Calls for papers

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research

Special Issue on: "Sustainability and Business Research"

Guest Editors:
Prof. Bala K.R. Balachandran, New York University, USA
Dr. Paolo Taticchi, University of Perugia, Italy

Sustainability is one of the key issues confronting society today, as seen by the increasing attention paid to it by governments, media, academics and industry. Sustainability and sustainable development are defined by the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations as: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Such a definition leads directly to the three pillars of sustainability: the economic, social and environmental dimensions. Sustainability is therefore closely allied to the concept of “quality of life”.

In the context of sustainable development, businesses, often referred to as part of the problem, can be part of the solution. In response, academics with differing backgrounds (e.g. strategy, operations, accounting, supply chain, marketing, technology, etc.) are undertaking research on sustainability, trying to understand how this impacts traditional ways of doing business.

The topic of business sustainability is multidisciplinary in nature, and its complexity calls for putting in place a wide variety of research approaches, such as action research, case studies, surveys, model development, etc. Models and tools are needed to asses current sustainability of businesses, define areas of improvement and drive initiatives.

This special issue intends to give a forum for the state-of-the-art of sustainability research in relation to production and service manufacturing companies. Its aim is to attract high-quality papers representing the impact sustainability research has on multiple areas such as operations, supply chains, accounting, finance, marketing and general management. Subject Coverage
Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Best sustainable practices
• Business sustainability frameworks
• Business sustainability case studies
• Business sustainability surveys
• Corporate social responsibility
• Sustainable operations
• Sustainability and supply chain planning and management
• Sustainability reporting and accounting
• Sustainability and performance measurement
• Sustainable strategies
• Marketing and sustainability
• Innovation and sustainability
• Knowledge management and sustainability
• Reverse logistics and green supply chain applications
• Sustainable product development
• Sustainable consumption models
• Sustainability and technologies

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Submission of Manuscripts: 31 August, 2010 (extended)