BUSINESS MODEL

1. AUTHOR FEES AND FINANCIAL ACCESSIBILITY

The Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) scholarly journals portfolio follows an applied standard Article Processing Charge (APC) of RM650.00 per accepted article for all participating journals, placing the university’s journals competitively in the regional and international academic publishing landscape, while maintaining sustainable operation and providing high-quality editorial services. However, to advance the acquisition of knowledge universally and to secure the global reach of these journals during their establishment and development, the APC will be waived until June 30, 2027, and these journals will become platinum open-access journals for this building phase.

This APC waiver policy is applicable for every UMPSA scholarly journals including, but not limited to the International Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering (IJAME), Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Sciences (JMES), International Journal of Engineering & Technology, (IJETS), International Journal of Language Education and Applied Linguistics (IJLEAL), International Journal of Software Engineering and Computer Systems (IJSECS), International Journal of Industrial Management (IJIM), International Journal of Humanities Technology and Civilization (IJHTC), Journal of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology (JCEIB), Journal of Governance and Integrity (JGI), Journal of Modern Manufacturing Systems and Technology (JMMST), Mekatronika: Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing & Mechatronics, Data Analytics and Applied Mathematics (DAAM), CONSTRUCTION, and Current Science and Technology (CST). This policy ensures that good quality research across the spectrum of engineering, technology, sciences, humanities, social sciences, management, computational, and mathematics is published and is available to the entire scientific community, enabling authors to be funded by institutes without readers having to pay to access the content during the waiver period.

Effective from July 1, 2027, the standard APC is RM650.00 will be adopted across all UMPSA journals, supported by a strong waiver scheme, to maintain accessibility for deserving authors from all fields. The structure of the fees will include waiver and reduction schemes for authors from developing countries, early-career researchers, and institutions with limited resources through supported mentoring of authors, extended review and revision periods in academically appropriate cases, and support in exporting the relevant files. Exceptions will be made for individuals in emergencies and financial hardship across the globe, so that the price of access never becomes a barrier to knowledge sharing and communication in the research community. The move to APC implementation will be strategically managed, with early awareness-raising, author support services, and clear policies to ensure that UMPSA remains dedicated to open and inclusive scholarly publishing in all fields.

2. LOW-INCOME COUNTRY WAIVER POLICY

2.1 Policy Framework and Commitment

UMPSA is committed to supporting researchers from low-income countries as classified by the World Bank annual country income classification. This waiver policy recognizes that the exchange of information, knowledge creation, and scholarly communication must be global, and that UMPSA is a leader in the movement of open scholarly publishing beyond commercial models. The policy reflects the university's core values of inclusivity, educational equity, and commitment to advancing knowledge for the benefit of all humanity, particularly supporting researchers and institutions in resource-constrained environments who contribute valuable perspectives and research to the global academic community.

The low-income country waiver policy represents an institution-level commitment instead of a short-term aid scheme, allowing researchers who plan publications to have long-term access to and reliance upon the agreement service. The spirit of the policy, rather than simply waiving fees, speaks to a more universal structure of support that confronts the broader challenges faced by researchers in low-income economies, whose access to editorial support, mentorship, and professional development resources is generally less available in states of well-resourced academic environments.

2.2 Eligibility Criteria and Classifications

Authors from "Low-Income" countries, according to the World Bank classification, can request a complete waiver of the APC regardless of the standard APC policy across all UMPSA journals. The eligibility determination is based on the World Bank's annual country classifications, which are updated automatically each July to reflect the latest economic conditions, and to ensure that the waiver programme continues to reflect quite different global economic realities. Authors from countries classified as "Low-Middle-Income" can apply for a partial waiver of the APC, with the possibility of a waiver of 50% on evidence of financial need, institution support, and project funding restrictions.

Eligibility is determined based on the country of institutional affiliation of the corresponding author, which is verified through institutional email, official affiliation documentation, and standard academic verification procedures. International authorship collaborations are considered based on the authors’ country and the institutional affiliation of the corresponding author. However, projects led by researchers of Partner Countries (irrespective of co-authorship) will continue to be given due consideration, especially those involving research collaboration that generates knowledge across borders and university boundaries.

The waiver program considers the complex nature of modern international research collaboration. It provides adaptable policy criteria to enable genuine research collaborations to occur without exposing the policy of the assistance program. There is also a provision for researchers who may be based temporarily at higher-income country institutions, but whose leading positions are in eligible countries, so that academic mobility and international collaboration do not unintentionally work against eligible researchers who deserve an opportunity for this support.

2.3 Application Process and Implementation

The waiver process is designed to be easy, dignified, and rapid, with a simple request to the editor-in-chief in separate application forms. During the submission process, eligible authors are notified upon their manuscript submission that their waiver requests are granted and are provided with information on other support the program offers. This more efficient process forgoes bureaucratic hurdles and time-consuming administrative burdens for investigators, who may already have to struggle to obtain similar types of publication support

The implementation system has not been fully integrated into existing manuscript management platforms for all UMPSA journals. However, it automatically identifies potential submissions based on the corresponding author's institutional affiliation and country classification. Editors learn to handle submissions that are eligible for a waiver in a uniform and effective manner, with instructions for checking and coordinating verification. The system keeps a record of program and performance evaluation, answers the author's privacy concerns, and maintains confidentiality in assisting.

Quality control mechanisms are in place so that waiver processing does not delay the handling of manuscripts, with resources devoted to facilitating the timely review and approval of requests. Within 7 days of accepting the manuscript, authors are notified whether their request has been granted, with further details provided about available support services and contact information for dedicated staff support.

2.4 Monitoring and Continuous Improvement

UMPSA continually assesses the relevance and effectiveness of the low-income country waiver through author surveys, publication output review, program usage rates, and sustained input in scientific capacity building and educational equity. Annual reports also evaluate access to research for researchers to influence, identify areas for improvement, evaluate the adequate provision of support services, and finally ensure that support for individual researchers addresses the real-life challenges faced by researchers in low-resource environments while supporting and promoting the quality and integrity of academic knowledge.

Evaluation of the waiver program includes monitoring publication success rates, author satisfaction surveys, evaluation of longer-term career impact for program recipients, and measures of research quality and citation impact according to the authors' demographics. Ongoing input is collected from both beneficiary authors, peer reviewers, and the editorial staff to help refine the programme. It also ensures that support services develop in line with the evolution of needs and challenges in global scholarly communication and accessibility in academic publishing.

The continuous improvement process involves cooperating with international efforts to ensure equitable access to scholarly publishing, engaging in global discussions on academic accessibility, and coordinating with other universities and publishers that are enacting programs to provide support. UMPSA participates, engages, and promotes best practices and research on publication equity, and campaigns for the wider implementation and commitment of inclusive publishing practices, for the advancement of global knowledge sharing and academic cooperation without financial and geographical limits, while maintaining the highest standards of research excellence and integrity.

3. BUSINESS MODELS AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

3.1 Business Model Framework

The UMPSA portfolio of journals operates on a hybrid open-access business model, which ensures long-term financial sustainability. At the same time, content is freely available to the scientific community. The framework consists of various revenue streams, cost-saving initiatives, and strategic investments, which together enable fulfillment of the university's mission of generating and disseminating knowledge in the fields of engineering, technology, social sciences, humanities, management, and applied mathematics. The business model is coherent with its social responsibility, in such a way that financial sustainability does not compromise the editorial independence, research quality, and global accessibility.

Thus, the diversified model acknowledges that various titles included in the portfolio are likely to have different revenue potential according to their disciplinary focus, international scope, and market demand. High-ranking journals such as IJAME and JMES receive significant visibility and citation potential due to either Scopus or Web of Science indexing. Meanwhile, journals such as DAAM, IJLEAL, JGI, and IJHTC serve an essential role in meeting more specialized user needs. The portfolio effect relies on cross-subsidization, where better-performing journals can carry the whole ecosystem and hence guarantee that all the disciplines are covered regardless of their commercial viability.

3.2 Revenue Streams and Diversification Strategy

Institutional Foundation Support (50-60% of Total Revenue): The basis of financial sustainability remains UMPSA's institutional commitment, providing baseline operational support that covers essential infrastructure, core personnel, technology platforms, and administrative services across all journals. This substantial institutional investment reflects the university's commitment to scholarly communication as a core academic mission and provides the stability necessary for long-term planning and quality maintenance. The institutional support is allocated across journals based on operational needs, publication volume, and strategic importance to the university's academic profile, with increased commitment to accommodate waiver programs and ensure accessibility for all researchers.

Article Processing Charges (30-40% of Total Revenue): Beginning July 2027, APCs will constitute a significant portion of total revenue, with projections adjusted to account for the low-income country waiver policy. Revenue modelling incorporates geographic distribution of submissions, expected waiver utilization rates, and growth projections for each journal's submission volume. APC revenue is reinvested directly into editorial services, technology improvements, and author support programs, creating a sustainable cycle of quality enhancement and service expansion that benefits the entire journal portfolio.

Strategic Partnerships and Collaborative Revenue (10-20% of Total Revenue):

A diverse set of partnerships generates revenue, including special issue sponsorships from professional organizations, conference collaboration agreements, institutional consortia, industry-sponsored research publication projects, and collaborative publishing with international journals. Revenue from partnerships is generated by targeting organizations that align with the disciplinary focus of each journal and developing relationships through which both revenue and academic impact are enhanced, thereby decreasing reliance on traditional funding.

3.3 Performance Measurement and Financial Accountability

Financial Key Performance Indicators: Financial key performance indicators include revenue diversification ratios, cost per article published, return on investment on marketing initiatives, reserve fund adequacy, and comparative financial performance for journals within the portfolio. A half-yearly financial dashboard gives minute-by-minute insight into revenue and cost trends, as well as budget variance analysis, to take corrective actions as required.

Sustainability Indicators: Long-term sustainability indicators include submission growth rates, author retention rates, geographic diversity of contributions, citation impact trends, and cost efficiency improvements. Sustainability metrics ensure that financial success leads to increased academic impact and service quality rather than merely profit.

Transparency and Reporting: Annual financial reporting to university stakeholders and other constituents enables stakeholders to understand the sources of revenue and the allocation of expenditures, and to evaluate long-term strategic investment. Financial reporting describes the cross-subsidization in the portfolio, waiver program costs, and the connection between financial performance and academic impact metrics.

3.4 Risk Management and Contingency Planning

Market Risk Management: Revenue streams diversified against market volatility, trends in academic publishing, and a deteriorating economy for any single revenue stream. Market analysis of risk presents global publishing trends, technological shifts, and competitive dynamics that could affect the impact of journal performance and sustainability.

Operational Risk Management: Risk is managed related to technology failure, key personnel departures, significant changes in academic publishing requirements, and disruptions of university operations. Continuity plans to ensure publishing services will continue in the face of an unlikely eventuality of an adverse situation, while maintaining the quality standards and author commitments.

Regulatory and Compliance Risk: Proactively monitor new developments in international publishing regulations, copyright law, and academic standards to maintain compliance and promptly address potential compliance liabilities. Legal risk management includes regular checks of publication agreements, author contracts, and parentship arrangements to identify and address potential liabilities and prevent risks at an early stage.

4. MARKETING AND OUTREACH STRATEGY

The UMPSA journal portfolio employs coordinated marketing strategies specifically designed for diverse academic and professional communities spanning engineering technology, applied sciences, humanities, social sciences, management, and applied mathematics. During the current APC waiver period through June 2027, the university leverages its temporary platinum open-access status across all journals as a significant competitive advantage, actively promoting the unprecedented opportunity for researchers across all disciplines to publish high-quality work without financial barriers while building long-term relationships with the global research community.

Primary outreach channels strategically leverage the journal portal at journal.ump.edu.my, extensive university research networks, partnerships with professional organizations relevant to each journal's scope, including engineering societies, language associations, management institutes, and mathematical societies, and strategic presence at prestigious international conferences, symposiums, and specialized workshops across Asia-Pacific and globally. Marketing communications emphasize both the current fee waiver opportunity across all disciplines and UMPSA's long-term commitment to maintaining accessible publishing through robust financial assistance programs and permanent low-income country waivers beyond June 2027, positioning UMPSA as a leader in equitable global scholarly communication.

Manuscript submission invitations are strategically coordinated across all journal disciplines, directing targeted outreach toward researchers presenting cutting-edge work in mechanical and automotive engineering conferences for IJAME and JMES, technology and engineering symposiums for IJETS and JMMST, language education and linguistics conferences for IJLEAL, software engineering and computer systems forums for IJSECS, industrial management and business conferences for IJIM, humanities and civilization symposiums for IJHTC, chemical engineering and biotechnology conferences for JCEIB, governance and integrity forums for JGI, applied mathematics and data analytics conferences for DAAM, civil engineering and construction conferences for CONSTRUCTION, and interdisciplinary science and technology symposiums for CST and MEKATRONIKA.

The coordinated outreach strategy actively engages with research groups specializing in emerging interdisciplinary areas such as sustainable engineering technologies, artificial intelligence applications across disciplines, Industry 4.0 implementations, digital humanities, computational social sciences, and sustainable development research to ensure comprehensive coverage of contemporary research frontiers across all academic fields represented in the UMPSA portfolio. Digital marketing initiatives include search engine optimization for enhanced discoverability across all journals, strategic social media engagement through professional networks relevant to each discipline, regular newsletters highlighting current waiver opportunities and interdisciplinary research collaboration potential, and participation in academic database partnerships that maximize research visibility and accessibility across the diverse fields covered by UMPSA journals.

 5. ADVERTISING POLICY

5.1 Advertisement Policy and Editorial Independence

No advertisement is published in any of the UMPSA journals, and all the Journals do not accept advertisements on principle, such as promotional materials, commercial advertisements, sponsored content, and marketing communications, which is an un-negotiable policy of all UMPSA journals regardless of any academic disciplines. This is a highly restrictive prohibition policy to maintain the editorial decision independence, zero tolerance for the conflict of interest, integrity of the fair, rigorous and timely review of all the journals, integrity of the academic transparency and the advancement of knowledge; research with appropriate analysis and research contribution, in the field of Engineering, Technology, Humanity, Social Science, Management and mathematics.

The continued commitment to "Advertisement-free publishing of high-quality works" ensures that attention is not influenced by commercial concerns, distractions, or pressures and that standards are maintained across all disciplines of the portfolio's communities, which represent such a diverse range of academic and research originality. All editorial content and peer review decisions of all submissions to the journal remain independent of commercial considerations, business interests, and any financial relationship with external organizations. Editors, reviewers, and administrative staff members are independent in their selection and evaluation of articles, guided only by the scientific validity of the works and the quality of the methodology and writing in the manuscript.

5.2 Prohibition of Commercial Content and Research Standards

UMPSA scholarly journal portfolio strictly prohibits any commercial content across all journals, including product advertisements, service promotions, company reports, sponsored articles, promotional case studies,  or project reports. This policy applies to manuscript contents, author biographies, the acknowledgements section, reference lists, supporting information files, and all other parts of the manuscript, including supplementary materials and appendices. It covers all published journal material irrespective of its disciplinary focus.

Authors contributing to any UMPSA scholarly journals are restricted from specific promotion in their manuscripts, including (but not limited to) promotional language, commercial links, advertising keywords, and marketing messages that could be construed as a conflict of interest in the article, conclusion, title, authorship, or materials submitted. Genuine research on commercial products, trade secrets, proprietary technologies, and industry collaborations in all academic disciplines must maintain a clear distinction between the investigation, commercial promotion, and presenting findings. It is achieved through evidence presented according to the discipline-specific standards, with proper control data, thorough analysis, and limitations.

5.3 Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosure Requirements

Authors submitting to any scholarly journal published by UMPSA portfolio are required to disclose any form of commercial relationships, financial support arrangements, consulting agreements, as well as potential conflicts of interest according to the prescribed international ethical guidelines and standards applicable to the respective academic fields. Commercial entities, including industry-funded research in all disciplines, must be clearly identified with explicit statements, including the funding entity's role in study design, data collection, methodological analysis, and manuscript preparation. Authors must also state that commercial sponsors played no role in influencing research conclusions, interpretation of data, and preparation of the manuscript beyond their legitimate financial role, as well as support appropriate to their academic discipline

All UMPSA scholarly journals strictly monitor manuscripts for consideration of potential advertising, promotional, and commercial content, including language, at the time of submission and during peer review with the strictest criteria appropriate to each journal's requirements. Manuscripts with any degree of promotional elements, undeclared commercial associations, and unacceptable commercial content will be immediately rejected without consideration for review for revision or resubmission, regardless of the academic discipline to which the submission is made. Authors who do not follow this policy and submit promotional content, have undisclosed potential marketing relevance, an inappropriate commercial research references, or that present “commercial research” in a way that appears to be designed to hide the marketing message, will receive severe editorial sanctions across the entire UMPSA scholarly journals, including notification to their professional organization and academic institutions and the author(s) may be disqualified from all UMPSA journals.

5.4 Communication Standards and Policy Enforcement

All communication of website contents, social media dissemination, and official correspondence for all UMPSA journal portfolios adhere to the advertisements through which published content is categorised across all disciplines. The commercial-free declaration means that attention will be paid everywhere, from the selection and review of submitted manuscripts to the content loaded. This commitment to transparency continues to ensure the quality of the work and to support the work of the academic community across all areas of study that publish.

Enforcement is achieved through prevention such as multi-level monitoring for commercial content within the entire editorial portfolio, policies with consequences for non-compliance that are directly applicable to all journals, and transparent appeals processes where decisions are appealed that ensure consistency across all disciplines. The UMPSA journal portfolio has established procedures in place to deal with such issues and production of research papers suitable for application in a commercial context can proceed without discrimination to the required levels of journal editorial standards and academic integrity.

5.5 Future Strategic Development

The UMPSA journal portfolio applies risk management to the financial sustainability, operational continuity and reputational protection across all journals, but specifically to the management of the transition from waiver period to the introduction of an APC on 1 July 2027. The financial risk mitigation elements include spreading support from several income streams across all journals, financial impact analysis that takes account the diverse global audiences served by each journal, holding operating reserves for the entire portfolio, and phased implementation planning that allows the proper handling of an APC implementation while continuing to reinforce author support and commitments to reach across all the disciplines.

The portfolio is financially sustainable, supported by a robust technology infrastructure that supports all journals concurrently, comprehensive cybersecurity measures that cover the entire portfolio, and disaster recovery plans that would see publishing continue in all subject areas, regardless of external circumstances. The transition period must be managed carefully to manage authors’ expectations in different academic communities, to ensure clear communication through the correct channels in each subject area, and to provide a full service of financial support that meets the needs of researchers in the various disciplines that use engineering, the humanities, management, and the applied sciences.

Strategic development goals for 2025--2030 are based on sustainable growth in submission quality and quantity for all journals; increased international audience and cooperation within each academic field; and, when appropriate, the development of selective offerings in emerging, multidisciplinary disciplines while maintaining foundational excellence in engineering, technology, humanities, social sciences, management, and applied mathematics. The transition to APC-supported publishing, beginning July 1, 2027, will support a broader range of services, including increased editorial support in all of them, a higher-quality peer-review system in each, and new formats for publication to meet the various needs of the academic communities served across the UMPSA portfolio.