Contemporary marketing practice continues to evolve amidst a rapidly changing global environment, shaped by technological transformation, shifting geopolitical dynamics, economic uncertainty, and heightened expectations for sustainability and social responsibility (Sheth, 2021; Kumar et al., 2020). These forces have profoundly influenced how consumers think, behave, and engage with brands. The retail sector-long regarded as the ultimate expression of consumer marketing-has emerged as a vivid arena where these transformations are both experienced and contested (Grewal et al., 2017). Retail environments, both physical and digital, have become laboratories for innovation in consumer engagement, technology adoption, and adaptive marketing strategies (Verhoef et al., 2017).

Recent scholarship has highlighted that consumers are increasingly attentive to brand ethics, transparency, and societal contributions, especially in the context of environmental sustainability and social justice movements (Ladhari and Tchetgna, 2017; White et al., 2019). Global disruptions such as supply chain fragility, inflationary pressures, and geopolitical tensions, including tariff disputes, have reshaped sourcing strategies, pricing models, and customer expectations (Hofmann et al., 2019). At the same time, the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, automation, and platform-based ecosystems is redefining how consumers access information, evaluate options, and make purchase decisions (Grewal et al., 2020; Huang & Rust, 2021). Geopolitical disruptions also affect business, government, and consumer consumption through tariffs, policy shifts regarding businesses and environmental protection, and supply chains through government interference (Nerger et al., 2021; Klomp, 2025; Chakkol et al., 2024).

This special issue, coordinated with the 2026 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference, invites scholars to examine the intersection of consumer behavior and external forces in a fluid world. Consistent with JCM’s mission to blend rigorous research with managerial relevance, we welcome conceptual and empirical work that not only advances theory but also offers actionable insights for practitioners navigating this complex landscape. We also welcome work in line with SDG 12, a United Nations goal, such as a focus on responsible consumption and production considering geopolitical dynamics (e.g., Choi et al., 2025; Gallen et al., 2025).

While broad in scope, we particularly encourage research leveraging the retail sector as a focal context for exploring these dynamics. Scholars have noted that market turbulence demands greater agility and adaptability in marketing strategies (Day, 2011; Jaworski, 2011). Digital transformation, omnichannel strategies, and consumer empowerment have disrupted traditional marketing models (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016; Kannan and Li, 2017). Research has further shown that cultural, economic, and technological externalities interact to influence brand-consumer relationships (Steenkamp, 2019; Kumar et al., 2021). To this end, retail formats, particularly, have been pressured to deliver seamless, personalized experiences while maintaining operational efficiency (Berman and Thelen, 2018; Roggeveen and Sethuraman, 2020).

List of Topic Areas

• Consumer responses to global disruptions (e.g., inflation, supply chain fragility, climate events, tariffs, war)
• Impact of AI, automation, and platform-based ecosystems on consumer well-being and happiness
• How to enhance responsible consumption (e.g., reducing food waste and increasing adoptions of green energy and public transportation)
• How to serve marginalized and disadvantaged consumers and enhance equality among gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status through marketing and equitable practices
• Evolving consumer purchase patterns and consumption practices around brand ethics, transparency, and sustainability
• How firms can navigate sociopolitical activism (e.g., Should brands take a stand or remain silent?)
• Recalibrating brand-consumer relationships in times of social and political polarization
• Cross-cultural and cross-generational consumer insights in a post-globalization era
• Retail innovation in response to external forces, trends, disruptions, and shifting consumer expectations
• Marketing strategies for enhancing trust, loyalty, engagement in uncertain environments

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcmktg
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here:  https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/jcm
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 Q1, H-Index 122

Key Deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 15/08/2026
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 15/10/2026

Cities and built environments are undergoing a rapid transformation driven by the convergence of climate imperatives and digital innovation. Urban areas account for a substantial share of global energy consumption, resource use, and greenhouse gas emissions, making them central to sustainability transitions. At the same time, advances in digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, building information modelling (BIM), digital twins, sensing systems, and data platforms, are reshaping how infrastructure is planned, delivered, and operated. Increasingly, sustainability performance is not determined only by materials or engineering solutions, but by how decisions are made, coordinated, and governed across complex socio-technical systems.
Existing research has often treated sustainability and digitalisation as parallel but separate domains. Green building and sustainable construction studies traditionally focus on energy efficiency, environmental performance, and lifecycle assessment, while smart city and digital infrastructure research frequently emphasises technological capability and data integration.

However, the growing reliance on algorithmic tools, predictive analytics, and real-time monitoring means that sustainability outcomes are increasingly shaped by decision processes, organisational behaviour, and governance structures. The effectiveness of digital technologies therefore depends not only on technical performance, but also on how stakeholders interpret information, exercise judgement, and respond to incentives.

This special issue addresses that gap by examining sustainability in the built environment from a socio-technical decision-making perspective. Rather than focusing solely on technology adoption, it explores how digital systems influence accountability, policy implementation, and behavioural change across planning, construction, and operational phases. Contributions investigate interactions between human expertise and automated intelligence, the organisational and institutional conditions supporting adoption, and the role of data-driven insights in improving environmental outcomes.

The issue brings together interdisciplinary research spanning engineering, urban planning, management, and social sciences. It includes conceptual, empirical, and review studies that analyse digital twins, AI-assisted planning, lifecycle and circular economy approaches, governance mechanisms, and stakeholder behaviour. Many submissions originate from expanded research presented at the International Conference on Green + Digital + Intelligent Built Environments (GDI 2025), with all manuscripts undergoing independent peer review in accordance with journal policy.

By integrating sustainability, digital technologies, and decision-making processes, the special issue aims to advance understanding of how urban systems can transition toward more transparent, accountable, and environmentally effective practices. The findings are intended to inform researchers, policy makers, and industry practitioners seeking to harness digital transformation in support of sustainable cities and resilient infrastructure.

List of topic areas

(1) Digital twins, BIM, and artificial intelligence for environmental sustainability
(2) Behavioural change, incentives, and organisational adoption of green technologies
(3) Data-driven governance, accountability, and urban policy implementation
(4) Human–AI collaboration and decision-making in infrastructure management
(5) Circular economy, lifecycle assessment, and climate-resilient urban systems.

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/uss

Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/uss

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.

Key deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 01/03/2026
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 30/06/2026
For more details refer here

brochure

The rapid acceleration of generative AI and the “skills gap” has rendered traditional educational cycles obsolete. Current literature (OECD, 2023; UNESCO, 2024) highlights a critical tension between legacy institutional structures and the emerging post-digital reality. This special issue is timely as Higher Education faces a “triple pressure”: the demand for micro-credentials in a volatile labor market, the need for financial sustainability amidst shifting funding models, and the ethical imperative to democratize knowledge through Open Education. Recent global events (Dubai Declaration, UNESCO 2024) have shifted the focus from emergency remote teaching to long-term strategic foresight. By addressing AI-assisted complex thinking and organizational agility, this issue responds to the urgent societal need for “resilient literacies.” It bridges the gap between theoretical pedagogical innovation and pragmatic leadership strategies, providing the evidence-based framework required to navigate the complexity of the current socio-economic and environmental transition.

This special issue explores the systemic transformation of Higher Education through strategic foresight. It seeks original research on post-digital architectures, AI-driven leadership, and innovative financing models. We invite contributions that analyze micro-credentials, lifelong learning, and open knowledge to bridge the gap between academic ecosystems and evolving global labor markets.

• Reconfiguring learning systems in response to the demands of an evolving society: Complexity in social, economic, environmental and cultural changes
• Modelling new post-digital learning architectures: Technological challenges and opportunities for pedagogical innovation, openness, communication and organisational efficiency
• Reimagining financial strategies for Higher Education: Access policies, micro-financing and implications for teaching and assessment methods
• Transforming organisational culture in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Leadership strategies and training transformation
• Designing training for new labour ecosystems: Technology-enhanced micro-credentials, AI.
• Cultivating literacy for the future: Competencies and skills for lifelong learning (AI-assisted complex thinking, socio-emotional competencies, international competencies).
• Opening up knowledge: openness is redefining global collaboration by leveraging technologies and AI to remove educational barriers and democratise forward-thinking strategies in lifelong learning.

This special issue moves beyond isolated technological trends to offer a multidimensional strategic foresight of Higher Education. While existing literature often treats AI, micro-credentials, and financing in silos, this collection establishes a transdisciplinary synthesis. Its original contribution lies in defining the “Open Horizon”—a framework where post-digital architectures and AI-driven leadership converge to dismantle traditional academic boundaries. By integrating complexity science with organizational transformation, the issue provides a roadmap for reconfiguring learning systems against global socio-economic shifts. It introduces a novel perspective on financial-pedagogical synergy, arguing that micro-financing and micro-credentials are not just tools, but catalysts for a democratized, lifelong learning ecosystem. This issue fills a critical gap by shifting the discourse from “digital adoption” to “systemic resilience,” equipping leaders with the competencies (AI-assisted complex thinking) necessary to navigate the labor and educational ecosystems of the next decade.

This call invites us to address the social challenge of the growing digital and cognitive divide. By promoting “Open Knowledge” and “AI-assisted complex thinking,” it provides strategies to prevent educational exclusion in an increasingly automated world. The core impact lies in transforming Higher Education from a rigid silo into a fluid lifelong learning ecosystem that fosters social mobility and professional retraining.  Ultimately, it empowers citizens with the socio-emotional and international competencies necessary to lead in a complex, globalized society.

List of Topic Areas

• ​​​Post-Digital Pedagogical Architectures: Exploring the convergence of AI, hybrid environments, open education and physical spaces to create seamless, flexible learning ecosystems that respond to social and cultural complexity.
• Strategic Leadership for AI-Driven Transformation: Investigating how organizational culture must evolve through leadership models that prioritize digital literacy, ethical AI integration, and agile governance in Higher Education.
• The Micro-Credential Revolution and Labor Alignment: Analyzing the role of technology-enhanced micro-credentials and AI-assisted skills mapping in bridging the gap between academic curricula and the demands of new labor ecosystems.
• Sustainable Financial Innovations for Access: Reimagining the economics of Higher Education through micro-financing, open education resources (OER), open science and scalable models that ensure equitable access and democratic lifelong learning.
• Future-Ready Literacies and Complex Thinking: Defining the competencies required for the next decade, focusing on the synergy between socio-emotional skills, international collaboration, and AI-augmented complex problem-solving.​​

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/lfet
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here:  https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/oth
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.

Key Deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: ​01/03/2026​
Closing date for manuscripts submission: ​31/07/2026​