“The Future of Family Business Research: Featuring the Work of Emerging Scholars”

Call for Papers – Special Topic Series: “The Future of Family Business Research: Featuring the Work of Emerging Scholars”

Journal: Journal of Family Business Strategy
Publisher: Elsevier
Submission deadline: 31 August 2026

Overview

This Special Topic Series (STS) focuses on the next generation of family business scholars. The editors aim to cultivate new ideas, innovative methodologies, and forward-oriented research agendas. The series is explicitly targeted at early-career researchers (Ph.D. students or those who have completed their Ph.D. within 4 years of submission). In the spirit of mentorship, the research teams must be led by early-career scholars (who must also serve as the corresponding author), though a balanced mix of junior and senior co-authors is welcome.

Key Research Themes

• Methodological Innovation: Encouraging the use of advanced methods, including machine learning, virtual reality ethnography, and data mining, to challenge existing paradigms.

• Prospective Family Business Topics:

  • Digitization and AI adoption.

  • Growth, capabilities, and strategic development.

  • Career, education, and training of the next generation.

  • Emotions, resilience, and investing with purpose.

  • Social impact and sustainable business practices.

Submission Requirements & Procedure

• Eligibility: Primary authors must be early-career scholars (Ph.D. students or graduates within 4 years). The team composition and the leading role of the early-career scholar must be clearly outlined in the cover letter.

• Submission portal: https://www.editorialmanager.com/jfbs

• Instructions: Choose article type “VSI: The Future of Family Business Research, Special Topic Series” upon submission and explicitly state the special issue in your cover letter.

Guest Editors

• Giovanna Campopiano, University of Bergamo (giovanna.campopiano@unibg.it)

• Alessandro Cirillo, University of Naples Federico II (alessandro.cirillo2@unina.it)

• A. Dawson

• K. Haag

Why This Issue Matters

This STS is designed to foster a supportive community of learners, providing a platform for early-career scholars to shape the future of family business research. Papers by junior scholars who participated in the Early Scholars Engagement Program (ESEP) are eligible for fast-track review, though participation is not mandatory for submission. Each accepted paper is published online as soon as it completes the review process.

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