Policies

Littera Scripta is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, transparency, and academic publishing. This policy sets out the journal's expectations for the responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools during the preparation, submission, peer review, and editorial processing of manuscripts, and applies to all authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff. It covers generative AI tools capable of producing text, images, computer code, data analyses, or other content, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and similar technologies. Authorship: generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. Authorship requires substantial intellectual contribution, accountability for the accuracy and integrity of the work, approval of the final manuscript, and responsibility for responding to questions about the published research — responsibilities that can only be fulfilled by human authors. Acceptable uses of AI include improving grammar, spelling, and language clarity; enhancing readability; translating non-scientific text; assisting with computer programming or code debugging; brainstorming ideas; and organizing or formatting content. AI use must not replace the authors' own scientific, analytical, or intellectual contributions. Unacceptable uses include generating or fabricating research data; creating false or misleading results; inventing citations or references; generating fictitious experiments or analyses; manipulating research findings; producing entire manuscripts without substantial human contribution; and using AI to impersonate reviewers or editorial decisions — any misuse of AI may be treated as research misconduct. Disclosure: authors must disclose any use of generative AI in preparing their manuscript via an AI Use Statement placed before the References section. If AI was used, the statement should name the tool and its purpose, e.g. "During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [Name of AI Tool] solely for [e.g., language editing, grammar improvement, code assistance, or formatting]. All scientific content, analysis, interpretation, and conclusions were developed, verified, and approved by the authors, who accept full responsibility for the final manuscript." If no AI was used, authors should state: "The authors declare that no generative artificial intelligence tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript." Regardless of whether AI tools were used, authors remain fully responsible for the originality of the manuscript, the accuracy of all information, the validity of research methods, data analysis and interpretation, citations and references, compliance with ethical standards, and the conclusions presented — use of AI does not transfer responsibility from the authors. Authors should not upload confidential, proprietary, unpublished, copyrighted, or sensitive research materials to publicly available AI systems without appropriate permission. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and must not upload manuscripts, figures, tables, supplementary files, or reviewer reports to publicly accessible AI tools; peer-review reports must represent the reviewer's independent professional judgment. Editors may use AI tools only for limited administrative purposes — such as identifying formatting inconsistencies, checking language quality, verifying metadata completeness, or supporting editorial workflow — and never to make editorial decisions regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection, which remain the sole responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial team. If undisclosed or inappropriate use of AI is suspected, the journal reserves the right to investigate, including requesting additional documentation such as original data, draft versions, source files, or coding scripts. Failure to provide satisfactory information may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or other editorial action under the journal's Publication Ethics Policy. This policy is reviewed periodically to reflect developments in generative AI technology, publishing ethics, and international best practice.

Littera Scripta (Economics, Management, Corporate Finance, Finance and Valuation) is a multidisciplinary journal published by the Institute of Technology and Business in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. Littera Scripta was established in 2008 and has followed a regular twice-yearly publication schedule since 2010. The journal aims to create a broad platform for the exchange of ideas, experiences, and new knowledge from research and creative work, emphasizing the international involvement of authors from around the world. In 2019 the journal's focus was narrowed to applications in economics, management, corporate finance, and finance and valuation. The journal publishes high-quality original research articles and scientific studies based on theoretical and empirical analyses, and encourages new ideas and perspectives on existing knowledge. Manuscripts should be 4,000-6,000 words, including tables, figures, references, declarations, and appendices. Indexation: The journal is indexed on the list of reviewed non-impacted journals published in the Czech Republic, in CEJSH, in EZB, and in ERIH PLUS. Periodicity: Littera Scripta is issued twice a year; papers may be submitted throughout the year. (Note: due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Volume 14(2) was not published.) The deadline for submitting articles for the second issue of 2026 is 15 December 2026. Language: English is the only language accepted. Publisher: The Institute of Technology and Business in Ceske Budejovice, Okruzni 517/10, 370 01 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. https://www.vstecb.cz/en/ Contact: Editorial office of Littera Scripta, c/o Dr. Robin Kunju Mol Raj, MBA, PhD. — Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice, School of Expertness and Valuation. Phone: +420 776 739 022. Email: journal@littera-scripta.com.

Littera Scripta publishes all articles in full open access, ensuring immediate and unrestricted availability of scholarly content to readers worldwide. To maintain free access for readers and to cover the essential costs of high-quality academic publishing — including management of the peer-review process, editorial work, copyediting, typesetting, digital preservation, and journal administration — the standard Article Processing Charge (APC) is EUR 150 for manuscripts accepted after peer review. There are no submission fees, and the APC is payable only once a manuscript has successfully passed peer review and been formally accepted for publication. Special APC Waiver (valid until 31 December 2026): as part of the journal's support for the academic community and to encourage high-quality submissions, all Article Processing Charges are waived in full for manuscripts submitted and accepted on or before 31 December 2026 — during this period authors pay no submission fee or publication fee. Waiver policy: the journal does not want the cost of publication processing fees to be an insurmountable barrier, especially for authors from low- and lower-middle-income countries. Using the World Bank Country Classification, authors resident in low-income countries may apply to receive up to a 75% waiver of the standard APC, and authors resident in lower-middle-income countries up to a 50% waiver. Authors of suggested papers may also apply to receive up to a 50% waiver. To apply, authors living in a developing country should email the Publisher at journal@littera-scripta.com with: their name and institution with full address details, the title of the journal, the reason for applying, the title of the paper, and the country of residence of any co-authors. Submitted manuscripts must be well formatted and written in good English; authors may be asked to revise the language or formatting prior to acceptance to ensure clarity and academic quality.

Littera Scripta maintains a dedicated digital archiving and preservation system to ensure the long-term availability and integrity of its published scholarly content. All published articles and associated metadata are preserved within the journal's institutional infrastructure, with regular backups maintained to protect against data loss. The preservation system is designed to ensure continued access to published content in the event of technical failure, website migration, or discontinuation of the journal. Published articles are also disseminated through recognized scholarly repositories, indexing services, and metadata aggregation platforms to support their long-term discoverability and accessibility.

Littera Scripta welcomes original, high-quality scholarly manuscripts within the journal's aims and scope. The journal accepts format-free submissions at the initial submission stage. Authors are nevertheless encouraged to follow the structure provided in the journal's manuscript template to facilitate efficient editorial assessment and subsequent production. Articles published in Littera Scripta are classified, in accordance with the valid Methodology for Evaluating Research Organisations, as "Jneimp" — original or review articles published in a peer-reviewed scholarly periodical included in the ERIH PLUS database. Manuscript requirements Submissions must represent original work that has not been published previously and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal. Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, completeness, and integrity of their manuscript, including all data, references, tables, figures, and supplementary materials. Manuscripts should be written in clear academic English and should normally contain the following elements, as applicable to the type of article: title, abstract, keywords, main text, conclusions, acknowledgements, declarations, and references. Authors should consult the journal's manuscript template for the recommended structure and presentation. To preserve double-anonymous peer review, authors' names, affiliations, contact details, acknowledgements that reveal author identity, and other identifying information must not appear in the manuscript submitted for review. Author information and affiliations should be provided separately through the journal's submission system. Peer review and editorial procedure All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening. At this stage, the editors assess whether the manuscript complies with the journal's submission requirements, falls within the aims and scope of Littera Scripta, demonstrates an appropriate level of scholarly quality, and meets applicable ethical and technical standards. Manuscripts that do not satisfy these requirements may be returned to the authors for correction or declined without external peer review. Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are forwarded to the Internal Editorial Board. Board members are normally asked to provide their assessment within seven days. If a majority supports further consideration of the manuscript, it proceeds to external peer review. Littera Scripta operates a double-anonymous peer review process. Each manuscript is normally evaluated by two independent reviewers with relevant expertise. Reviewers must not be affiliated with the same institution as the author(s) and must have no conflict of interest that could compromise the independence of their assessment. The reviewers' identities remain confidential and are not disclosed to the authors. Following peer review, the editorial decision may be to accept the manuscript, request minor revisions, request major revisions, or reject the manuscript. Authors receive anonymized reviewer comments and, where applicable, editorial instructions for revision. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers when further expert assessment is considered necessary. Further details are provided in the journal's Peer Review Policy. Ethical and publication requirements Authors must comply with the journal's Publication Ethics and related editorial policies. Manuscripts must be original and must appropriately acknowledge all sources and contributions. Plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and other forms of research misconduct are not permitted. All manuscripts are subject to plagiarism and similarity screening. Where concerns regarding research integrity arise, the editors may request supporting documentation, underlying data, ethical approvals, permissions, or other information necessary to verify compliance with the journal's policies. Declarations Authors are required to provide all declarations relevant to their manuscript. These include: Funding Data Availability Author Contributions Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Conflict of Interest Ethical Approval Informed Consent Where a declaration is not applicable, authors should explicitly state this rather than omit the relevant declaration. The required information is collected during the online submission process and, where appropriate, may also be included in the published article. Authors should consult the journal's AI Usage, Data Availability, Authorship, Conflict of Interest, and Publication Ethics policies for detailed requirements. Language and proofreading Authors are responsible for submitting manuscripts written in clear and grammatically correct academic English. The Editorial Office may perform language, style, formatting, and consistency checks as part of the editorial and production process. Editorial corrections must not alter the scientific meaning of the manuscript without the authors' approval. Before publication, the corresponding author receives the final proof for review and approval. At the proof stage, authors should check the accuracy of the text, author information, tables, figures, references, and other publication details. Substantial changes to the scientific content are normally not permitted after acceptance unless approved by the Editor-in-Chief. Copyright, permissions, and third-party material Authors are responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary rights and permissions to reproduce any copyrighted or third-party material included in their manuscript, including photographs, figures, illustrations, tables, maps, and other content. Where necessary, the Editorial Office may request documentary evidence demonstrating the author's right to use such material, including written permission from the copyright holder, a licence, a contractual agreement, or another appropriate form of authorization. Final responsibility The Editorial Board reserves the right to return, decline, or reject manuscripts that do not comply with these Instructions for Authors, the journal's editorial policies, applicable ethical standards, or relevant legal and copyright requirements. Submission of a manuscript to Littera Scripta constitutes confirmation that the authors have read and accepted the journal's Instructions for Authors, Publication Ethics, Peer Review Policy, and other applicable editorial policies.

Authorship is limited to individuals who have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the conception or design of the study, data collection, analysis, or interpretation, and/or drafting or revising the manuscript. All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission; gift, ghost, or coerced authorship is unacceptable. By submitting a manuscript, authors make the following statement of authorship: "I declare on my honour that I have written the uploaded contribution myself using the sources therein listed and with the application of methods recognised in the scientific and pedagogical spheres. By sending the document, I accept full responsibility for any falsities that are in breach of this declaration or of the Copyright Act and that I am fully aware of the consequences that might result from such a breach, including financial compensation for damage caused to the reputation of the Institute of Technology and Business in Ceske Budejovice." The submission wizard's Author Contributions declaration asks authors to specify each author's individual contribution to the manuscript (using author initials where possible); manuscripts with a single author should state that the author confirms sole responsibility for all aspects of the work.

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a reasoned request to the editorial office. Complaints regarding ethical issues, editorial conduct, or peer review are handled confidentially and in accordance with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest, which may include financial relationships (funding, grants, consulting fees, stock ownership), personal or professional relationships, academic competition, or ideological or institutional affiliations. Authors must include a Conflict of Interest Statement in their manuscript — if no conflicts exist, authors should state: "The authors declare no conflict of interest." Reviewers must decline review assignments where a conflict exists, and editors must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript when impartiality cannot be guaranteed; another editor or an independent Editorial Board member is assigned instead.

Articles are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal a licence to publish; readers may copy, redistribute, and adapt the material for any purpose, including commercially, provided appropriate credit is given. © 2026 Littera Scripta.

Littera Scripta maintains the integrity of the scholarly record through transparent correction mechanisms. Corrections (errata) are issued when minor errors are identified that do not compromise the validity of the findings. Articles may be retracted when the underlying data are unreliable, plagiarism or fabrication is confirmed, ethical violations occurred, or duplicate publication is identified — retraction notices are clearly labeled, linked to the original article, and remain permanently accessible. An Expression of Concern is used when serious concerns arise but an investigation cannot be completed promptly.

Authors should retain the raw data underlying their manuscript and make it available upon reasonable request. When submitting, authors provide a Data Availability Statement specifying where the data supporting the reported results can be accessed — including repository names, persistent identifiers (DOI), or the conditions for access — or, if no data are available, the reason why. Authors must ensure that data are accurate, complete, and honestly reported, that statistical methods are appropriate and transparently described, and that fabricated or falsified data are never used.

Littera Scripta is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and scholarly excellence. The journal adheres to the principles set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), including the COPE Core Practices, the COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors, and the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. All parties involved in the publication process — authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff — are expected to follow these principles. Manuscripts are evaluated solely on their academic merit, originality, methodological rigor, and contribution to the field, without regard to the authors' personal characteristics, institutional affiliation, nationality, political beliefs, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Editorial independence and responsibilities: the Editorial Board has full responsibility and authority for editorial decisions, which are based exclusively on scholarly merit and are not influenced by institutional, political, or commercial interests, advertising, sponsorship, or revenue considerations. Editors and editorial staff maintain strict confidentiality about submitted manuscripts, disclosing information only to the corresponding author, reviewers, and other editorial advisers, and must not use unpublished data or ideas from submitted manuscripts for their own benefit without the authors' explicit written permission. Editors recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have a personal, professional, financial, or academic conflict of interest; another editor or an independent Board member is assigned instead. Littera Scripta operates a double-anonymous peer review process. The identities of the authors are not disclosed to the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are not disclosed to the authors. Manuscripts are anonymized before being sent for external review. Each manuscript that proceeds to external peer review is evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise. Authors' responsibilities: authors must ensure their work is original, accurate, and ethically conducted — see the journal's dedicated Originality & Plagiarism, Authorship, Data Availability, and Conflict of Interest policies for full detail. In summary: submissions must be original and free of plagiarism or self-plagiarism; authorship is limited to those who made a substantial scholarly contribution, and all authors must approve the final manuscript; data must be accurate, complete, and honestly reported, with fabricated or falsified data never used; research involving human participants, personal data, or sensitive information must comply with relevant ethical guidelines, with evidence of ethical approval provided where required; submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously, or redundant/duplicate publication, is prohibited; and all sources — data, methods, and ideas from other works — must be properly cited, with personal communications requiring written permission. Publication misconduct: Littera Scripta follows COPE flowcharts for handling allegations of misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, citation manipulation, unethical research practices, authorship manipulation, duplicate publication, and undisclosed conflicts of interest. When misconduct is suspected, the editorial office initiates a confidential inquiry, authors are asked to respond to the allegations, and the evidence is evaluated by the Editorial Board. Confirmed misconduct may result in rejection of the manuscript, retraction of a published article, publication of an Expression of Concern, notification of the authors' institutions or funders, or a ban on future submissions. Retractions, corrections, and editorial notices: minor errors that do not compromise the validity of findings are corrected via an erratum. Articles may be retracted where the underlying data are unreliable, plagiarism or fabrication is confirmed, ethical violations occurred, or duplicate publication is identified — retraction notices are clearly labeled, linked to the original article, and remain permanently accessible. An Expression of Concern is issued when serious concerns arise but an investigation cannot be completed promptly (see the journal's Corrections & Retractions policy for full detail). The journal welcomes scholarly debate: readers may submit comments, critiques, or responses to published articles, and substantive post-publication commentary may be peer-reviewed and published at the Editorial Board's discretion. Littera Scripta ensures long-term digital preservation of all published content (see the journal's Archiving policy) and supports transparency and open science practices, including the sharing of data and materials, preregistration of studies where applicable, disclosure of funding sources, and open methodological reporting. The journal does not accept advertising that could influence editorial decisions, and sponsorship does not affect editorial independence. Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a reasoned request; complaints regarding ethical issues, editorial conduct, or peer review are handled confidentially and in accordance with COPE guidelines (see the journal's Appeals & Complaints policy).

Littera Scripta (ISSN 1805-9112) is committed to the principles of open science and the free dissemination of scholarly knowledge. All articles are made available in full open access immediately upon publication, without embargo, registration, or subscription fees. All content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Authors retain copyright to their work while allowing others to read, download, copy, distribute, print, reuse, adapt, or build upon the published material, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and that Littera Scripta is cited as the first venue of publication. To provide free access to readers and to cover the costs of the editorial and production process — including peer review management, copyediting, typesetting, long-term digital archiving, and journal administration — an Article Processing Charge (APC) of EUR 150 applies to manuscripts accepted after peer review (see the journal's Article Processing Charges & Waivers policy). Submission itself is free of charge; the APC is payable only after a manuscript has successfully passed peer review and been formally accepted. Submitted manuscripts must be well formatted and written in good English; authors may be asked to revise the language or formatting prior to acceptance.

Littera Scripta is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly evaluation. All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous, fair, and transparent double-anonymous peer review process, in accordance with COPE guidelines and international best practices. 1. Initial Editorial Screening. Every submission is first assessed to ensure that it complies with the journal's submission guidelines, fits the journal's aims and scope, is written in acceptable academic English, and meets basic scholarly and ethical standards. All manuscripts are checked using plagiarism detection software before being sent for peer review. Submissions that fail basic quality, relevance, originality, or ethical requirements may be rejected at this stage. Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are also forwarded to the Internal Editorial Board, whose members provide their opinion within seven days. If a majority supports the manuscript, it proceeds to external peer review. 2. Double-Anonymous Peer Review. The editors assign two independent reviewers who are experts in the relevant field, do not work at the same institution as the author(s), and have no conflict of interest with the manuscript. Under the journal's double-anonymous peer review model, the identities and affiliations of the authors are not disclosed to the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers remain confidential and are not disclosed to the authors. Manuscripts are anonymized before being sent for external review. Reviewers may accept or decline the invitation and may recommend alternative qualified reviewers where appropriate. Reviewers provide detailed comments, constructive feedback, and a recommendation (accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject). Reviews must be objective, evidence-based, confidential, and free from personal bias. 3. Editorial Assessment and Verification. If the peer-review reports recommend acceptance or revision, an academic editor conducts an additional editorial assessment, which may include verification of data sources, checking references, assessment of methodological clarity, and evaluation of the manuscript's contribution to the field, including cross-language checks where relevant. If plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate submission, or any other form of research misconduct is detected at any stage, the manuscript may be rejected immediately, and authors may be prohibited from submitting to the journal for up to one year (see the journal's Publication Ethics policy). 4. Revision Process. If revisions are required, authors receive the anonymized reviewer comments and editorial guidance and must submit the revised manuscript within 30 days. Failure to resubmit within this period results in the manuscript being declined; any later submission is treated as a new submission. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers for re-evaluation depending on the extent and nature of the changes. 5. Final Decision. The final publication decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief or the designated Guest Editor, taking into account the reviewer reports, editorial assessment, the quality and completeness of revisions, and compliance with ethical and scholarly standards. Decisions are communicated to authors through the journal's editorial system and are final.

Authors must submit only original work. Plagiarism — including self-plagiarism, paraphrasing without attribution, and inappropriate reuse of text — is strictly prohibited, and all submissions are subject to plagiarism detection software before being sent for peer review. Academic editors may also actively verify cited sources for accuracy and proper contextual use, including cross-language checks where relevant, as part of the journal's commitment to preventing plagiarism, redundant publication, and academic dishonesty. If plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate submission, or any other form of research misconduct is detected at any stage, the manuscript is rejected immediately, and authors may be prohibited from submitting to the journal for up to one year. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is unethical, and redundant or duplicate publication is prohibited.