AUTHOR GUIDELINES

Types of papers and language

• The journal “Business Consultant” publishes the following types of papers: original scientific papers, review scientific papers, professional papers and preliminary communications.
• Manuscripts may be submitted in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian or English language.
• Regardless of the language of the manuscript, the title, abstract (150–250 words) and up to 5 keywords must be provided both in the language of the paper and in English.
• The recommended maximum length of a manuscript is approximately 7,000 words, including tables, figures and references.

Structure of the paper

• The recommended structure of a manuscript includes the following sections: title of the paper, abstract and keywords, introduction, theoretical framework and methodology, results and discussion, conclusion, references.
• The title of the paper should be provided in the language of the paper and in English, clearly reflecting the topic.
• The abstract (150–250 words) should briefly present the purpose and objectives, methodology, key results and conclusions.
• The conclusion should summarise the main findings, highlight the limitations of the research and suggest directions for further research and/or implications for practice.
• Tables and figures should be numbered (e.g. Table 1, Figure 1) and clearly referred to and explained in the text.

Technical requirements

I. Author information (version for the editorial office)

• The total length of the paper (text, abstract, references, footnotes and graphical elements) should not exceed 16 A4 pages.
• In the version for the editorial office, the upper left corner of the first page should contain the author’s academic title, name and surname (Times New Roman, 13 pt, bold), with a footnote including author details.
• The footnote should contain the name of the institution, address and e-mail of the author (Times New Roman, 10 pt).

Double-blind peer review

• Authors are required to prepare two versions of their manuscript:
  (1) a version with author details – intended exclusively for the editorial office,
  (2) an anonymised version without any author-identifying information – this version is sent to reviewers.
• The anonymised version must not contain author names, acknowledgements, self-citations that reveal identity, or file names that indicate the author.

II. Formatting of the manuscript

• The title of the paper (in the language of the paper and in English) should be written in capital letters, centred, Times New Roman 13 pt, bold.
• Abstracts in both languages should be written in Italic.
• Keywords are provided in the language of the paper and in English.
• The main text should be written in Times New Roman, 12 pt, with single line spacing (1.0), with spacing between paragraphs and justified alignment.
• Introduction and conclusion should not be numbered; the first line of paragraphs should not be indented.
• Footnotes should be written in Times New Roman, 10 pt, and placed at the bottom of the page.

III. Tables and figures

• Tables and graphical elements should be placed in appropriate positions within the text and clearly labelled (e.g. Table 1, Figure 1).
• Figures should be in black and white, high resolution, and preferably also submitted in PDF/CDR format.
• Tables should contain black text on a white background, without grey shading; scanned tables and graphics are not accepted.
• Each table/figure must have a title and clearly indicated data source.
• The recommended font in tables and graphical elements is Times New Roman, for visual consistency.

IV. References and bibliography

• In-text citations should be provided, for example: (Babić, 2005) or (Babić, 2005, 129).
• Alternatively, a numerical system may be used, e.g. 6, p. 12.
• References should be listed in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author, using a consistent citation style (APA 7 recommended).
• For multiple works by the same author in the same year, letters a, b, c should be used (e.g. 2021a, 2021b).
• Examples:
  • Vukonić, B. (2005), Book title, publisher.
  • Novković, S. (1999), Transition from self-management…, Ekonomska istraživanja, 12(1–2): 57–68.

V. Keywords

• Up to eight keywords should be provided, both in the language of the paper and in English.

VI. Abstract

• The recommended length of the abstract is up to 100 words.
• The abstract should include the purpose and objectives of the paper, methodology, structure, main results, conclusion and practical implications.
• Each paper must contain an abstract in the language of the paper and in English.

Originality and ethics

• By submitting a manuscript, the authors confirm that the paper is original, has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication in another journal at the same time.
• It is implied that all co-authors agree with the submission and have substantially contributed to the paper.
• Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, as well as any other unethical behaviour in research and publishing, are strictly prohibited.
• The editorial board reserves the right to use plagiarism detection tools and to act in accordance with COPE guidelines in case of suspected misconduct.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)

• GenAI tools may be used only as support to authors, for example for language editing, stylistic improvements, technical formatting or translation assistance.
• It is not acceptable to rely on GenAI tools for generating scientific content without expert supervision and responsibility of the authors.
• Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of the paper.
• If GenAI tools have been used, authors are required to clearly indicate this in the Methodology section or in Acknowledgements.
• Authors bear full responsibility for the entire content of the paper, including parts where GenAI has been used.

Citation and references

• The journal recommends the use of APA (7th edition) or another clearly defined and consistently applied citation style.
• All sources cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and all items in the reference list must be cited in the text.
• Authors are encouraged to use up-to-date and thematically relevant domestic and international literature.

Submission of papers

• Manuscripts should be submitted exclusively by e-mail to the editorial addresses listed above.
• The recommended subject line of the e-mail is: “Manuscript submission – Business Consultant”.
• Along with the manuscript, authors are kindly asked to include a short cover message stating the title of the paper, names of authors, affiliations, contact details and any additional remarks for the editorial board.

Copyright and licensing

• Authors retain the copyright to their papers, while granting the journal “Business Consultant” the right of first publication.
• Authors may archive the published version of the paper in institutional or personal repositories and use it for educational and research purposes, with proper citation of the original publication in the journal.
• Users are required to respect academic integrity, properly cite the source and refrain from altering the content of published papers without the consent of the authors and the editorial board.

Author fees

• The journal does not pay author fees for published papers.
• Decisions on acceptance or rejection of a manuscript are based solely on scientific quality and alignment with the aims and scope of the journal, entirely independent of financial considerations.