AIMS

Call for Papers: Special Issue of Business & Society

Collective actorhood and organizationality:
Recalibrating responsibility in business-society relations

Guest Editors: Dennis Schoeneborn, Héloïse Berkowitz, Leonhard Dobusch,
Consuelo Vásquez, and Frank de Bakker; Consulting Editor: Devi Vijay; B&S Editor: Colin Higgins

Submission deadline: Sept. 30, 2026

In an age of climate crisis, digital disruption, and widening inequalities, the boundaries between business and society are being radically redrawn, raising questions critical for tackling today’s grand societal challenges: How can groups, coalitions, and loosely organized entities operate as responsible collective actors? On the flip side, how can collective actors that transcend organizational boundaries be held accountable?

In this Call for Papers for a Special Issue at Business & Society, we call for research that reconsiders the business-society relationship by giving up the clear-cut separation between “the” organization as a distinct entity and society that surrounds it. We specifically encourage contributions that build on gradual theories of organization, such as partial organization (Ahrne & Brunsson, 2011) or organizationality (Dobusch & Schoeneborn, 2015), to critically examine how collective actorhood is constituted, performed, avoided, or denied. From platform companies disavowing responsibility to grassroots collectives organizing without traditional hierarchies, this issue seeks to illuminate the shifting dynamics of business-society relations in both privileged and marginalized contexts.

Please check out the full version of the Special Issue Call for Papers here (trilingual version in English/Spanish/French): https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/PDF/B&S%20SI%20call%20for%20papers%20Actorhood_trilingual_UPDATED-1758078884.pdf

For interested authors, we will host two virtual workshops (via Zoom): (1) Meet-the-Editors Session (Fall 2025) and (2) Pre-Submission Workshop (Spring 2026). 

(1) The Virtual Meet-the-Editors Session (via Zoom) will take place on Oct. 7, 2025, 2.00-3.00pm (CEST; Copenhagen time). To register for the session, please send an email to corresponding guest editor Dennis Schoeneborn (ds.msc@cbs.dk) by Oct. 3, 2025 at the latest. The session allows for questions regarding the idea of the Special Issue and clarification regarding fit, submission process, etc.

(2) Furthermore, we will host a Virtual Pre-Submission Workshop (via Zoom) on Feb. 25, 2026, 2.00-4.00pm (CET; Copenhagen time) hat is designed to provide developmental guidance to prospective submissions. Participation in this workshop is not a precondition for submission to, nor does it guarantee acceptance in, the Special Issue. The workshop will feature virtual paper development roundtables that bring together paper authors with senior scholars for in-depth feedback and advice. To be considered for the workshop, please send a proposal or extended abstract (up to 3,000 words) to guest editor Dennis Schoeneborn (ds.msc@cbs.dk) by Jan. 31, 2026 at the latest.