Long Range Planning - Special Issue Call for Papers
CORPORATE DECLINE AND TURNAROUNDS IN TIMES OF DIGITALIZATION
Submission period – from August 1st to December 31st 2019
SPECIAL ISSUE EDITORS
Vincent L. Barker, vbarker@ku.edu , Kansas University, USA
Tomi Laamanen, tomi.laamanen@unisg.ch , University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Johannes Luger, jlu.si@cbs.dk , Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Achim Schmitt, achim.schmitt@ehl.ch , Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne, Switzerland
Katherine Xin, Katherine.xin@ceibs.edu , China Europe International Business School, China
Special issue purpose
The aim of this special issue is to advance theory on and present empirical evidence of how firms manage corporate decline and turnaround in times of the 'digital revolution' (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2012). The so-called 4th industrial revolution, which affects almost any industry and future business model (Atluri, Dietz, & Henke, 2017), not only enables firms to tap into the various opportunities of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence but also threatens current business processes, value drives and entire business models for a large number of incumbents in various industries. More than ever, firms are threatened by a high degree of environmental uncertainty and volatility which fosters decline and turbulence (McKinley, Latham, & Braun, 2014; Ndofor, Vanevenhoven, & Barker, 2013; Trahms, Ndofor, & Sirmon, 2013). In addition, the digitalization's information availability and transparency (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2012, 2017) may enable declining firms to leverage digital resources when implementing adequate recovery strategies. Unfortunately, a large part of the decline and turnaround literature's current knowledge builds on established models from other decades that fail to capture the full complexity and dynamism of today's business environment. This special issue offers an opportunity to revive the important debates on decline and turnaround in the era of digitalization.
Potential topics and research questions for the special issue submissions
This Special Issue seeks to generate new theoretical and empirical advances in dealing with corporate decline through turnarounds during times of digitalization. The analysis of corporate decline and turnarounds can be partitioned into three main parts: (a) nature, extent and pace of decline, (b) turnaround strategies and outcomes, and (c) the management of the decline/turnaround process.
We seek studies of the many internal and external causes of corporate decline in the context of digitalization, including studies that focus on the following questions: What are the internal and external antecedents of decline situations in the digital age? How do different decline situations affect the overall recovery activities? Do the antecedents of decline differ significantly across industry contexts? How do organizational characteristics such as leadership, structure, and culture relate to decline and the choice of a specific (digital) turnaround strategy? Do the speed and nature of decline have an impact on types of recovery strategies? Answers to these questions are necessary to understand whether there are ways to anticipate, influence, and adapt to internal and external pressures that contribute to corporate decline.
We are also looking for articles on how to design and implement successful turnaround strategies. Specifically, we seek papers on: How do companies develop digital recovery strategies? How are efficiency-oriented and innovation-oriented activities combined? How sustainable are different types of recovery strategies? What practices are used to manage extant resource and processes while simultaneous addressing strategic digital change programs?
Finally, we are looking for papers that answer how firms design and manage the turnaround process over time. Do they change their activities over the different phases of the turnaround process? How does the success or failure of previously implemented activities affect the selection and success of subsequent recovery activities? Do companies learn from these events? How do the speed and timing of implementation affect turnaround success? Who are the key actors over the different stages of the turnaround process?
Submission Process and further questions
Submissions will open on 01.08.2019 and the final deadline for submission of papers is 31.12.2019. Please submit your papers online on the Long Range Planning website and follow the Submission Guidelines available.
The guest editors are seeking reviewers for this issue and are soliciting nominations and volunteers to participate in the review process. Reviewers are invited to contact the guest co-editors Johannes Luger and Achim Schmitt. Papers will be reviewed following the regular Long Range Planning double-blind review process.
For further questions, see the extend call for papers on the Long Range Planning homepage or contact one of the special issue editors
(https://www.journals.elsevier.com/long-range-planning/call-for-papers/corporate-decline-and-turnarounds-in-times-of-digitalization)