This special issue examines China's multifaceted engagement in fragile countries characterized by weak institutions, limited state capacity, and insecurity. The focus encompasses Chinese foreign direct investment, corporate initiatives, and government-level activities aimed at development and peacebuilding, from the "Going Out" period through the Belt and Road Initiative era to present-day involvement in conflict mediation and UN peacekeeping operations.

The collection seeks to advance understanding of how Chinese actors—including state-owned and privately-owned enterprises as well as government agencies—approach development and peace in fragile settings. Particular attention is given to the environmental and social impacts of these initiatives, how they differ from Western approaches, and how they interact with existing international frameworks and local contexts.

Appel publié par Society and Business Review. Lire l'appel complet sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• Contexts: What are the types of contexts where Chinese organizations are active in social investments and initiatives for development and peace?
• Strategies and modes: How do Chinese enterprises, including State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Privately-Owned Enterprises (POEs), function as agents of development, peace and stability? How do the strategies and activities of Chinese POEs differ compared to SOEs as far as these activities are concerned?
• Collaborations and alliances: How do Chinese enterprises collaborate with non-Chinese organizations in fragile settings?
• Links to IGOs: How does China interact with Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs), such as the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), and Department of Peace Operations (DPO)? What role do IGOs play in facilitating social investment and initiatives by Chinese enterprises?
• Contrasts to Western models: To what extent do the actions and impact of Chinese organizations in fragile settings necessitate a redefinition of development initiative, and how does its meaning differ compared to Western notions, such as that of 'liberal peace'?
• Local and hybrid models: Beyond the "liberal vs. developmental" paradigms comparison, how do Chinese practices in fragile settings interact with existing international and local frameworks? Are we witnessing the emergence of hybrid models in countries where both Chinese and Western countries are active?

Timeline

• July 19, 2026: Opening date for manuscripts submissions
• November 20, 2026: Closing date for manuscripts submission

Seong-jin Choi, Hanyang University

Khan-Pyo Lee, Sogang University

Chris Rowley, University of Oxford

The global business environment is undergoing a major transition where geopolitical considerations and economic security now shape corporate strategy alongside market factors. South Korea and China represent critical contexts for studying how businesses respond to institutional uncertainty, particularly in strategic sectors like semiconductors and EV batteries. This special issue examines how firms in these countries manage their strategic responses amid shifting state policies, regulatory changes, and rising protectionism that demand significant organizational adaptation.

Appel publié par Asia Pacific Business Review. Lire l'appel complet sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• How firms in South Korea and China navigate institutional uncertainties created by geopolitical tensions and shifting industrial policies
• Evolution of political engagement and non-market strategies in response to macro-political environments and state-firm relations
• Strategic change and corporate decision-making in response to institutional instability and regulatory tightening
• Impact of rising nationalism and geopolitical rivalry on international human resource management practices
• Resource reconfiguration and organizational responses to techno-nationalism and protectionism in strategic industries such as semiconductors, EV batteries, and AI
• Universal non-market strategy frameworks derived from Korean and Chinese business experiences applicable to Asia-Pacific and global contexts

Timeline

• June 15, 2026: Extended abstracts or draft manuscripts submission window for workshop consideration
• July 1, 2026: Guest editors' workshop (venue and format to be announced)
• November 25, 2026: Full manuscript submission deadline

Appel publié par Journal of International Management. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Timeline

• July 31, 2027: Submission deadline

Shuping Li, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Martin Conyon, Bentley University

Hanqing Chevy Fang, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Junxiong Fang, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics

Lerong He, State University of New York at Geneseo

Michael Jensen and William Meckling's article, 'Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs, and Ownership Structure', published in the Journal of Financial Economics in 1976, laid the foundation for modern corporate governance scholarship. Grounded in the Anglo-American model of dispersed ownership and professional management, the paper framed the firm as a nexus of contracts, highlighting how agency costs arise when the interests of owners and managers diverge. As of August 2025, the article has been cited over 145,000 times, making it one of the most influential contributions in management and economics literature.

Appel publié par Management and Organization Review. Lire l'appel complet sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• How do hybrid ownership arrangements (e.g., mixed state–private ownership, pyramidal control structures) affect the emergence and management of agency conflicts in Chinese firms?
• How do regulatory reforms, such as the implementation of "golden shares," reconfigure ownership concentration and control rights in listed Chinese firms?
• How do the presence of 'golden shares' or cross-ownership arrangements dampen or enhance strategic autonomy in Chinese private enterprises?
• How do political cycles or changes in national development strategy (e.g., 'state advances, private retreats') influence firm-level ownership restructuring and shape performance and other outcomes?
• To what extent does common ownership exist in Chinese capital markets, and how does it affect competition, monitoring, and firm performance?
• How do sovereign wealth funds influence ownership structures and governance practices in firms where they hold significant stakes?
• What forms of shareholder activism have emerged in China, and how do they shape managerial behavior, firm policies, and the protection of minority investors?
• How and why do firms in China actively reshape their shareholding over time?
• To what extent is ownership structure in Chinese firms an outcome of strategic bargaining among state actors, business elites, and capital markets?
• What are the motives of different types of owners in China? Under what conditions do controlling shareholders in Chinese firms internalize agency costs, and how does this influence their governance behaviors?
• What informal monitoring practices (e.g., political ties, relational contracts, network-based reputation mechanisms) substitute or complement formal governance mechanisms in different types of Chinese ownership structures?
• How do different types of owners (e.g., state, family, institution, etc.) interact within the firm, and what costs and benefits do each type of owner bring to the organization?
• How do shareholder–stakeholder interfaces operate in China, particularly where shareholder priorities may conflict with broader social and environmental objectives of the state and local government?
• How do ownership structures in China differ from those in other emerging and developed economies, and what does this reveal about the boundary conditions of agency theory?
• How can big data analytics and network analysis uncover patterns of ownership concentration, crossholdings, or relational ties that are not visible in traditional datasets?
• What insights can ethnographic or qualitative methods, such as grounded theory and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), provide into the informal norms, political connections, and social relationships that underpin ownership arrangements in China?
• How can mixed-method approaches combine archival data, surveys, and fieldwork to capture the multi-level dynamics of ownership in Chinese firms?
• Other methodological innovations in the study of ownership to capture evolving and complex patterns of governance.
• How do the other theoretical frameworks, such as behavioral theory of the firm, upper echelons theory, resource dependence theory, and managerial cognitive perspective, complement agency theory to explain ownership mechanisms in China, and under what circumstances?
• Research that develops an indigenous theory of ownership structure rooted in the Chinese context.

Timeline

• November 1, 2026: Full paper submission deadline

Appel publié par Government Information Quarterly. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Timeline

• December 1, 2026: Submission deadline

Appel publié par Research Policy. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Timeline

• November 30, 2026: Submission deadline

James Vardaman, University of Memphis

Feigu Zhou, University of Montevallo

Eric Liguori, Florida State University

Shuai Jin, Jiangsu University

Weiwen Li, Sun Yat-sen University

This special collection examines Chinese family businesses navigating intergenerational succession as they approach the 50-year anniversary of China's economic reforms. The collection addresses how family firms balance continuity with renewal as founders transfer leadership to successors, focusing particularly on socioemotional wealth—the noneconomic priorities that family firms pursue, such as preserving family control, maintaining family identity, and ensuring transgenerational continuity.

Chinese family firms provide a distinctive context for advancing family business theory. Unlike Western family enterprises that evolved within stable institutional environments, contemporary Chinese firms emerged after market reforms and now experience large-scale waves of succession amid shifts in economic institutions, governance expectations, and societal values. Successors assume leadership while navigating the coexistence of traditional Confucian principles emphasizing family continuity with modern market logics, professional management practices, and global stakeholder expectations.

Appel publié par Journal of Small Business Management. Lire l'appel complet sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• Founder succession and leadership transfer in post-reform family firms
• Successor identity formation and legitimacy
• Preservation versus erosion of SEW during succession
• Tensions between family control and professionalization
• Emotional attachment, family identity, and transgenerational intentions
• SEW and strategic renewal
• Long-term consequences of Reform and Opening for family enterprise
• State–family business relationships over time
• Family and nonfamily employee experiences
• Shared identity and organizational identification

Timeline

• October 15, 2026: Extended abstract submission deadline
• May 1, 2027: Full manuscript submission deadline