David B. Audretsch, Indiana University Bloomington

Maksim Belitski, University of Reading

Rosa Caiazza, Parthenope University of Naples

Nicolai J. Foss, Copenhagen Business School

Donald Siegel, Arizona State University

This special issue examines how entrepreneurial judgment operates within modern business ecosystems rather than in isolation. While prior research has focused on individual decision-making and single firms, contemporary entrepreneurship involves complex collaborations, alliances, and digital platforms where multiple stakeholders must coordinate their judgments under uncertainty. The issue seeks to understand how entrepreneurs communicate their private and tacit knowledge to ecosystem participants, and how various governance arrangements facilitate or hinder this coordination.

The guest editors invite submissions that bridge entrepreneurship, strategy, and organizational research to explore the mechanisms through which judgment is mobilized, organized, and exploited across ecosystem actors. Key questions include how entrepreneurs convey tacit judgment while managing risks of knowledge leakage, how ecosystem governance structures affect stakeholder coordination, and whether heterogeneous judgments can outperform consensus-based decision-making. The issue aims to consolidate fragmented literature across disciplines into a cohesive multilevel research agenda.

Appel publié par Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• Communicating tacit entrepreneurial judgment in ecosystems
• Ecosystem governance and orchestration mechanisms
• Partial communicability and knowledge protection in collaboration
• Distributed judgment and performance in ecosystems
• Ecosystem dynamics and role structure
• AI and decision-support tools in entrepreneurial ecosystems

Timeline

• January 1, 2027: Submission window opens
• March 1, 2027: Full paper submission deadline

Associate editors

• Peter Klein, Baylor University

Yao Shi, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Lukas R. G. Fitz, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus – Senftenberg

Fanny-Eve Bordeleau, Dalhousie University

Claudia Pelletier, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

Judith Gebauer, University of North Carolina Wilmington

SMEs are significantly lagging behind large organizations in AI adoption due to structural and financial constraints, limited access to technology, insufficient data infrastructure, and workforce skill shortages. This growing digital divide threatens economic competitiveness and equity across regions. As SMEs form a critical part of global economies, their meaningful participation in AI-enabled digital transformation is essential for building resilient and fair economic systems.

This topical collection welcomes multidisciplinary research exploring AI adoption, implementation challenges, workforce development, ethical considerations, and best practices in SMEs. The collection invites theoretical, empirical, design-oriented, and technical contributions that address opportunities and strategies for AI-enabled transformation in the SME context, including case studies and innovation ecosystem perspectives.

Appel publié par Electronic Markets. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• AI adoption drivers, strategies, and readiness models for SMEs' digital transformation
• AI barriers, challenges, and failures for SMEs' digital transformation
• Skill gaps, workforce development, organizational learning and managerial capabilities for AI-enabled practices in SMEs
• Ethical and societal issues surrounding AI in SMEs and their environments
• Case studies of AI adoption and use in SMEs and their business ecosystems
• AI innovation ecosystems inclusive of SMEs
• Design of SME-suitable AI artefacts
• SME practitioner perspectives on AI
• Implementing human-centered AI for SMEs
• AI-enabled business model innovation pathways in SMEs
• AI governance frameworks for SMEs
• AI-driven shifts in SME strategies for competition, co-opetition, co-creation, and open innovation
• Development, configuration, and management of AI ecosystems for SMEs

Timeline

• September 15, 2026: Open for submissions
• March 15, 2027: Submission deadline