INSTRUCTIONS FOR REVIEWERS

The e³ – Journal of Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship in the community of Portuguese-speaking countries (e³) values the essential contribution of peer reviewers in ensuring the quality, integrity and scientific relevance of the manuscripts it publishes.
Reviewers are expected to conduct their evaluations with professionalism, impartiality and confidentiality, in accordance with the journal’s ethical standards and international best practices.

Ethical responsibilities

Reviewers should:

• evaluate manuscripts objectively and fairly
• maintain confidentiality of all submitted materials
• avoid using information obtained through peer review for personal advantage
• declare any potential conflicts of interest
• decline the review if they feel unqualified or unable to provide a timely evaluation

If plagiarism, data manipulation, ethical concerns or other irregularities are suspected, reviewers must promptly inform the Editors-in-Chief.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts and supplementary materials must be treated as confidential documents.
They must not be shared, discussed or used outside the review process without explicit authorization from the journal.

Evaluation criteria

When reviewing a manuscript, reviewers are encouraged to consider:

• relevance and originality of the research
• theoretical and methodological rigor
• clarity and organization of the manuscript
• adequacy to the scope of the journal
• contribution to knowledge in the field

Preparing the review report

Reviewers are asked to:

1. complete the evaluation form provided by the journal
2. provide a brief overall assessment of the manuscript
3. offer constructive and detailed comments for the authors

Comments should be clear and specific, indicating page, paragraph or section whenever possible.
If major revisions are recommended, reviewers should clearly explain the reasons.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Reviewers must not use generative artificial intelligence tools to produce or draft their review reports, as this may compromise confidentiality and the integrity of the evaluation process.
Any permitted use of automated tools must remain under human oversight and must not involve the upload or disclosure of confidential manuscript content.

Recognition of reviewers

The journal acknowledges the valuable contribution of reviewers to the editorial process and encourages them to record their review activity on platforms such as ORCID or Publons, in accordance with confidentiality requirements.