Pramod Iyer, Kennesaw State University

Arezoo Davari, Eastern Washington University

Hyunju Shin, Kennesaw State University

Atanas Nik Nikolov, Kennesaw State University

B2B branding continues to grow in importance yet faces unique challenges distinct from consumer markets. While research has established branding's value for securing partnerships and retaining customers, most existing literature relies on B2C models ill-suited to the complexity of business-to-business environments. Contemporary issues including digital transformation, artificial intelligence, sustainability, and evolving buyer expectations around trust and credibility demand specialized attention.

This special issue seeks research addressing gaps in B2B branding scholarship. It welcomes conceptual and empirical studies exploring the distinctiveness of B2B markets, novel theoretical frameworks specific to business contexts, and practical guidance for managers. Topics include managing tensions between long-term brand building and short-term performance demands, stakeholder alignment, internal branding strategies, and measuring branding value—particularly as B2B marketers face budget constraints and pressure to demonstrate immediate returns.

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

Potential topics

• Balancing long-term branding objectives with short-term performance expectations
• Dark side of B2B branding (brand betrayal, opportunism, relationship dissolution)
• Repositioning B2B brands in global and cultural tensions
• Aligning stakeholder expectations in B2B brand management
• Internal branding in B2B organizations
• Communicating brand value among B2B relationship partners
• Digital and AI transformation impact on B2B brand management
• New conceptualizations of value creation through B2B branding
• B2B-specific theories of branding beyond B2C frameworks
• Measuring financial and non-financial value of B2B branding investments
• Brand failures, reputational crises, and recovery strategies in B2B markets
• Ethical dilemmas and tensions in B2B branding

Timeline

• December 1, 2026: Opening date for manuscripts submissions
• March 13, 2027: Closing date for manuscripts submission

Chiara Civera, University of Turin

Demetris Vrontis, University of Nicosia

Sanjit K. Roy, Edith Cowan University

Valentina Chiaudano, University of Turin

The special issue examines how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain can reshape marketing strategies toward a multi-stakeholder approach in global contexts. While firms increasingly deploy advanced technologies to enhance customer engagement and personalization, there is limited understanding of how these technologies can support marketing that simultaneously addresses the interests of employees, suppliers, regulators, communities, and society. The issue seeks to bridge this gap by exploring how NATs enable stakeholder engagement, value creation, and governance across global marketing ecosystems.

Appel publié par Journal of Strategic Marketing. Lire l'appel complet sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• Artificial Intelligence and Value Co-Creation in Global Marketing Ecosystems: how AI and advanced technologies reshape marketing strategies, processes, and interactions among multiple stakeholders in global markets; how NATs enable new forms of value co-creation among firms, customers, suppliers, regulators, and communities; how technology-enabled marketing infrastructures enhance transparency and coordination across global value chains
• Governance, Ethics, and Responsible AI in Marketing: ethical, governance, and organizational implications of NAT-driven marketing systems; algorithmic bias, transparency, accountability, and fairness in data-driven marketing practices; governance mechanisms and organizational capabilities for implementing responsible and transparent NAT-enabled marketing strategies; managing stakeholder tensions and trade-offs arising from NAT-supported marketing decisions
• Cross-Country Dynamics of New-age Technologies in Marketing: how institutional environments, cultural contexts, and regulatory frameworks influence the adoption and governance of artificial intelligence in global marketing; cross-country differences in implementation of NAT-enabled marketing strategies; how new-age technologies influence global marketing strategy and ecosystem coordination; how NATs support sustainable, inclusive, and responsible marketing practices in global markets

Timeline

• April 30, 2027: Manuscript submission deadline

A. R. Shaheen Hosany, Hult International Business School

Deirdre O'Loughlin, University of Limerick

Hong Xiao, Durham University

Sheau-Fen Yap, Auckland University of Technology

Life transitions encompass extended, non-linear periods of disruption and adaptation following events such as childbirth, divorce, relocation, and career shifts. These transitions generate resource scarcity, disrupt established routines, and reshape how consumers perceive and consume goods and services, influencing their interactions with brands and impacting well-being and life trajectories.

Existing research on life transitions remains limited in scope, focusing predominantly on a narrow range of events in developed countries. This special issue seeks to advance understanding of the psychological mechanisms through which life transitions affect cognition, emotion, identity, and well-being, while generating actionable insights for ethical marketing practice. The special issue welcomes work examining transitions as dynamic processes, exploring heterogeneity in transitional experiences, and identifying boundary conditions and factors such as resource availability, social support, and cultural contexts.

Appel publié par Psychology and Marketing. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• Psychological Processes During Life Transitions: psychological consequences of multiple, concurrent, or sequential transitions; how transitions expand versus constrain identity and shape consumption practices; consumption forms that foster resilience during transitions; how consumers reimagine rituals and routines across socio-cultural contexts; generational differences in responses to life events; emotional dynamics during transitions; comparison of different transition types; how transitions reshape cognitive and motivational processes; novel psychological constructs for understanding transitions; how transitions shape memorable experiences
• Liminality and Consumption: influence of liminal states on consumer judgment and decision-making; impact of transitions that sustain liminality on consumer experiences and identity; roles of objects, possessions and brands in stabilising or transforming the self; role of marketing and consumption in reconstructing identity post-transformation
• Consumer Vulnerability and Well-Being: conceptualization of coping strategies, perceived control, and resilience under uncertainty; how vulnerable consumers respond to life transitions; interaction of transitions, value co-creation and well-being in shaping transformative outcomes; influence of socio-economic status on consumer responses to transitions
• Services, Service Systems and Transitions: impact of life transitions on leisure, travel and tourism; how innovative technologies support consumers during transitions; service design and front-line employee roles in facilitating transitions; how market structures and service systems buffer or exacerbate vulnerability
• Marketing Strategy and Transitions: consumer response to advertising appeals during transitions; brand advertising strategy during times of change; brand extensions, pricing, and product strategy for consumers in transition; role of economic precarity in shaping consumer behaviour; use of storytelling and narratives in interpreting life events; preferences for utilitarian versus luxury purchases during transitions
• Methodological Approaches: ethical identification and study of consumers in transitions; indicators capturing transition onset, intensity, and resolution; longitudinal and innovative research methods for capturing pre-, during-, and post-transition phases; use of digital trace and textual data in interpreting transitions

Timeline

• May 31, 2026: Deadline for submitting 200-word abstract for optional virtual supporting event
• June 17, 2026: Virtual supporting event to provide feedback on papers in progress
• September 15, 2026: Submissions open
• December 15, 2026: Final submission deadline