Journal of Product Innovation Management Special Issue Call for Papers: The Role of Innovation in For-Profit Firms’ Tackling of Grand Challenges Guest Editors: Shlomo Tarba, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2TY, UK, [email protected] Mohammad Ahammad, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS6 1AN, UK, [email protected] Diana Gregory-Smith, Newcastle University Business School, Newcastle University, 5 Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SE, UK, diana.gregory- [email protected] Sir Cary Cooper, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PB, UK, [email protected] Florian Bauer, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YX, UK, [email protected] Motivation for and Aim of the Special Issue The term “grand challenge” (GC) has been coined by the mathematician David Hilbert whose list of important unsolved problems has encouraged innovation in the field of mathematics since the turn of the 20th century (George, Howard-Grenville, Joshi, & Tihanyi, 2016). GCs are ambitious social and environmental goals that harness science, technology, and innovation to solve critical issues at the national and/or global scale (U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2014). GCs are generally seen as complex problems with far-reaching societal implications that lack a clear solution and inherently entail handling a great deal of complexity (Grodal & O’Mahony, 2017; Olsen, Sofka, & Grimpe, 2016; Vakili & McGahan, 2016; Venugopal & Viswanathan, 2019). Each of these challenges could create overwhelming disruptions to organizational and societal systems and various dynamics could result in a collapse of organizations (Rudolph & Repenning, 2002). These challenges transcend the interests or influence of individual firms or local communities. Nonetheless, understanding the cause and effects of GCs as well as ways to tackle these within firms’ micro- and macro-environments is critical because these challenges can be extremely disruptive for daily activities, competitive advantage, retaining customers, and present or future innovation resources and strategies. Thus, this special issue aims to showcase empirical research that investigates critically and rigorously for-profit firms’ (i.e., corporations, start-ups, SMEs) innovation efforts (i.e., strategies, decision-making and actions) related to and driven by grand challenges. Exemplary Research Domains Related to this Special Issue In this SI we seek to solicit manuscripts that are from various scholarly domains relating to innovation research including, but not limited to strategy, international business, marketing, economics, organizational behavior, psychology, and sociology, to name a few. We welcome particularly empirical manuscripts that go across markets and industries, and take a global perspective given the scale of GCs. We encourage diverse methods (including quantitative such as surveys, field or lab experimental studies, longitudinal studies using secondary data sets, meta-analyses, structural equation modelling or econometric analyses; and various qualitative or mixed methods approaches including comparative history analysis and case study research) to enrich our understanding of the role of innovation in for-profit firms tackling GCs. The potential topics and research questions relate, but are not limited to, climate change, natural disasters, digital workforce, labor exploitation, extreme poverty, gender inequality, mass migration and refugee crisis, aging populations, environmental pollution and need for sources of renewable energy, and others (Hartmann, Inkpen, & Ramaswamy, 2020; Vakili & McGahan, 2016; Williams & Shepherd, 2016). We encourage, in particular, submissions on the following or similar topics: Micro-perspectives on the Role of Innovation in Tackling Grand Challenges What concepts or theories are needed to understand how innovation can be used at the firm level to tackle grand challenges? What are the internal drivers for using innovation to tackle grand challenges? What changes should for-profit organizations undergo (e.g.. in terms of their business strategy, marketing, HRM, logistics, supply chain, etc.) in order to support innovation necessary for tackling grand challenges? Which characteristics of innovators (e.g., agility, resilience, ambidexterity) in for- profit organizations are desirable for tackling grand challenges and in what way? What is the role of various collaborative partnerships (e.g., strategic alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and others) in triggering innovation in for- profit organizations for tackling grand challenges? Meso-perspectives on the Role of Innovation in Tackling Grand Challenges What are the relationships or governance structures among different stakeholders of for-profit organizations using innovation for tackling grand challenges? How do innovators in for-profit organizations overcome the resource constraints and institutional barriers for tackling grand challenges? What are the motivations of innovators in for-profit organizations from developed economies to develop and implement innovations in emerging economies, and vice versa, for tackling grand challenges? Macro-perspectives on the Role of Innovation in Tackling Grand Challenges How do the (regional versus global) ecosystem and infrastructure for innovation for tackling the grand challenges look like? What kinds of impacts (e.g., positive, negative; economic, social, environmental at a regional/global level) might innovation bring about while employed to tackle grand challenges? How does technology (e.g., in the form of digitization, social networks, artificial intelligence, smart technologies etc.) influence innovation for tackling grand challenges? Review Process Timeline Call-for-papers announcement: September 2020 Submission due date: April 1, 2021 First round decisions: July 1, 2021 Special issue conference and paper development workshop at Newcastle University: September 2021 First revision due date: November 1, 2021 Second round decisions: January 15, 2022 Second revision due date: April 1, 2022 Third round decisions: July 1, 2022 Third round revision due date: October 1, 2022 Final editorial decisions: November 1, 2022 Anticipated publication: Spring/Summer 2023 (“online first” publication prior to issue printing) Developmental Conference: With the authors of the papers that have been invited to revise and resubmit their papers (after the initial review round), we will coordinate a research conference at the Newcastle University Business School, UK in order to further develop their respective manuscripts. This two-day event will take place in September 2021 (the exact date TBD) and aims to enhance the quality and innovativeness of the special issue and its contribution to theory advancement on the role of innovation in tackling the grand challenges in for- profit firms. Submission Process Details Submissions to the special issue should be sent electronically through the JPIM ScholarOne System (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jpim). Authors need to clearly indicate in their submission information and letter that their manuscript is for the Special Issue on “The Role of Innovation in For-Profit Firms Tackling Grand Challenges.” All submissions will be subject to a double-blind review process followed by JPIM. All manuscripts must be original, unpublished works that are not concurrently under review for publication elsewhere. All submissions should conform to the JPIM manuscript submission guidelines available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1540- 5885/homepage/ForAuthors.html. Questions about this special issue may be directed to the lead guest co-editor Prof. Shlomo Tarba at [email protected] Biographical Notes of Guest Editors: Shlomo Tarba is a Chair (Full Professor) in Strategy & International Business, and joined Birmingham Business School as a Reader (Associate Professor) in August 2015. His research interests include strategic agility, organizational ambidexterity and innovation. Prof. Tarba is a Deputy Editor-In-Chief of British Journal of Management (ABS 4, Impact Factor 4.327) and an incoming Co-Editor-In-Chief of BJM. He has served as a guest-editor for the special issues at the leading journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Long Range Planning, California Management Review, R&D Management, and others. Shlomo has published over 55 articles in premier refereed academic journals in strategy international business areas such as Journal of Management (SAGE), British Journal of Management, Human Relations, Academy of Management Perspectives, and others. Mohammad Faisal Ahammad is Associate Professor of International Business at Centre for International Business (CIBUL), Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, UK. Dr. Ahammad is an active researcher in the field of international business, particularly in the area of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic agility, organizational ambidexterity. His work has appeared in the British Journal of Management, Journal of World Business, International Business Review, International Marketing Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Regional Studies, and others. Dr. Ahammad is a member of the editorial board of British Journal of Management and Journal of Knowledge Management. Dr. Ahammad also served as co-guest editor for the special