are developed through an ongoing discussion of the responsibilities and values of the IACMR.