Jan C. Fransoo, Tilburg University

Dorothee Honhon, University of Texas at Dallas

Retail, defined as the activity of selling goods or services directly to the end consumers, is among the largest employers and largest industry sectors in both developed and developing economies. Research in retail operations has grown tremendously over the last two decades since the initial seminal work by Fisher et al. (2000). Since then, the retail landscape has changed enormously, specifically because the development of online and on-demand retail. This development has been characterized in a review of 20 years of research in this journal (Caro et al. 2020). Research in operations management has followed this change in industry structure, with both modeling and empirical papers studying a wide variety of retail formats and retail channels. However, with little exception, the focus of these studies is more or less entirely on profit-maximizing objectives of the retailer, without much attention to considerations of sustainability and social responsibility.

Within the wider scope of responsible operations, retail has an important and visible role to play that has received increasing attention in the society at large. We strongly believe that it is the role of academic research to address the wider scope of responsible operations in retail, beyond the mere profitability of companies and business models in the sector.

With this special issue, we call for innovative and impactful research that advances the theoretical and empirical understanding of responsible retail operations, and provides managers and educators with tools and insights to deploy more responsibility in retail operations. We are open to any research methods, including theoretical, empirical and behavioral work.

For a paper to qualify, two conditions need to be met: (1) The outcome variable/objective function needs to include a responsible metric, i.e., it is not enough to have a traditional cost/profit outcome variable/model that evaluates the effects on a responsible outcome, or a traditional cost/profit outcome variable/model that is set in a setting where responsible outcomes play a role. (2) The setting must be retail, defined as a directly consumer-facing activity, with the end-consumer (households or individuals) paying for a product or a service. In this definition, we decide to include not only physical stores and online retail for physical products, but also restaurants, banks, airlines, amusement parks, etc., but decide to exclude healthcare services.

Potential topics

• Waste in food, apparel and electronics retail
• Labor conditions in stores and delivery operations
• Carbon emissions generated by highly responsive online or on-demand retail operations
• The role of retail stores in the livability of rural communities
• The presence of food deserts and food banks in low-income urban communities
• The subsistence role of retail stores in developing countries and communities
• Data privacy concerns such as face recognition in stores or data tracking online

Timeline

• January 1, 2025: Deadline for confidential extended abstract scope check submissions
• August 1, 2025: Deadline for submissions
• November 1, 2025: First-round decisions and feedback
• May 1, 2026: Second-round submission for papers invited to revise
• September 1, 2026: Final decisions subject to minor revisions

Antonella Cammarota, International University of Monaco

Jessica Vredenburg, Auckland University of Technology

Benjamin Rosenthal, Getulio Vargas Foundation

Brand activism has rapidly evolved from a novel strategy into a mainstream corporate practice, attracting growing scholarly attention across disciplines. While it takes on various forms - such as corporate activism, CEO activism, corporate sociopolitical activism, and corporate social advocacy - these expressions share a common feature: the deliberate entry of companies and top executives into the political sphere. This engagement typically involves public positioning and/or tangible actions on controversial, contested, or polarising socio-political issues. In recent years, brand activism has come to play a crucial role in shaping public discourse, influencing consumer culture, and redefining the boundaries of brand management.

Brands have positioned themselves as prominent players in sociopolitical activism, lending their voices to movements such as Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and Pride. Many have gone further, speaking out on civil rights, endorsing or criticising political candidates, and taking public stands on global conflicts. Their social media channels have become platforms for engaging with some of our time's most contentious and politically charged issues - from abortion and LGBTQIA+ rights to gun control, climate change, and racial justice. These messages are often delivered in emotive, occasionally provocative, tones designed to shape public opinion, ignite debate, and foster prosocial engagement among audiences.

Much of the literature has explored perceived authenticity in brand activism, the influence of political ideology, moral framing, and the types of activist efforts. However, while considerable attention has been paid to corporate strategies and outcomes, far less has been devoted to its social and transformative impacts. In parallel, scholars have begun to examine activism across a broader set of actors and contexts, including non-profit organisations, universities, CEOs, consumers, and influencers. The phenomenon has also been studied within B2B markets, the luxury sector, and from a global perspective, illustrating both the depth and breadth of research in this area.

Recent publications continue to reflect the academic community's sustained interest in brand activism. However, on an empirical level, new directions and emerging manifestations of the phenomenon appear to be unfolding faster than researchers can capture or critically analyse them. This substantive gap highlights a critical limitation: a growing disconnection between certain strands of literature and the evolving complexity of real-world practices, which impairs our ability to fully grasp, interpret, and anticipate the shifting dynamics and implications of brand activism today.

The rise of populism, escalating geopolitical conflicts, and increasing societal polarisation appear to have reshaped the trajectory of brand activism. Since late 2024 and into early 2025, several major U.S. corporations have withdrawn from their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as noted in recent studies. At the same time, many brands have scaled back their activist public visibility, muting their social media presence and removing sociopolitical content, while others have undergone internal restructuring, including leadership changes. Consequently, with the convergence of political, ecological, and humanitarian emergencies, the role of business in advancing social good is again under scrutiny.

In the face of this rapidly changing context, while offering valuable insights, existing literature struggles to capture the evolving dynamics of brand activism. Many studies still rely on well-established theoretical frameworks that may no longer be adequate for interpreting the complexities of the current landscape. Given these recent shifts, there is a pressing need to open new directions for research on brand activism. This moment demands not only a deeper understanding of how the phenomenon is evolving across diverse cultural, geographic, and sectoral contexts, but also providing actionable insights to support organisations navigating increasingly complex and polarised environments. Emerging technologies, growing attention to the Global South, and the rise of new social, political and cultural sensibilities may offer fresh analytical lenses through which brand activism can be critically re-examined and conceptually reimagined.

This Special Issue aims to spark a critical and practice-informed dialogue on the current state of brand activism - exploring whether, how, and why it is changing; uncovering new forces shaping its trajectory; and rethinking the role brands can and should play in contemporary society. We invite contributions that challenge and extend current thinking, including new theoretical frameworks, conceptual innovations, interpretive approaches, and robust empirical studies. Submissions may employ qualitative or quantitative methods, as long as they critically engage with present realities and contribute to a richer understanding of the phenomenon. Our goal is to build a body of knowledge that is both theoretically insightful and practically relevant - capable of keeping pace with the speed, complexity, and volatility of today's socio-political landscape.

Potential topics

• Changes in Brand Activism Strategies – Is brand activism taking a new form? Are we witnessing the rise of less visible, more strategic, or quieter modes of activism? How do activist brands act in the current landscape?
• Emerging Brand Activist Contexts – How, and to what extent, does brand activism manifest across different political, cultural, and geographical contexts? Particular attention is invited to the Global South and emerging markets, where civil liberties, media pluralism, or legal protections for civil rights may be limited or contested.
• Institutional Actors as Activist Agents – What happens when universities, public institutions, public figures, or cultural organisations engage in activist practices? How do these actors influence public discourse, shape political debate, or redefine the boundaries of market responsibility?
• The Transformative Effect of Brand Activism – Can marketing-driven activism lead to lasting social change, or is it ultimately limited to symbolic gestures and market-oriented performance goals?
• International and Transnational Dimensions of Activism – How does activism unfold across national borders, global supply chains, and international institutions? What new conditions arise when brand activism is framed as a systemic, transnational commitment?
• Backlash, Culture War, and Polarisation – How brand activism is affected when social and institutional risks emerge, corporate activism provokes ideological resistance, public fatigue, or consumer boycotts? How has the context of rising populism affected the conditions for brand activism?
• Consumer Activism and Spaces of Expression – Has consumer activism changed? If so, how do activist consumers influence brand strategies, communication, and positioning? How do new forms of digital and/or offline spaces affect how consumer activists express their demands, critiques, or support? Are there changes in the relationships between brands and consumer activists?
• Authenticity and Consumer Activism - How can we critically differentiate between authentic brand activism and opportunistic appropriation of activist discourse? Have consumers' understandings of authentic brand activism changed amid current shifts in the sociocultural context?
• Artificial Intelligence and Activist Contents – How is artificial intelligence transforming the creation, personalisation, and dissemination of activist messages? What ethical, moral, and authenticity-related concerns arise when activism is mediated by machine-created content?
• Shifting Channels of Activist Communication – To what extent has sociopolitical pressure prompted a shift in activist communication from open, accessible platforms - such as social media - to more niche, closed (not public) or offline spaces? What are the implications of this relocation of activism visibility and audience engagement regarding brand activism practices and social impact?
• Activism and the Depoliticisation of Society – What are the potential connections between brand activism and the depoliticisation of society? Does brand activism foster genuine political engagement and collective mobilisation, or does it risk causing activism fatigue, depoliticising conflict and reinforcing dominant ideologies? How can we critically assess the boundaries between symbolic engagement and meaningful transformation?
• Measuring Systemic Impact – How can we assess the broader societal effects of brand activism beyond corporate performance indicators or consumer responses? What critical or participatory methodologies are needed to evaluate systemic change?

Timeline

• September 30, 2026: Manuscript deadline