Discussion: View Thread

Expand all | Collapse all

Call for Papers Management in Times of Geopolitical Tensions and Turmoil: How War, Security, and Defense Pose New Imperatives for Organizations

  • 1.  Call for Papers Management in Times of Geopolitical Tensions and Turmoil: How War, Security, and Defense Pose New Imperatives for Organizations

    Posted 07-03-2025 13:45

    Management in Times of Geopolitical Tensions and Turmoil: How War, Security, and Defense Pose New Imperatives for Organizations 

    Submission Deadline: 31 March 2026 

    Special Issue Editors: 

    Daniel Armanios, University of Oxford, UK 

    Emily Block, University of Alberta, Canada 

    Arne Keller, TU Wien, Austria 

    Fabrice Lumineau, University of Hong Kong, China 

    Madeleine Rauch, University of Cambridge, UK 

     

    AIM AND SCOPE OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE 

    Given the significant impact of geopolitical events and developments on organizations – from armed conflicts and cybersecurity threats to supply chain disruption, escalating trade wars, and geoeconomic confrontation – this Special Issue on Management in Times of Geopolitical Tensions and Turmoil aims to advance our scholarly understanding of how war, security, and defense reshape organizational imperatives and how organizations navigate and adapt to the complexities of conflict, uncertainty, and political instability. 

    Although research has begun to explore the dynamics and organizational implications of geopolitical tensions and turmoil (e.g., Henisz et al., 2010; Joseph et al., 2025; Lumineau and Keller, 2025; Luo and Tung, 2025), conflict-ridden environments have so far been analyzed either as extreme (revelatory) contexts (Hällgren et al., 2025) or as specific aspects in international business (Moura et al., 2025), such as in the case of cross-border acquisitions (Li et al., 2020), foreign direct investment, and market entry/exit decisions (Albino-Pimentel et al., 2021; Dai et al., 2023). Given the scope and prevalence of geopolitical tensions, along with their far-reaching implications for organizations and societies (George et al., 2016; Wickert et al., 2021), this special issue aims to bring the topic to the forefront of the management research agenda. Specifically, we seek new theoretical and empirical insights to better understand how organizations navigate times of geopolitical conflict, as well as integrative frameworks that address war, security, and defense – not as background conditions or research settings, but as central forces reshaping the core assumptions, responsibilities, and structures of organizations. 

    We invite both empirical and conceptual papers that investigate micro-, meso-, and macro-level issues related to how war, security, and defense pose new imperatives for organizations. While the focus on this special issue pertains to management and organizational aspects of geopolitical tensions and turmoil, we encourage interdisciplinary work and invite submissions that draw on theories and methodological approaches from other disciplines, such as political science or sociology, reflecting the scope and complexity of the phenomenon under study. The following topic areas highlight exemplary questions and research themes that we seek to address in this special issue: 

    Antecedents of geopolitical tensions and turmoil: 

    • What organizational practices contribute to the emergence and escalation of geopolitical tensions and turmoil? 

    • How do organizations, including NGOs, multinational enterprises, and defense contractors, contribute to, mitigate, or become entangled in the dynamics that spark geopolitical instability and conflict? 

    • How do multinational enterprises' strategic alliances, joint ventures, and subsidiaries in geopolitically sensitive regions as well as their interdependence with national governments influence the risk of political conflict and instability? 

    • What institutional configurations make industries or regions particularly susceptible to the emergence and escalation of (geo-)political tensions and turmoil? 

    • In what ways do resource dependencies and competition over critical technologies create structural vulnerabilities and act as a driver of geopolitical conflict? 

    • How does the globalization of supply chains contribute to or mitigate risks related to geopolitical instability and (violent) conflict? 

    • How do emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cyber tools, and autonomous weapons systems enable, mediate, or intensify geopolitical conflict? 

    • How does an organization's prior experience with violent conflict or security crises influence its preparedness for future geopolitical events? 

    Consequences of geopolitical tensions and turmoil: 

    • How are geopolitical rivalries and national security agendas reshaping innovation priorities and corporate R&D investments? 

    • What novel organizational forms and cross-sector partnerships are emerging in response to security challenges, such as cyberwarfare, disinformation and propaganda, and interferences in elections and political processes? 

    • How do geopolitical risks and uncertainties, such as competition for critical resources, military armament, and trade protectionism, reorient business models and global supply chains? 

    • How do the threat of conflict or instability as well as sanctions and trade restrictions during geopolitical turmoil affect the strategies of multinational enterprises for market entry, exit, and expansion in international markets? 

    • In what ways do geopolitical conflicts and turmoil reshape strategic partnerships and competitive dynamics within industries? 

    • What are the implications of geopolitical tensions and changes in national security policies (e.g., sanctions and immigration controls) on the global mobility of labor, particularly for expatriates, remote workers, and refugees? 

    • How do conflict-related conditions disrupt or reshape the normative assumptions about legitimacy, responsibility, and moral accountability in business? 

    • What are the challenges faced by organizations in re-establishing operations in societies recovering from conflict and political turmoil? 

    Responses to geopolitical tensions and turmoil: 

    • How are organizations adapting their governance structures, decision-making processes, and leadership practices in response to heightened geopolitical tensions and security threats? 

    • How do organizations make use of political engagement and wider nonmarket strategies, including lobbying, campaigning, and advocacy, to manage stakeholder relationships and navigate through times of geopolitical uncertainty? 

    • What strategies do organizations use to protect intellectual property and knowledge-based assets during geopolitical instability and conflict, and how can they mitigate the risk of expropriation or nationalization? 

    • How do organizations experience and manage reputational, ethical, and legal risks when operating in or adjacent to conflict zones? 

    • What are best practices for organizations to mitigate the effects of national security policies, such as border closures, sanctions, or trade barriers, on their operations? 

    • How do entrepreneurs in conflict-prone regions operate and innovate under pressures of limited resources, political instability, and insecurity? 

    • What strategies, tools, and (foresight) tactics help organizations to manage security risks and to anticipate and navigate conflict-driven disruptions? 

    • How can organizations see and make futures when they expect geopolitical tensions, military conflicts, and turmoil to increase in scope, intensity, and frequency? 

    These are by no means an exhaustive set of questions. We invite submissions that cover other issues and topics that fall within the scope of this special issue. Moreover, we acknowledge that investigating the organizational dynamics surrounding geopolitical tensions and turmoil and to unlock novel insights into how war, security, and defense pose new imperatives for organizations, may require innovative methodological approaches as well as new and unconventional data sources (Grégoire et al., 2024). 

    The full call can be found here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/pb-assets/assets/14676486/cfp/JMS-CFP-Geopolitical-Tensions-1750204789683.pdf  



    ------------------------------
    Margaret Turner
    Margaret Turner Person
    Durham
    ------------------------------