Minhao Zhang, University of Bristol

Yuanzhu Zhan, University of Birmingham

Iana Jackson, University of Arkansas

Zhijun Yan, Beijing Institute of Technology

Emerging technologies promise operational improvements, but their scaling often generates complex trade-offs that become more acute across organisational boundaries and levels. The special issue addresses operational tensions—persistent conflicts between competing demands such as centralisation versus decentralisation, efficiency versus flexibility, and autonomy versus control—that emerge when technologies reconfigure processes, resource allocation and governance. These tensions extend beyond individual implementations to affect supply networks, infrastructure systems and institutional contexts, with implications for resilience, governance and sustainability.

The call invites research examining how organisations navigate these tensions at three levels: within organisations, across supply networks and platforms, and at system-wide scales involving regulation, cybersecurity and resource constraints. Particular interest lies in contexts facing disruption or resource scarcity, such as healthcare and humanitarian operations, where technology adoption may enhance visibility and coordination yet intensify tensions around resource allocation and inter-organisational accountability.

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

Potential topics

• How do emerging technologies reconfigure operational processes, routines and decision rights during adoption and scaling?
• What operational capabilities, performance measurement systems and managerial practices enable organisations to balance experimentation, learning and operational reliability?
• How do organisations manage operational tensions arising from the simultaneous scaling of emerging technologies and the maintenance, integration or phase-out of legacy technologies?
• How does the scaling of emerging technologies across supply networks reshape coordination, collaboration, trust, power and dependency relationships?
• How do organisations manage tensions between transparency and confidentiality, decentralisation and strategic control, or local optimisation and network-wide performance?
• How do AI-enabled ecosystems, intelligent intermediaries and algorithmic brokers transform supply network structures, relational dynamics and orchestration practices?
• How do differences in digital maturity, resources and strategic priorities among supply chain partners affect technology scaling, governance and risks of digital exclusion or inequality?
• How do emerging technologies create tensions between operational performance improvement and system-level constraints such as resilience, cybersecurity, regulation, infrastructure capacity, energy consumption and sustainability?
• How do technology-enabled operations redistribute risks, costs and operational burdens across firms, supply networks, workers, suppliers, customers and operational locations?
• How are technologies scaled under disruptive, resource-constrained or recovery-oriented operating conditions, and how do organisations manage tensions between speed and control, improvisation and standardisation, risk-taking and accountability, or local responsiveness and system-wide coordination?

Timeline

• January 8, 2027: Opening date for manuscripts submissions
• April 8, 2027: Closing date for manuscripts submission

Frank Wiengarten, ESADE

Annachiara Longoni, ESADE

Javier Amaya, ESADE

Anton Shevchenko, Concordia University

Despite decades of research on ethics and sustainability, supply chains continue to exhibit persistent unethical behaviour including forced labour, inadequate working conditions, and gaps between corporate commitments and actual practices. Rather than treating unethical conduct as a compliance problem to be solved through better auditing and codes, this special issue seeks to understand the structural and systemic conditions that make unethical decisions rational and routine within supply chains.

The special issue addresses contemporary challenges including new regulatory requirements such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in procurement and logistics, geopolitical fragmentation reshaping global sourcing, and organisational environments where ethical choices are often more costly than unethical alternatives. The collection brings together scholars from operations management, business ethics, technology management, and organisation theory to examine the causal mechanisms underlying persistent unethical behaviour.

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

Potential topics

• Structural and macroeconomic drivers of unethical decisions in operations and supply chains
• Political and geopolitical drivers of unethical decisions in operations and supply chains
• Organisational and behavioural drivers of unethical decisions in operations and supply chains
• Technological drivers of unethical decisions in operations and supply chains

Timeline

• December 1, 2026: Opening date for manuscripts submissions
• February 28, 2027: Closing date for manuscripts submission

Ruoqi Geng, Cardiff University

Di Li, University of Warwick

Yang Cheng, Aalborg University

This special issue seeks empirical research demonstrating how artificial intelligence is embedded within and enhances digital production technologies in real operational contexts. The focus is on understanding implementation pipelines and socio-technical conditions that enable AI-enabled solutions to function effectively as operational workflows. Purely conceptual, literature-based, or modelling studies without empirical validation are excluded.

Acceptable empirical research uses real-world operational evidence such as production logs, IoT sensors, machine telemetry, or industrial case studies, potentially employing machine learning or optimization when grounded in real data and validated in industrial settings with measurable outcomes. Studies must address the full AI implementation pipeline, from translating production decisions into AI use cases, to ensuring data readiness, to embedding AI outputs into human-AI workflows linked to measurable production outcomes.

Appel publié par Production Planning & Control. Lire l'appel complet sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• AI-Augmented Production Planning and Control
• Business–AI Alignment and AI Readiness Pipeline for Production Systems
• AI-enabled Quality and Process Control
• Agentic and Workflow-Oriented Deployment in Production
• AI-Enabled Cyber–Physical Production Systems and Digital Twins
• AI and Additive Manufacturing
• AI and Blockchain for Production Systems
• Human–AI Interaction and Organisational Transformation
• Empirical Innovations in Data, Measurement, and Evaluation
• Extended Production Contexts (Production-Adjacent Physical Operations)

Timeline

• September 1, 2026: Call for Papers released
• June 30, 2027: Manuscript submission deadline
• September 1, 2027: First-round decisions
• December 1, 2027: Revised manuscripts due
• June 1, 2028: Final decisions

Bernie F. Quiroga, West Virginia University

Xuying Zhao, Texas A&M University

Oleg Gusikhin, Ford Motor Company

Andrea Matta, Politecnico di Milano

Yong Yin, Doshisha Business School

This special issue honors Professor Kathryn E. Stecke's 75th birthday by showcasing research that builds upon her substantial contributions to production research, flexible manufacturing systems, supply chain management, and the interface between production and marketing. The issue seeks to curate cutting-edge articles in active and emerging areas that reflect her legacy and influence.

The special issue welcomes high-quality submissions including empirical studies, analytical models, simulation-based research, case analyses, and conceptual papers. Manuscripts should demonstrate rigorous, impactful research with comprehensive literature reviews, novel decision-aid models, comparisons with state-of-the-art methods, discussions of real-life applications, and managerial insights.

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

Potential topics

• Advances in flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs), including machine grouping, loading policies, and production ratio optimization for enhanced utilization
• Interfaces between production and marketing, including focal points such as advance selling strategies, pre-order mechanisms considering consumer behavior (e.g., loss aversion), lead time and price quotation modes, production-transportation integration in make-to-order systems, and competition/coordination in online marketplaces
• Reconfigurable production systems, such as Seru, for improving responsiveness and adaptability in volatile environments
• Supply chain resilience strategies, including adaptive ordering, disruption mitigation, and multi-echelon network design amid geopolitical and operational uncertainties
• Production planning and scheduling in capital-intensive systems with machine flexibility, focusing on hierarchical approaches and real-time control
• Integration of digital technologies (e.g., AI, digital twins, and data analytics) in manufacturing and supply chains to boost efficiency and cost control
• Empirical analyses of manufacturing efficiencies in sectors like semiconductors, automotive, and electronics, drawing on case studies of disruption responses
• Comparative studies of traditional vs. innovative production methods, such as Toyota Production System vs. Seru, with emphasis on performance metrics
• Managerial insights for decision-makers on implementing flexible routing, robot scheduling, and state-dependent sequencing in production environments
• Future perspectives on sustainable manufacturing, addressing global supply chain vulnerabilities and policy implications

Timeline

• March 1, 2026: Open for submissions
• October 31, 2026: Submission deadline