Systemic Drivers of Unethical Practices in Academic Publishing: A Qualitative Study of Institutional Pressures and AI Use

This study explores systemic factors that can influence unethical practices in academic publishing, particularly institutional pressures, editorial practices, and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The study shifts responsibility away from individual actors. It takes a qualitative approach to examine how the interactions between researchers, editors, and institutional structures contribute to conditions in which unethical practices may occur. A qualitative research design was used to gather data through semi-structured interviews and observations with 30 participants, comprising university lecturers, postgraduate students, journal editors, and research support professionals from various regions.The results suggest that competition for publication and career advancement, as well as a lack of mentorship, create environments that participants see as encouraging unethical practices - such as author manipulation, use of third-party writers, and inappropriate use of AI - to occur. AI tools were specifically characterized as facilitating interventions that may support these practices in the context of systemic pressures. Furthermore, some participants expressed concerns about the editorial and financial arrangements, which could negatively affect the peer-review process.This study indicates that unethical publishing practices should be understood as resulting from complex systemic and cultural factors, rather than individual actions. The study identifies the need for institutional changes, guidance on AI use, and policies to promote research integrity. The qualitative nature and limited sample size of the study mean the results are explorative and suggestive of perceived patterns, rather than generalizable. We suggest that future research use mixed methods to investigate the extent and effects of these dynamics.