Call for Papers: Special Issue on Transforming Supply Chains in Central and Eastern Europe: Innovations and Challenges
We are pleased to announce a Call for Papers for a Special Issue in Logistics Research, focusing on Transforming Supply Chains in Central and Eastern Europe: Innovations and Challenges. Despite the growing importance of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in global supply chains, research from this region remains scarce and primarily exploratory (Dujak et al., 2020).
CEE is a distinctive and compelling region for supply chain research due to its unique economic, geopolitical, and historical characteristics. CEE countries have undergone a profound transformation from centrally planned economies to manufacturing and logistics hubs in CEE with a strong supply chain integration into the European Union and global markets. A particularly important logistics aspect of the CEE region arises from its strategic location at the crossroads of Western Europe, Asia, and the broader Eurasian region, making it an essential hub for global and regional trade.
Several CEE countries are key nodes in China’s The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), serving as critical transit points for Asian-European trade. The region acts as a bridge between established Western European markets and emerging markets in the East. The recent geopolitical shifts have made CEE an increasingly crucial part of the Euro-Asian supply chain, and the need for its increased resilience is more important than ever. CEE faces unique risks and resilience challenges in supply chains. Ongoing geopolitical risks stem from proximity to conflict zones (e.g., the Russia-Ukraine war) and tensions with Russia have impacted supply chains, especially energy and raw material supplies.
Many CEE countries have historically relied on Russian energy, necessitating diversification of energy sources and increased investments in renewable energy. The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in CEE supply chains, leading to increased focus on building resilience through local sourcing and diversified supply bases. Dedicated research is needed to explore how this strategic location impacts logistics networks, trade corridors, and multimodal transport. The new role of CEE in global supply chains necessitates actionable insights for businesses, including logistics providers, manufacturers, and investors.
Technology is an indispensable part of logistics and supply chain. From digital twins to blockchain (Gruchmann & Bischoff, 2021) and automation on operational level (Escherle et al., 2023), supply chains are progressing through digital supply chain maturity model levels (Hellweg et al., 2023). The levels of maturity models of digital supply chain in CEE are diverse and challenges are permanent. Most of CEE’s supply chains are still searching for additional ways for development and improvement, both through digitalization and supply chain analytics options (Lodemann et al., 2022), as well through stronger use of artificial intelligence for supply chain coordination (Nitsche et al., 2024).
While CEE has made significant progress in modernizing infrastructure, gaps remain. Infrastructure quality varies widely between urban and rural areas or between EU and non-EU CEE countries. Research is needed to evaluate the challenges and innovations in addressing these gaps, including public-private partnerships and sustainable infrastructure development. The CEE countries have diverse institutional frameworks shaped by transitions and varying stages of EU integration, creating unique challenges and opportunities. Many CEE countries have adopted EU standards, while some (e.g., non-EU states like Ukraine, Serbia) are still aligning their systems, resulting in a hybrid regulatory environment. Research can uncover how these institutional differences influence supply chain strategies, including compliance, sustainability practices, and competitiveness.
As CEE is not a monolithic region, countries vary significantly in economic development, institutional frameworks, and supply chain maturity. Dedicated research, done thoughtfully and considering both the shared characteristics and the differences between regions, can uncover nuanced insights across different countries and industries. Insights from CEE are transferable to other regions undergoing economic transformation, such as Southeast Asia or Latin America.
Despite notable advancements in infrastructure and logistics capabilities, significant challenges remain. Disparities between EU and non-EU CEE countries, varying levels of institutional development, and regulatory heterogeneity create a complex landscape for supply chain management. The demand for research-based insights on supply chain resilience, infrastructure modernization, and regional integration is more critical than ever.
This special issue aims to explore the evolving role of CEE in global supply chains by addressing key challenges and opportunities across multiple dimensions, including trade flows, resilience strategies, sustainability, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks.
By focusing on the region’s strategic role in contemporary logistics, we aim to bridge academic inquiry with actionable insights for policymakers, industry practitioners, and global supply chain leaders.
Potential Topics
We invite high-quality research papers that focus on, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- Geopolitics and Supply Chain Resilience
– CEE logistics challenges and possibilities in regard to the Russia-Ukraine war
– Supply chain disruptions caused by global geopolitical risks in CEE
– The impact of the extension of the Schengen area within the CEE
– Sustainability of the Schengen area within the CEE
– CEE as critical transit points for Asian-European trade
– Humanitarian and healthcare supply chain within the CEE
- Infrastructure and Trade Corridors
– Key nodes in China’s The Belt and Road Initiative
– The role of seaports in development of CEE
– Challenges of EU’s upgrading of rail network
– Intermodal hubs in CEE
- Technology and Innovation in Logistics
– Digital twins as source of competitive CEE supply chain
– Artificial intelligence for supply chain collaboration as source of competitive advantage of CEE
- Sustainability and Circular Supply Chains
– State and possibilities of sustainability practices in CEE’s supply chain
- Regulatory and Institutional Challenges
- Workforce and Talent Development in Logistics
- Consumer Behaviour and Market Trends
- Humanitarian and Crisis Logistics
We welcome theoretically grounded, empirical and conceptual, quantitative and qualitative research in the field of business and technical logistics, supply chain management, and operations management, which utilize rigor methodologies to develop managerial insight and theoretical contributions in the context of developed and developing logistics systems.
Submission Information
Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the author guidelines for Logistics Research, published by Emerald. Full instructions and guidelines can be found here: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/lore
The submission portal for this special issue is accessible through ScholarOne Manuscripts:
Please ensure to select the special issue title during submission. The final decision on acceptance will be made following the journal’s standard double-blind peer-review process.
Important Dates
Open date for submissions: March 10, 2025
Submission deadline: September 30, 2025
Publication of the special issue is planned for mid-2026.
Contact Information
For further details regarding this special issue, please direct your inquiries to the Guest Editors:
- Professor Dr. Herbert Kotzab, Crowley Center for Transportation and Logistics, Department of Marketing and Logistics, University of North Florida, [email protected]
- Professor Dr. Davor Dujak, Department of Marketing, Faculty of Economics and Business in Osijek, [email protected]
- Professor Dr. Adam Koliński, Poznan School of Logistics, [email protected]
For technical assistance with submissions, please contact the Journal Editorial Office: [email protected]. Kindly reference the journal name and special issue title in all communications.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and encourage you to share this Call for Papers with colleagues who may have an interest in this topic.
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