Call for special number: Navigating the Ethical Landscape: Organizational Dynamics, Engagement, and Societal Impact

2024-03-26

Editors: Gisela Gonçalves (University of Beira Interior /LabCom, Portugal), Evandro Oliveira (Autónoma University/LabCom, Portugal) and Shannon Bowen (University of South Carolina, EUA)

Anachronistic, disruptive change, socio-political dynamics and stakeholder activism have increased the need to make ethical commitments and challenge organizational practices and impacts. Ethical commitments are needed not only to address micro-issues or a few legal concerns, but also to play a central role in finding solutions to global and local challenges. Moreover, these changes are made according to deep overall commitments and positions that are strategically adopted by the organization and do not play a peripheral role. This special issue calls for original research that addresses strategic and organizational communication from a normative and ethical horizon that is now in increasing demand.

Companies now face normative imperatives to address societal issues and engage in political discourse, with instances of corporate social advocacy and CEO activism alongside traditional corporate citizenship and CSR strategies. However, corporate hypocrisy, inauthentic behaviors, and soft propaganda persist, as do the ploys of greenwashing and other colorwashing (including pink, rainbow, and blue).

We invite empirical, conceptual, and critical papers that address issues such as:

  • normative and ethical governance in organizational communication
  • strategic engagement with non-business issues
  • the societal impact of rhetoric and stories
  • regulatory implications for the public sector
  • ethics, leadership and change management
  • the role of strategic communication in achieving the UN sustainable development goals
  • communication within the B Corp model, the fourth sector, and social purpose organizations
  • corporate and social advocacy and CEO activism
  • greenwashing and other colorwashing

Important Notice

Please identify clearly at the beginning of the manuscript that it is a submission for the special issue “Navigating the Ethical Landscape: Organizational Dynamics, Engagement, and Societal Impact." Revised papers from works presented at ECREA-OSC Conference or the Global Strategic Communication Conclave are especially welcomed and sought (please identify as such on the title page).

Submission Guidelines

Full papers must be submitted online through the journal's website.

Papers must be written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. If your text is written in a language other than English, please submit both an original and an English version of your abstract, title, and keywords.

Papers must follow the journal's guidelines for formatting and referencing, available here: https://ojs.labcom-ifp.ubi.pt/ec/about/submissions

All papers will be subject to double-blind peer review.

Important Dates

Submission deadline: July 29, 2024 [extended deadline]

Notification of acceptance: September 27, 2024

Publication of the special issue: December 2024