Operations Management Research - Call for Papers: Special Issue on Hybrid operations, emerging technologies, and the sustainability frontier – Operational efficiency in the context of corporate social and environmental responsibilities
While new technologies impact all areas of business, perhaps no other is as affected as operations management (Hayes, 2002). The constant search for productivity gains, cost reduction, and increased service levels pushes companies to invest in new machines, equipment, databases, and digital tools in general (Danish et al., 2022; Mithas et al., 2022). Among the strategic reasons for that is the expectation that new technologies will grant firms with competitive advantages, or at least allow them to keep up with their competitive environments (Krakowski et al., 2023). As a result, the reality of factories and warehouses has been changing rapidly, with new functionalities being incorporated in manufacturing and storage processes (Helo and Hao 2022).
Similar situations can be observed in ports, airports, streets, and roads, with logistical operations becoming increasingly autonomous and, in some cases, completely independent of human intervention (Dekhne et al., 2019; Tsolakis et al., 2022). It is not uncommon, for example, for self-driving vehicles to transport goods and perform and process tasks (Franse and Eekelen, 2023). Industrial kitchens and fast-food chains have also been investing in automation to replace workers (CNBC, 2023), while sectors such as retail and education see the use of augmented realities as a new way of interacting with their consumers and students (Sirakaya and Sirakaya, 2022; Vaidyanathan and Henningsson, 2023;). Digital environments are equally applied in exchanges among buyers and suppliers, with specific software composing the so-called knowledge-intensive supply chains (KISCs; Chen and Wen, 2023). New technologies have also profoundly changed the operations of financial institutions, with new possibilities favouring the emergence of virtual banks and fintechs of different shades (Windasari et al., 2022).
These and other examples reflect the potential of emerging applications that facilitate faster and more reliable exchanges of information, the recording and analysis of large amounts of data, a drastic reduction in mechanical failures and greater control (Chowdhury et al., 2023). In this sense, functionalities such as blockchains (Sharma et al., 2023; Tokkozhina et al., 2023), the internet-of-things (Jauhar et al., 2023; Yadav et al., 2020), the metaverse (Chen and Wen, 2023; Queiroz et al., 2023), machine learning (Chou et al., 2023; Fracarolli Nunes and Lee Park, 2020), artificial intelligence (Helo and Hao 2022; Naz et al., 2021), digital manufacturing (Holmström et al., 2016), cloud manufacturing (Kavre et al., 2023), data analytics (Choi et al., 2022) and deep learning models (Dang et al., 2022) – to name a few – assume an increasingly important role in operations, both in individual companies and throughout their supply chains.
If, on the one hand, the idea that technologies are, in general, beneficial to firms’ operational performance became widespread, knowledge about their extended consequences for societies and the environment is still relatively vague (El Baz et al., 2022). It is not clear, for example, how the greater presence of machines and robots affects issues related to the health, safety, and well-being of employees. Likewise, an extensive understanding of the effects of automated operations on their workers’ emotional and psychological states is still lacking, leaving space for speculation and misunderstanding. The complexity of this issue is revealed by the different degrees of intensity of these relationships, which may range from cases in which human beings and technology coexist harmoniously and productively to situations where workers are completely replaced (Choi et al., 2022). In the first scenario, we can speak of hybrid operations in which a sort of symbiosis between humans and technology takes place (Inga et al., 2022). In the second, workspaces become a zone of strict, precise calculations and movements (Tschang and Almirall, 2021). The effects of technology adoption on other stakeholder groups such as investors, consumers and supply chain partners are also rarely considered.
Likewise, the literature is not yet able to balance environmental gains and losses in a satisfactory manner. This issue becomes particularly relevant as new technologies may require the consumption of large quantities of natural resources, whether in the form of materials for their own manufacture (Alessia et al., 2021), or the energy necessary to ensure their operation (Noussan and Tagliapietra, 2020). Not rarely, these matters give rise to tensions between the three dimensions of sustainability (i.e., social, environmental, economic), with economic aspects potentially requiring social and environmental sacrifices that are not always correctly identified. Within a corporate social and environmental responsibility debate, the notion of sustainability trade-offs (Fracarolli Nunes et al., 2020) gains importance, connecting possible benefits in terms of productivity and efficiency with their possible side effects for human beings and nature.
Seeking to advance in this direction, the special issue “Hybrid operations, emerging technologies, and the sustainability frontier – Operational efficiency in the context of corporate social and environmental responsibilities” aims to be a space for debate on the subject. Bringing together operations management and sustainability perspectives, we intend to collect articles fully dedicated to investigating the social and environmental impacts of new technologies, proposing solutions so that technology-based operations do not conflict with companies’ social and environmental responsibilities. In view of these objectives, topics of interest of the special issue include, but are not limited to:
- Energy and water demands to operate new technologies
- Increased use of sensitive materials in the making of new equipment (e.g., lithium, cobalt, silicon, aluminium, copper)
- Waste management and recycling of batteries and outdated machines
- Sustainability trade-offs
- Societal pressure for change and decision-making processes
- Stakeholders’ safety and well-being
- Physical and psychological impacts of new technologies on employees and consumers
- Challenges and opportunities in the human-machine interface (i.e., hybrid operations)
- Employees’ selection, recruitment, and development for the use of new technologies
- Personnel layoff and unemployment
Format and Submission
Submissions must follow the guidelines (this opens in a new tab) established by Operations Management Research.
Key dates
First submission window: October 15, 2024, to January 15, 2025
First review round decision: April 15, 2025
Second submission window: May 15, 2025, to July 15, 2025
Final decision – October 15, 2025
Publication expected – November 15, 2025
Guest Editors
Dr. Mauro Fracarolli Nunes (this opens in a new tab) (managing guest editor) is an Associate Professor at EDC Paris Business School as well as a researcher and writer. He is dedicated to research on sustainable management, having authored or co-authored numerous research articles, books, book chapters, and case studies around the issue. He has published work in reputable journals such as International Journal of Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, European Management Journal and Journal of Consumer Behaviour. The books he has co-authored – published by Palgrave McMillan and Routledge – are centred in both practical and theoretical matters, with particular attention to ethical dilemmas, and the uses and misuses of the sustainability agenda by politicians, corporations and the media. These conjectures dialogue with his scientific production around pressing sustainability issues like environmental fraud, greenwashing, corporate hypocrisy, the use of fossil fuels, modern slavery, child labour and the building and management of social and environmental reputations. Dr. Fracarolli Nunes has recently been studying the interaction between emerging technologies and the sustainability performance of companies. As part as Groupe EDC, Dr. Fracarolli Nunes is the head of the Strategic Supply Chain Management & Sustainability MSc program.
Dr. Camila Lee Park (this opens in a new tab) is an Associate Professor at EDC Paris Business School as well as a researcher and writer. Her research interests mainly focus on the link between operations management and sustainability-related issues in terms of environmental and social dimensions (e.g., sustainable supply chain management, cultural matters, sustainability trade-offs, cross-insurance effects). She has published a range of articles in top-ranked journals (e.g., International Journal of Operations and Production Management, International Journal of Production Economics, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Critical Perspectives on International Business) in which she explores themes such as deforestation, the use of pesticides in food production and modern slavery among other sources of corporate irresponsibility. She has also published research on specific sustainability dilemmas, such as how environmentally irresponsible decisions (i.e., the destruction of excessive inventory) affect the consumers’ perceptions (Journal of Consumer Behaviour). Dr. Lee Park co-authored two books, published by Palgrave McMillan and Routledge, in which she addresses specific environmental scandals as well as diverse aspects related to the insertion of sustainability issues in the public debate. Dr. Lee Park has written several case studies focused on sustainable management and innovation, often exploring the interface between them. As part as Groupe EDC, Dr. Lee Park also instructs courses and conducts research in luxury management.
Prof. Dr. Jose A.D. Machuca (this opens in a new tab) is an Honorary Research Fellow and Professor of Operations Management at the Universidad de Sevilla (Spain), an EurOMA (European Operations Management Association) Fellow, and a research Fellow at Kobe University (Japan). He is POMS past VP Europe, past VP Meetings and past VP At Large of the System Dynamics Society. He received the University of Sevilla FAME Award in Social Sciences (2009) and the Ibn-al Jatib Research Award in Social Sciences (2009). He has also been honoured with more than 20 international and national awards and honours. Prof. Dr. Machuca created the innovative Transparent-box business simulators, which won five awards and honours in the U.S. and Europe). He is a member of the international steering committee and Spanish leader of the High-performance manufacturing international research program. He has led pioneering research on important topics, including Industry 4.0, sustainability in production and supply chains (SC) and the design of adaptable, agile, robust, and responsive SC. Also notable is his socioeconomic impact through the transfer of his projects’ results to companies and universities (e.g., over 120 exhaustive diagnostic reports to domestic/international companies and 2 co-authored study cases from his field research on ZARA, which have been used in more than 80 universities in more than 25 countries on 3 continents). These accomplishments have received 9 awards/honours/recognition and put him in the first places on The Case Centre’s world ranking of some 8000 authors since 2017. He is the creator and ex-Officio Co-Chair of World P&OM Conferences, a leader in 16 European and national competitive projects, and a former or current member of the editorial boards of JOM, IJOPM, POM, and OMR. His publication history includes 8 books, a stint as guest editor of more than 10 journal special issues (IJPE, IJOPM, IJPDLM), and over 120 articles in JOM, IJOPM, IJPE, HBR, JoCP, IJPDLM, IJPR, JSM, and other notable journals. His research results transfer to 125+ European companies. His current research interests include supply chain management, Industry 4.0, and sustainability topics.