I wish to bring to readers’ attention two recently announced calls-for-submission to upcoming special issues of the journal. Although we don’t publish special issues and topical special sections often, they are a useful way to aggregate and highlight new research on topics that are emerging or expanding or, perhaps, neglected.
The first of these two calls, published in our last (January) issue, invites submissions on the topic Exploring Important Thinkers to Generate New Theory in Business Ethics.Footnote 1 Quoting from the call for submissions, the guest editors seek papers that
• bring in work from important thinkers in a variety of disciplines who have been overlooked or underutilized within the business ethics literature so far,
• provide important resources from these thinkers to generate new theories and insights on a given topic in business ethics, and
• show how this work can be used, more broadly, to inform the larger dialogue in contemporary business ethics.
In the full text of the call the guest editorial team identifies a number of possible figures in philosophy, economics, sociology, psychology, political theory, and feminist studies whose work might be appropriate, and of course the team welcomes submissions beyond their examples. Manuscripts in response to this call can be submitted during the window beginning September 1, 2019, and closing November 1, 2019.
The second of the two currently active special-issue calls, published in this issue, is on Challenges and Prospects of Deliberative Democracy for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility.Footnote 2 I will again share some of what the guest editors have in mind by quoting briefly from the call:
We are open to receiving manuscripts discussing deliberative democracy in different organizational contexts (e.g., in terms of size, organizational form, geographic location, industry, and also addressed issues). We explicitly encourage submissions that leverage recent empirical as well as conceptual developments in research on deliberative democracy within the political sciences. In addition, we welcome contributions that engage critically with the very idea of adopting elements of deliberative democracy for business ethics and corporate sustainability.
In the special-issue call, the editors identify a variety of feasible questions that submissions could address on ways that deliberative democracy might dovetail with corporate and global governance, sustainable development, stakeholder dialogue, digitalization, and various critical perspectives. Manuscripts in response to this call can be submitted during the window beginning December 1, 2019, and closing January 31, 2020. The guest editor team will be convening a manuscript development workshop related to the special issue at the annual meeting of the Society for Business Ethics in August 2019 in Boston.Footnote 3
Papers submitted for consideration for special issues undergo a review process that is essentially the same as for regular submissions to the journal. Submissions will be initially reviewed for suitability and quality by the guest editor team; papers that pass initial review will then undergo a double-blind review by external referees. The full texts of these special-issue calls contain far more information on their topical ambits than is conveyed in my brief summary here. They also incorporate detailed submission instructions and contact information for the guest editor teams. It is appropriate to contact the guest editors directly if you wish to inquire about the potential suitability of a project or an idea.
We do welcome inquiries regarding the development of proposals for future special issues. A strong proposal is one that is consistent with the journal’s editorial scope and mission, persuasively argues why new theoretical work on the theme(s) of the special issue is warranted, and identifies specific examples of topics that would be appropriate. Viable proposals will be spearheaded by a coediting team comprised of individuals who are familiar with the aims and standards for successful publication in BEQ, and are qualified to serve as action editors on the types of scholarship the special issue call would encourage. At least one of the proposed coeditors must be a current member of the BEQ editorial board or editorial leadership team. A document containing guidelines and expectations for proposing a special issue and generating a draft call-for-submissions is available on request from the editor.
