Call for Special Issue Proposals 2026:

The International Journal of Organizational Leadership (IJOL) is pleased to announce a call for proposals for a special issue to be published in 2026. 

We invite proposals from scholars and practitioners in leadership, management, organizational behavior, business ethics, cross-cultural studies, and related fields. We are particularly interested in special issue proposals that explore the following critical and interconnected themes:

• Leadership in the Age of AI and Digital Transformation: How is leadership evolving in response to artificial intelligence, automation, and rapid digitalization? We welcome research on new leadership competencies, leading digital-first teams, strategic decision-making with AI, and the human-technology interface in organizations.
• Ethical Leadership in Turbulent Times: In an era marked by geopolitical instability, climate crises, and social fragmentation, what does ethical leadership entail? We seek papers exploring moral courage, values-driven decision-making, leading with integrity during crises, and rebuilding trust in institutions.
• Inclusive Leadership across Cultures: How can leaders effectively foster inclusion, equity, and belonging in global and multicultural organizations? Proposals could address cross-cultural leadership intelligence, mitigating unconscious bias, creating psychologically safe environments, and developing global leadership pipelines that reflect diverse identities.

We strongly encourage proposals that feature interdisciplinary perspectives, include scholars from diverse backgrounds (including gender, ethnicity, and career stage), and prominently feature contributions from a global distribution of academic institutions. Proposers should consult recent issues of IJOL to familiarize themselves with the journal's scope and style.
________________________________________
Proposal Submission Guidelines

If you have a special issue proposal, please contact Dr. Hossein Vafadar (hvafadar@cikd.ca) for a proposal form, OR click HERE to download the form.
Submit your complete special issue proposal as a single PDF or WORD file to the Managing Editor at: [hvafadar@cikd.ca]

We look forward to receiving your innovative and compelling proposals. 

International Journal of Organizational Leadership

Submission closed for the First Special Issue 2025 

Call for Papers for Special Issue-1 (2025)

Leadership, Management, and Socio-Economic Adaptation:

Contemporary Challenges and Strategic Perspectives 

Leadership, Management, and Socio-Economic Adaptation: Contemporary Challenges and Strategic Perspectives 

This special issue seeks to offer a comprehensive, multidisciplinary exploration of the vital roles of leadership and management in addressing the pressing challenges of the modern socio-economic environment. As the global landscape continues to shift due to technological advancements, economic uncertainties, environmental crises, and social inequalities, the need for innovative and adaptive leadership has become more urgent than ever. This issue provides a platform for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to engage in critical discourse on how leadership and management practices can catalyze sustainable development, resilience, and growth across various sectors.
     A central focus of this special issue lies in the interplay between leadership strategies and contemporary global challenges. Key themes include navigating digital transformation, addressing global security threats, managing the socio-economic implications of large-scale migration, and fostering equity and inclusivity in organizations. We are particularly interested in how leadership fosters adaptive strategies that enable organizations to thrive in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions. Contributions that explore the synergies between leadership and organizational culture, human capital development, and design-driven approaches to management are especially welcome.
     Additionally, this issue highlights the evolving nature of leadership in the public, private, and social sectors. Topics such as inclusive leadership, socially responsible business practices, and strategic human capital management are crucial to understanding how organizations and societies can navigate challenges and seize opportunities in an increasingly interconnected world.      The role of leadership in post-conflict recovery, socio-economic stabilization, and the cultivation of innovative ecosystems is also of particular interest.
     Authors are encouraged to provide theoretical advancements and practical insights that contribute to actionable frameworks for enhancing organizational adaptability and resilience. We aim to capture diverse perspectives on how leadership dynamics intersect with organizational change, economic transformation, and the digitalization of public and private institutions. Empirical studies, case analyses, and conceptual frameworks are all welcome as they will contribute to a deeper understanding of leadership's impact on societal and organizational well-being.
     This special issue aspires to bridge academic research with practical applications, offering insights that not only advance scholarly discourse but also inform leadership practices capable of addressing the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Through this dialogue, we hope to illuminate pathways for organizations and communities to achieve sustainable and adaptive growth in the face of contemporary challenges.

Editors:

Zoriana Buryk 

Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav, Ukraine

Mykola Biloshkurskyi

Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Ukraine

Iryna Piatnychuk

Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ukraine

Main Themes:

1.        The role of leadership and management in ensuring sustainable institutional development.
   2.    Specifics of leadership and management in government bodies and local self-governance institutions.
   3.    Managing human capital development in the context of modern migration and security challenges.
   4.    Ensuring the development of socially responsible business in turbulent environments.
   5.    The strategic concept of inclusive leadership within the focus of design management.
   6.    The impact of organizational management accounting processes on enhancing business efficiency.
   7.    Managing team adaptability in business under conditions of strategic uncertainty.
   8.    The effectiveness of digital adaptation of the economy and society in the current stage of economic transformations.
   9.    Human capital management and leadership in public administration: nurturing, development, and retention of personnel.
   10.    Studying societal interactions and their influence on behavior, mental state, leadership qualities formation, and interpersonal relationships.
   11.    The role of coaching in the professional self-realization of IT specialists: career development pathways and goal achievement.
   12.    Public governance aspects of national security assurance: organizational-legal, informational, and personnel factors.
   13.    The impact of cultural diplomacy on international relations: the role of musical art in building diplomatic bridges.
   14.    Crisis communications in personnel management: social and psychological risks.
   15.    Organizational culture and strategic change management in the context of post-conflict recovery.
   16.    The transformation of organizational culture through decentralization of governance in public institutions.17.    The role of corporate social responsibility in shaping the organizational culture of enterprises.
   18.    Creating an innovative environment through the development of organizational culture in small and medium-sized enterprises.
   19.    Models of adaptive management in crisis conditions for public sector organizations.
   20.    The development of organizational culture in the context of digital transformation of public institutions.
   

Relevant Dates 

Full Paper Submission Deadline: April 30, 2025

Review Results: 2-3 weeks

Publication Date: Upon Acceptance

Submission Guideline:

• Follow the guidelines given by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) manual (7th ed.): A useful resource for APA 7th Edition and APA’s Checklist for Manuscript Submission.

• Manuscripts need to be approximately 8000 words in length with a title, abstract, notes, tables, appendix, and references included. Longer or shorter manuscripts might also be considered depending on the quality of content and the contribution to the field.

• Please submit a separate title page with the author name(s), affiliations, and mailing address of the corresponding author. Please submit the main manuscript as a blinded manuscript without any author names and affiliations in the text or the title page.

• Double Publication is NOT accepted. All manuscripts submitted should be original work and must not be under consideration by other publications.

• The language of the journal is English. Manuscripts should meet high academic writing standards. 

• All manuscripts should be sent to hvafadar@cikd.ca

Inquiries and submissions may be sent to:

hvafadar@cikd.ca

***Please indicate "Submission to IJOL special issue-1 2025" in the subject of your email.

Download Articles: Special Issue 2025

Download Articles: Special Issue (First) 2024

Download Articles: Special Issue (First) 2023

Download Articles: Special Issue (Second) 2023

Download Articles: Special Issue 2022

Download Articles: Special Issue 2021

Download the full Special Issue 2021