Call for papers for a Special Issue of Thunderbird International Business Review (TIBR)
Special issue information
Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are under pressure to grow and survive in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) globalized world. To achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) simultaneously (Boons et al., 2013; Cillo et al., 2019; Ketata et al., 2015), there is constant pressure on MNEs to consider achieving financial performance objectives whilst addressing sustainability issues and raising awareness and interest in sustainable innovation. Sustainable innovation integrates environmental protection with the ability to create new products or processes that satisfy customer needs in the long term (Larson, 2000; Delmas & Pekovic, 2018; Adams et al., 2023). Sustainable innovation is an emerging and novel solution aiming to transform technology, products and markets, driving positive transformations in both business practices and society, and thus effectively addressing sustainability issues whilst solving wicked problems (Nill & Kemp, 2009; Schalteggar & Wagner, 2011; Smith et al., 2014; Ullah et al., 2021; Attah-Boakye et al., 2023). Practicing sustainable innovation tends to be a core challenge for emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs).
Although the importance of sustainable innovation by EMNEs in the international business (IB) field has been stressed, our current understanding remains limited. First, there is a lack of a clear and comprehensive understanding of sustainable innovation concepts in emerging market contexts (Jaiswal & Zane, 2022). While Schumpeter (1934) introduced the concepts of sustainable innovation, we still lack knowledge about what sustainable innovation activities are carried out by MNEs from underdeveloped markets, as well as the costs, risks, and challenges associated with sustainable innovation in an international business context. Moreover, there is a need to explore the appropriate measures needed to foster sustainable innovation in underdeveloped markets. Second, we have little knowledge about the antecedents of sustainable innovation decisions and performance in underdeveloped markets. Specifically, the impact of contextual factors (i.e., institutional, geographical, and cultural contexts) on the adoption, commitment, and performance of sustainable innovation is underexplored. Third, it is important to delve deeper into how MNEs from emerging markets practice sustainable innovation to advance existing IB theories (Gërguri‐Rashiti & Ramadani, 2017). Given the diverse and sometimes conflicting goals, the pursuit of sustainable innovation presents challenges that are often tense, complicated, and paradoxical.
Therefore, the ways in which emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) balance their goals, manage and synthesize these tensions, and the role of contexts in the sustainable innovation process remain largely unknown (Adams et al., 2023). Additionally,, there is a knowledge gap concerning the financial and non-financial outcomes of sustainable innovation, as well as the role of top management teams in supporting sustainable innovation.
This Special Issue aims to bring the discussion of sustainable innovation into IB research and to address the practical and theoretical implications of sustainable innovation at the firm level. It calls for contributions that advance our understanding of sustainable innovation concepts and practices, the driving factors of sustainable innovation, the processes of sustainable innovation, and the consequences of sustainable innovation from the perspective of firms from emerging markets. This Special Issue seeks novel theoretical and empirical advances in research ideas, theoretical developments, research methodology and research design. No specific theoretical or methodological approaches are preferred. High-quality conceptual, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods submissions are welcome.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
1. Understanding the concept and complexity of sustainable innovation
a. What are the practices of sustainable innovation carried out by international firms from emerging markets? How can sustainable innovation be measured appropriately?
b. What are the challenges faced by international firms from emerging markets in pursuing sustainable innovation?
c. How do these challenges interact and evolve over time?
d. How do the sustainable innovation practices of international firms from emerging markets, as well as the complexities they encounter, differ from their counterparts from developed countries?
2. Understanding the antecedents of sustainable innovation
a. What are the individual-level or managerial-level drivers influencing sustainable innovation decisions and performance?
b. What are the firm-level antecedents that impact sustainable innovation decisions and performance?
c. How does corporate governance structure influence sustainable innovation decisions and performance?
d. What are the contextual factors that drive sustainable innovation decisions and performance?
3. Understanding processes of sustainable innovation
a. How do international firms from emerging markets practice sustainable innovation?
b. What are the strategies employed by international firms from emerging markets to manage paradoxes of sustainable innovation??
c. How do firms from developed countries and emerging markets differ in terms of managing sustainable innovation?
d. What factors explains differences in their approaches to and processes of sustainable innovation?
4. Understanding outcomes of sustainable innovation
a. What are the financial implications of adoption, commitment, and performance of sustainable innovation?
b. What are the non-financial implications of adoption, commitment, and performance of sustainable innovation?
In conclusion, we encourage the submission of manuscripts that provide unique perspectives through interdisciplinary research, collaboration among co-author teams, and diverse methodological approaches. This Special Issue offers an opportunity to advance our understanding of sustainable innovation of multinationals from emerging markets.
Important Dates
Paper Proposal Submission: March 31, 2024
Full Paper Submission: November 30, 2024
Anticipated publication: Winter 2025
Please, check here for the full call for papers.
Also, feel free to reach out to Kweku Adams (k.adams3@bradford.ac.uk) or one of the Guest Editors if you have any questions.
Guest Editors:
Kweku Adams, University of Bradford, k.adams3@bradford.ac.uk
Rexford Attah-Boakye, University of Nottingham, rexford.Attah-Boakye@nottingham.ac.uk
Honglan Yu, University of Huddersfield, h.Yu2@hud.ac.uk
Won-Yong Oh, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, wonyong.oh@unlv.edu
Gonzalo Molina Sieiro, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, gonzalo.molinasieiro@unlv.edu
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Won Yong Oh
Associate Professor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Las Vegas NV
(702) 895-1724
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