“Managing Digital Transformation for Circular and Sustainable Business: Strategies, Systems and Impact”

Call for Papers – Special Issue: “Managing Digital Transformation for Circular and Sustainable Business: Strategies, Systems and Impact”

Journal: European Business Review
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Submission deadline for full manuscripts: 1 June 2026

This special issue explores how digital transformation can be strategically leveraged to advance circular and sustainable business models. It focuses on the intersection of digital technologies, sustainability transition, and organisational innovation, aiming to bridge management, information systems, industrial engineering, and sustainability science to support companies in re‑designing value creation, delivery, and capture in environmentally and socially responsible ways.

Why this issue matters

• Environmental degradation, climate change, and resource scarcity make the shift to circular and sustainable business models a strategic priority; digital technologies offer powerful tools to optimise resource use, extend product lifecycles, and close material loops.

• At the same time, digitalisation risks rebound effects, unequal access, and increased energy/resource demand; the SI asks how to steer digital transformation so that it genuinely reduces environmental impact and enhances equity.

• This special issue aims to build actionable, theory‑driven knowledge for managers, policymakers, and sustainability practitioners on how to align digital strategies with circular‑economy goals and sustainability performance.

Core themes and research topics

Contributions may be conceptual, empirical, or case‑based, from management, operations, information systems, and sustainability perspectives. Key topics include:

• Strategic integration of digital and circular‑economy goals

  • How firms align digital‑transformation strategies with circular‑economy ambitions and long‑term sustainability targets.

• Digital tools for sustainable product and service design

  • Use of IoT, AI, big data, and simulation tools to design long‑lifecycle, repairable, and upgradable products and services.

• Digital supply chains and resource traceability

  • Digital‑enabled closed‑loop supply chains, real‑time monitoring, and blockchain‑based traceability for materials and emissions.

• Business‑model innovation for circularity and sustainability

  • Digital‑platform‑based models such as product‑as‑a‑service, sharing‑platforms, and circular marketplaces.

• Organisational capabilities and barriers to dual transformation

  • Human‑capital, data‑governance, and change‑management capabilities needed to manage simultaneous digital and sustainability transitions.

• Ecosystems and multi‑stakeholder collaboration platforms

  • Role of multi‑stakeholder ecosystems, open‑innovation platforms, and digital collaboration tools in driving circular and sustainable innovation.

• Metrics and impact assessment

  • Frameworks for measuring the environmental, social, and economic impact of digital‑enabled circular and sustainable innovations.

Guest editors

• Dr. Alfonso Marino, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Italy

• Dr. Julian Kirchherr, Roskilde University, Denmark

• Dr. Paolo Pariso, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Italy

Submission details

• Abstract submission:

  • Submit a short abstract (approx. 600–800 words) by 27 October 2025 to alfonso.marino@unicampania.it.

  • Selected authors will be invited to submit full manuscripts.

• Full‑manuscript submission:

  • Submit via ScholarOne Manuscripts for European Business Review:
    https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ebrev

  • When submitting, select the special issue title “Managing Digital Transformation for Circular and Sustainable Business: Strategies, Systems and Impact”.

  • Submission window: 1 March 2026 – 1 June 2026

• All submissions must be original and follow the journal’s Author Guidelines.

This special issue is ideal for management, sustainability, operations, and information‑systems researchers who wish to contribute to the emerging agenda of circular, digitally‑enabled, and socially responsible business models.

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