Workshop

Workshop on Research Integrity, Transparency, and Responsible Use of AI in Marketing & Communication Research: Methods, Reporting, and Publication Pathways

Overview

This hybrid workshop complements ICMCT&A’26 by focusing on research integrity, transparency, reproducible reporting, and the responsible and ethical use of AI tools in marketing, communication, and technology-related research. It provides practical guidance for developing credible, well-documented studies and producing publication-ready manuscripts.

Workshop objectives (learning outcomes)

• Apply key principles of research integrity and publication ethics (authorship, disclosure, plagiarism prevention, conflict-of-interest management).
• Improve transparency and reproducibility (clear documentation of data/materials, reporting standards, and research workflows).
• Use AI tools responsibly in scholarly processes (appropriate disclosure, verification, and safeguards against integrity risks).
• Strengthen methodological robustness (research design, measurement quality, validity considerations, and evidence strength).
• Prepare “publication-ready” manuscripts (positioning, contribution statements, and responding effectively to reviewers).

Topics (non-exhaustive)

• Research integrity and publication ethics in marketing/communication research 
• Transparency and reproducibility (materials/data documentation, reporting checklists) 
• Responsible use of AI in scholarly work (disclosure, verification, safeguards)
• Methodological robustness and credibility (validity, bias reduction, evidence quality) 
• Data-driven marketing and communication analytics: Good practices for analysis/interpretation/reporting 
• Building publishable manuscripts: Contribution statements, reviewer readiness, avoiding common desk-reject triggers

Format, duration, and delivery (Hybrid)

Delivery mode: Online. Duration: 90 minutes (talk + structured Q&A) or 120 minutes (including guided exercises).

Structure

Integrity and transparency essentials (15–20’) Responsible AI in research workflows (20’)

Reporting and reproducibility: Practical checklists (20’) Publication readiness and reviewer expectations (20’) Q&A / discussion (10–20’) 

Optional exercises: Drafting AI-use disclosure statements; transparency checklist; similarity-risk self-auditing.

1. Opening — 5’“
2. From research integrity to reproducible reporting: Practical safeguards for responsible AI-assisted scholarship” — 35’
   George Spais
   The presentation addresses research integrity, transparency, and responsible AI use in the research workflow, with emphasis on disclosure, human verification, reproducible reporting, and methodological credibility. It will conclude with a brief practical exercise in which participants draft an AI-use disclosure statement and complete a transparency and reproducibility checklist.
3. “Self-auditing and publication readiness in the context of AI” — 30’
   Maria Petrescu
   The presentation focuses on publication readiness and reviewer expectations, as well as a similarity-risk self-auditing exercise.
4. Paper presentations — 35–40’
5. Q&A / Discussion session
   Hooshang Beheshti

Workshop paper submissions (Accepted papers)

The workshop accepts paper submissions aligned with the ICMCT&A’26 scope. All workshop submissions follow the conference’s standard policies and procedures.

Language and length

English, maximum 10 pages, formatted according to the Springer proceedings guidelines/templates used by the conference.

Double-blind peer review

Each submitted paper will be evaluated using a double-blind review process by at least two reviewers, based on relevance, originality, importance, and clarity.

Submission process (as per conference workflow)

Phase 1 (for review): Submit an anonymized PDF file (Springer format) with no author names, affiliations, or emails. Phase 2 (for accepted papers): Upload a ZIP file containing: The final manuscript in Word version now includes all author names, affiliations, and email addresses. The required consent forms for Springer proceedings publication (as specified by the conference).

Important note (Springer email requirement)

For the final version, authors must use institutional email addresses. Email addresses such as Gmail/Outlook/Hotmail are not accepted in this process.

Screening / similarity

Submissions are screened with software. Papers flagged with similarity above the conference thresholds may be rejected without revision.

Presentation

Accepted papers are presented in a parallel session: 15 minutes for presentation + ~5 minutes for discussion.

Publication and indexing (Springer proceedings and journal partnership opportunities)

Accepted and registered papers (in English) will be published in the conference proceedings by Springer (Business & Economics proceedings series) and submitted for indexing, subject to publisher and conference conditions. To ensure publication, at least one author must be registered by the stated deadline, and all camera-ready requirements and requested revisions must be completed.

In addition, selected high quality papers presented in the workshop may be invited to submit an extended version for consideration in partner journals. All submissions will undergo the journal’s standard editorial screening and peer review process, and acceptance is not guaranteed.

• Journal of Promotion Management (Taylor & Francis)
• Journal of Marketing Communications (Taylor & Francis)
• Journal of Marketing Analytics (Springer)

These journal partnerships aim to enhance the academic impact and dissemination opportunities of the workshop contributions.

Registration rule (publication condition)

One registration allows the presentation/publication of one paper. An extra fee applies for an additional paper (up to one additional paper per registration), according to conference policy.

Workshop Scientific Committee

Workshop Scientific Chair

Dr. George S. Spais — Adjunct Faculty Member, Hellenic Open University, School of Social Sciences (Greece)

Scientific Committee members

• Rituparna Basu — Professor, International Management Institute (India)
• Hooshang Beheshti — Emeritus Professor, Radford University (USA); Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Promotion Management (Taylor & Francis)
• Muhammad Junaid— Assistant Professor, School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) 
• Maria Petrescu — Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (USA); Co-Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Marketing Analytics (Springer); Deputy Editor, Journal of Marketing Communications (Taylor & Francis)
• Kiran Sharma — Professor, K J Somaiya Institute of Management (India) 
• Junaid Ul Haq — Assistant Professor, Riphah International University (Pakistan) 
• The Anh Phan— Lecturer, Becamex Business School, Eastern International University (Vietnam) 
• Raiswa Saha— Assistant Professor, JK Business School, Gurugram (India)
• Naser Valaei— Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University (UK)
• Ákos Varga— Associate Professor, Corvinus University of Budapest (Hungary)
• Monica Khanna, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management (India)

Important dates

Workshop papers follow the official conference important dates (submission, notification, camera-ready, registration payment deadline).

Contact

Workshop Chair: Dr. George S. Spais, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (With the indication that it is for the Workshop, as the email will then be forwarded to you by the conference organization.)