Special Issue Editors: David A. Griffith (Texas A&M University), Cheryl Nakata (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), Ayşegül Özsomer (Koç University), Göksel Yalçınkaya (University of New Hampshire)
Submission Window: August 1–September 30, 2026
Sustainable innovation is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of global marketing strategy, reshaping how firms create value and fulfill broader societal responsibilities. As climate change, resource depletion, and social equity concerns intensify, marketing scholars and practitioners are increasingly seeking to understand how sustainability and innovation intersect within international contexts. The Marketing Science Institute’s 2024 Research Priorities highlight the urgency of examining how sustainable marketing and innovation shape the consumer journey, business performance, and societal outcomes (Marketing Science Institute 2024). Firms must innovate not only to meet growing demand for responsible products but also to navigate complex regulatory landscapes and stakeholder expectations, thereby driving competitive advantage, long-term growth, and the greater good (Grinstein et al. 2022; Varadarajan et al. 2021; White et al. 2024). Deeper insights are needed into the mechanisms through which sustainable innovations influence consumer behavior, brand loyalty, and firm performance across diverse cultural and market settings (Varadarajan 2023; White et al. 2019).
Recent research also highlights the importance of understanding when and how firms should standardize or adapt their sustainable marketing strategies across international markets and calls for further research on aligning operational and financial performance with broader sustainability objectives (Griffith 2021). This need is echoed in foundational work from the Journal of International Marketing, which explores the roles of public policy, global social innovation, and demarketing for sustainability, especially in base-of-the-pyramid markets, and discusses the interplay between corporate, consumer, and government responsibilities in achieving sustainable development goals (Varadarajan 2014, 2023; Varadarajan et al. 2021).
This special issue aims to advance theoretical, empirical and practical understanding of global sustainability and innovation in international marketing. We invite submissions that investigate sustainable marketing strategies, innovation diffusion, responsible innovation, and their implications for consumers, firms, and societies. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Integration of sustainability into international marketing strategies and business models.
- Green innovation strategies for adapting sustainable products and services to diverse cultural, regulatory and institutional environments in international markets.
- Consumer responses to sustainability communication, green advertising, and pro-environmental behavior in global markets.
- The role of digital technologies (e.g., AI, blockchain) in enhancing transparency and driving sustainable marketing innovation internationally.
- Digital transformation as a driver for reducing the environmental footprint of global marketing operations and enhancing sustainable value delivery.
- Responsible innovation, including ethical considerations, stakeholder engagement, and governance mechanisms that ensure innovations contribute positively to society and the environment from a global perspective.
- Cross-cultural and cross-industry patterns in the adoption and diffusion of sustainable innovations.
- Implementation and communication of circular economy business models by multinational firms in developed and emerging markets.
- The impact of sustainable innovation on brand loyalty, customer engagement, and firm performance in international contexts.
- Authentic brand activism and its influence on consumer trust and brand equity regarding sustainability and innovation across different countries.
- Innovations in sustainable supply chain management and their marketing to international stakeholders.
- The effectiveness of social commerce and influencer-driven campaigns in promoting sustainable consumption behaviors globally.
- Regulatory innovation as a catalyst for sustainable marketing adaptation and compliance in international business.
- Metrics and methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives in international marketing.
- Global standardization and local adaptation of sustainable innovation across markets and downstream consequences on customer satisfaction and firm performance.
Recent research has expanded sustainable international business model innovations, emphasizing the shift from linear to circular economies and the need for adaptation across diverse markets. Scholars have shown how multinational enterprises can spearhead climate action and sustainability initiatives while managing complex global supply chains (Marano et al. 2024; Zaheer 2025). The evolution of sustainability marketing—from traditional green marketing to circular‐economy models, anticonsumption, and regulatory frameworks—has been comprehensively documented (White et al. 2024). Innovation-management research identifies responsible, business model and public value innovation as critical pathways for advancing sustainability in global markets (Spanjol et al. 2024), while empirical evidence links board gender diversity and culturally feminine values to stronger environmental innovation outcomes (Bazel-Shoham et al. 2023).
The academic literature also highlights the breadth and structure of sustainability research in marketing, providing a basis for future research opportunities. Empirical studies demonstrate that firms’ efforts to “green” the marketing mix can yield significant business and societal benefits, though outcomes often depend on context and execution (Leonidou et al., 2013). Additionally, recent frameworks guide marketers in shifting consumer behavior toward sustainability, offering evidence-based strategies for overcoming barriers and fostering pro-environmental choices (White et al., 2019). In line with this, work in international marketing underscores the need for frameworks that guide firms in balancing global consistency with local adaptation and in measuring the impact of sustainability initiatives on both business outcomes and societal well-being (Griffith, 2021; Varadarajan, 2014; Varadarajan et al., 2021).
Collectively, these studies establish a robust theoretical and empirical foundation for understanding how sustainability and innovation intersect within international marketing, offering valuable insights for scholars and practitioners navigating global sustainable business practices. They also provide a springboard for new research on sustainability and innovation within the international marketing context.
Submission Guidelines
For this special issue, we welcome conceptual, empirical, and methodological papers that address the theme of “Global Sustainability and Innovation in International Marketing.” All submissions will undergo the Journal of International Marketing double-anonymized peer review process. Papers targeting this special issue should be submitted through the JIM submission system (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ama_jim) starting on August 1, 2026, with the final deadline for submissions being September 30, 2026.
Conference Special Session
An associated special session on “Global Sustainability and Innovation in International Marketing” will be held at the 2026 AMA Global Conference in Nice, France. Submission to this special session is not required for submission to the JIM special issue. Authors submitting to the special session should submit a five-page, double-spaced extended abstract to the 2026 AMA Global Marketing Conference by November 1, 2025. They will receive feedback from the guest editors. Please note that submission of an extended abstract does not guarantee inclusion in the special session. Authors whose abstracts are not selected for the special session are still eligible to submit their complete manuscripts to the Special Issue.
For detailed submission instructions and formatting guidelines, please visit the Journal of International Marketing website. For questions and inquiries regarding the special issue, please contact Goksel Yalcinkaya ([email protected]) and Ayşegül Özsomer ([email protected]).
Key Dates
- Extended abstract (five pages, double-spaced) submission deadline to AMA Global Conference: November 1, 2025
- Feedback from the Special Issue Editors: November 15, 2025
- AMA Global Conference special session: May 27–29, 2026 (Nice, France)
- JIM special issue manuscript submission window: August 1–September 30, 2026
- Notification of first editorial review: December 31, 2026
- Expected publication issue: December 2027 or March 2028
We look forward to your valuable contributions to this special issue.
References
Bazel-Shoham, Ofra, Sang Mook Lee, Surender Munjal, and Amir Shoham (2023), “Board Gender Diversity, Feminine Culture, and Innovation for Environmental Sustainability,” Journal of Product Innovation Management, 41 (2), 293–322. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12672
Griffith, David A. (2021), “Connecting Sustainable Marketing and International Marketing Strategy Standardization/Adaptation: Research Opportunities,” Journal of Sustainable Marketing, 2 (2), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.51300/jsm-2021-40
Grinstein, Amir, Kelly Hewett, and Petra Riefler (2022), “Well-Being in a Global World—The Role of International Marketing: An Editorial,” Journal of International Marketing, 30 (2), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069031X221096237
Leonidou, Constantinos N., Constantine S. Katsikeas, and Neil A. Morgan (2013), “‘Greening’ the Marketing Mix: Do Firms Do It and Does It Pay Off?” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41 (2), 151–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-012-0317-2
Marano, Valentina, Miriam Wilhelm, Tatiana Kostova, Jonathan Doh, and Sjoerd Beugelsdijk (2024), “Multinational Firms and Sustainability in Global Supply Chains: Scope and Boundaries of Responsibility,” Journal of International Business Studies, 55 (4), 413–28. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-024-00706-6
Marketing Science Institute (2024), “2024 Research Priorities,” https://www.msi.org/article/msi-announces-2024-research-priorities/.
Spanjol, Jelena, Charles H. Noble, Markus Baer, Marcel L.A.M. Bogers, Jonathan Bohlmann, Ricarda B. Bouncken, Ludwig Bstieler, Luigi M. De Luca, Rosanna Garcia, Gerda Gemser, Dhruv Grewal, Martin Hoegl, Sabine Kuester, Minu Kumar, Ruby Lee, Dominik Mahr, Cheryl Nakata, Andrea Ordanini, Aric Rindfleisch, Victor P. Seidel, Alina Sorescu, Roberto Verganti, and Martin Wetzels (2024), “Fueling Innovation Management Research: Future Directions and Five Forward-Looking Paths,” Journal of Product Innovation Management, 41 (1), 1–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12754
Varadarajan, Rajan (2014), “Toward Sustainability: Public Policy, Global Social Innovations for Base-of-the-Pyramid Markets, and Demarketing for a Better World,” Journal of International Marketing, 22 (2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1509/jim.13.0158
Varadarajan, Rajan (2023), “Sustainable Innovations and Sustainable Product Innovations: Definitions, Potential Avenues, and Outlook,” in The PDMA Handbook of Innovation and New Product Development, 4th ed., L. Bstieler and C.H. Noble, eds. John Wiley & Sons, 59–80.
Varadarajan, Rajan, Roman B. Welden, S. Arunachalam, Michael Haenlein, and Shaphali Gupta (2021), “Digital Product Innovations for the Greater Good and Digital Marketing Innovations in Communications and Channels: Evolution, Emerging Issues, and Future Research Directions,” International Journal of Research in Marketing, 39 (2), 482–501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2021.09.002
White, Katherine, Aylin Cakanlar, Shakti Sethi, and Remi Trudel (2024), “The Past, Present, and Future of Sustainability Marketing: How Did We Get Here and Where Might We Go?” Journal of Business Research, 187, 115056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115056
White, Katherine, Rashad Habib, and David J. Hardisty (2019), “How to SHIFT Consumer Behaviors to Be More Sustainable: A Literature Review and Guiding Framework,” Journal of Marketing, 83 (3), 22–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919825649
Zaheer, Srilata (2025), “The Sustainability of MNE Sustainability Initiatives,” Journal of International Business Studies, 56 (4), 491–500. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-024-00760-0
