Decision Making in Digital and Responsible Retailing and Consumer Services”*

Call for Papers – Special Issue: “Decision Making in Digital and Responsible Retailing and Consumer Services”*

Journal: Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services
Publisher: Elsevier
Journal metrics: Impact Factor 13.1, CiteScore 22.7
Submission deadline: 31 May 2026

This special issue explores how digital transformation and responsible retailing jointly reshape decision‑making processes in retail and consumer‑service organisations. It focuses on how digital technologies, data‑driven tools, and ethical‑sustainability considerations intersect to influence strategic, operational, and consumer‑facing choices in an increasingly complex and scrutinised retail landscape.

Why this issue matters

• Digitalisation has reshaped retailing through advanced data analytics, AI, CRM, and smart‑retailing platforms, enabling personalisation, demand‑forecasting, and supply‑chain optimisation.

• At the same time, consumers increasingly demand ethical consumption, sustainability, and social responsibility, pushing firms to embed CSR, fair labour practices, and eco‑friendly operations into core decision‑making.

• This SI targets the tension and synergy between profit‑driven digital innovation and value‑driven responsible practices, aiming to uncover how retailers can make informed, ethical, and competitive decisions simultaneously.

Core themes and research questions

The special issue invites conceptual, empirical, and methodological work (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed‑methods, experimental) rooted in retailing, consumer‑behaviour, and service‑management literatures. Key topics include:

• Digital‑enabled decision‑making

  • How AI, big data, digital marketing, and smart‑retailing tools support pricing, assortment, inventory, and customer‑experience decisions.

• Responsible and ethical decision‑making

  • Role of sustainability, CSR, and ethical consumption in shaping product assortment, sourcing, logistics, and communication strategies.

• Consumer responses and trust

  • How digitally personalised experiences and responsible retail practices jointly affect trust, loyalty, satisfaction, and purchase behaviour.

• Operational and strategic trade‑offs

  • Decision frameworks that balance profitability, environmental impact, and social outcomes in digital and responsible retailing.

• Emerging business models

  • New models (e.g., circular‑retail, platform‑based services, direct‑to‑consumer digital channels) and how they reshape consumers’ roles and decision processes.

Guest editors

• Prof. Carsten D. Schultz, University of Hagen, Germany

• Prof. Judith Lynne Zaichkowsky, Simon Fraser University, Canada

• Prof. Philipp Brüggemann, University of Hagen, Germany

• Prof. Friederike Paetz, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany

• Prof. Nadine Schröder, Hochschule Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Germany

Eligibility and submission details

• Eligibility: Submissions are restricted to papers presented at the 31st RARCS (Recent Advances in Retailing and Consumer Sciences) Conference in Zagreb, Croatia.

• Submission window: 1 January 2026 – 31 May 2026

• Submission platform: Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services’ Editorial Manager:
  https://www.editorialmanager.com/JJRC

• When submitting, select article type “VSI: Digital & Responsible Retailing”.

• Manuscripts must be original and not under consideration elsewhere and must follow the journal’s Guide for Authors and style guidelines.

This special issue is ideal for retailing scholars, consumer‑behaviour researchers, service‑management experts, and marketing practitioners who study how digital technologies and responsible‑retailing imperatives jointly shape decision‑making in retail and consumer services.

ServiceSetu Academics — Premier Platform for Academic Opportunities & Research Collaboration

Visit official website of the publisher