The aim of this special issue is to advance the scholarly understanding of quality and sustainability culture in service organisations by examining its determinants, measurement, and outcomes. Specifically, it aims to: (1) clarify the conceptual boundaries between quality culture and sustainability culture and their integration in service settings; (2) identify organizational, managerial, and contextual determinants that shape this integrated culture; (3) develop and validate robust measurement instruments capturing its multidimensional nature; and (4) examine its outcomes for organizational performance, employee wellbeing, customer value, and environmental and social responsibility. These objectives will be achieved by inviting contributions of an empirical, conceptual or mixed-methods nature from a variety of service sectors and geographical contexts, thereby encouraging methodological rigour and cross-disciplinary dialogue between quality management and sustainability scholars.
List of topic areas
The special issue will cover a wide array of topics related to quality and sustainability culture exclusively in service organizations. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Conceptualising and measuring quality and sustainability culture in service organisations.
2. The organisational, leadership and human resource determinants of quality and sustainability culture.
3. The links between quality-sustainability culture, organisational performance, innovation and employee/customer outcomes.
4. Digital transformation, Industry 4.0/5.0 and technology-enabled quality and sustainability culture in services.
5. Cross-sectoral and cross-national comparative studies of quality and sustainability cultures in service industries.
Submissions information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijqss
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emerald.com/journals/author-guidance/1627/emerald-publishing-author-guidelines
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Journal Information: Scopus Journal Q2, H-index 47
Key deadlines
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 1 December 2026
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 28 February 2027
For more details refer here
