Call for Papers

Call for short papers (pdf)

Ocean governance is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, given its critical role in addressing climate change and the growing pressure on marine resources (Morgan et al., 2022). In this context, it is essential to examine the intersection between ocean-based wealth generation, its contribution to planetary sustainability, and the need to mobilize public and private capital to finance the blue economy (Wisz et al., 2020).
 
Indeed, the oceans represent a global economic engine, supporting key sectors such as fisheries, aquaculture, marine renewable energy, coastal tourism, and blue biotechnology (OECD, 2025). The so-called blue economy, encompassing economic activities related to oceans and seas, emerges as a significant source of income, employment, and growth. However, its expansion must be balanced, ensuring that wealth generation does not compromise marine ecosystem integrity or the livelihoods of coastal communities (Campbell et al., 2016; Shiiba et al., 2022; Thompson, 2022).
 
Challenges such as overfishing, marine pollution, and habitat degradation require responses that combine effective regulation, organizational innovation, and multisectoral cooperation, including the creation of marine protected areas and the promotion of sustainable practices. In this context, the sustainable development of the blue economy relies on innovative financing and organizational models – such as blue bonds or payment for ecosystem services mechanisms – that align public and private investments in accordance with SDG 17 (Bosmans & de Mariz, 2023; Li & Liu, 2025; Wang et al., 2024; Picatoste et al., 2025; Sardá et al., 2023).
 
Ocean governance must therefore be treated as a global priority, mobilizing resources, enhancing organizational arrangements, and fostering interinstitutional partnerships that integrate multiple scales and forms of knowledge (Herrfahrdt-Pähle et al., 2020). This is precisely where organization studies (OS) offer a fertile field of analysis: by investigating how formal and informal, public and private structures interact in policymaking and implementation, OS contributes to building sustainable arrangements in complex and fragmented contexts (Crosman et al., 2022; Maraseni et al., 2022).
 
The ocean plays a vital role in combating climate change. Jain et al. (2012) show that oceans are responsible for absorbing about one-third of global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, with projections indicating that up to 90% of these emissions could be stored in marine systems over the next thousand years. However, this regulatory function comes with consequences: acidification, sea-level rise, glacial melting, and biodiversity loss already characterize the present era (Bache, 2022).
 
Given this reality, international cooperation and global environmental governance are essential. This is where the field of organization studies strategically intervenes, examining how various arrangements –  from formal institutions to informal collaborative networks – shape collective responses to systemic and transboundary challenges. Strategies such as polycentric governance (Ostrom, 2009) and transnational and multilevel environmental governance (Andonova et al., 2009; Zhu & Bai, 2022) constitute organizational innovations that challenge traditional hierarchical models and call for new theories to interpret emerging practices.
 
The concept of governance, widely debated in the literature, goes beyond formal norms and institutions, encompassing governmental and non-governmental actors organized in networks, forums, and multilateral consortia (Haas et al., 2021; Wang & Ran, 2023). This multi-stakeholder approach is central to contemporary OS, which explores organizational dynamics beyond traditional institutional boundaries, focusing on themes such as accountability, legitimacy, institutional innovation, power, and networks.
 
The climate–ocean nexus thus provides a privileged context for OS to explore issues such as interorganizational coordination, commons governance, and the construction of hybrid institutionalities. The absence of a unified global strategy to address the impacts of climate change on the oceans, coupled with the proliferation of parallel and non-binding agreements (Scott, 2023), highlights the fragmentation of international governance and opens space to investigate alternative forms of organization, negotiation, and transnational collaboration.
 
This sub-theme welcomes contributions that explore, from the perspective of organization atudies, the multiple forms of governance aimed at ocean sustainability, involving public, private, community-based, and hybrid organizations. We are particularly interested in understanding how these organizations collaborate, innovate, and address institutional dilemmas in transnational and socio-environmental contexts, where the ocean is not merely a resource but also a non-human actor central to political, legal, and organizational disputes (Strang, 2016).
 
By challenging traditional conceptions of hierarchy, control, and management, the field of Organization Studies is called upon to broaden its theoretical references – incorporating post-anthropocentric approaches, decolonial perspectives, traditional knowledge, and collaborative practices that bring different epistemologies and organizational forms into dialogue.
 
We especially welcome submissions that engage with questions such as:

• How can organizational structures and governance frameworks evolve to foster transnational cooperation on ocean issues?

• In what ways do public and private organizations form effective partnerships and collaborative networks to address shared environmental challenges?

• What innovative organizational models are emerging to cope with climate change impacts on the oceans, and how do they challenge traditional management theories?

• How does the legal recognition and support for traditional marine stewardship practices challenge Western conceptions of organization and resource management?

• How do academic partnerships and knowledge organizations contribute to the innovation and transformation of ocean governance practices?

• How can stakeholder participation in the blue economy be regulated to ensure a sustainable and collaborative model?

• How can the relationship between economic sectors (maritime transport, tourism, fisheries) and the role of the oceans in climate mitigation be effectively managed?

• What is the role of local communities in ocean governance?

• How have organizational practices contributed to institutional change in ocean governance?

 
We welcome contributions that adopt diverse theoretical and methodological approaches – including qualitative, quantitative, case studies, comparative analyses, or theoretical essays – that advance organization studies in light of the urgent challenges of ocean governance and climate transformation.
 
By placing the ocean at the center of organizational analysis, this sub-theme seeks to promote new ways of understanding and organizing collective action in times of ecological crisis, institutional complexity, and planetary emergency.
 

References

• Andonova, L.B., Betsill, M.M., & Bulkeley, H. (2009): “Transnational climate governance.” Global Environmental Politics, 9 (2), 52–73.

• Bache, S.J. (2022): “Recognising the Climate-Ocean Nexus: A Global Imperative and Regional Imperative.” In: J.F. Brandford, J. Chan, S. Kaye, C. Schofield, & G. Till (eds.): Maritime Cooperation and Security in the Indo-Pacific Region. Leiden: Brill, 86–106.

• Bosmans, P., & de Mariz, F. (2023): “The blue bond market: A catalyst for ocean and water financing.” Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 16 (3), 184.

• Campbell, L.M., Gray, N.J., Fairbanks, L., Silver, J.J., Gruby, R.L., Dubik, B.A., & Basurto, X. (2016): “Global oceans governance: new and emerging issues.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 41 (1), 517–543.

• Crosman, K.M., Allison, E.H., Ota, Y., et al. (2022): “Social equity is key to sustainable ocean governance.” npj ocean sustainability, 1 (4), https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-022-00001-7.

• Haas, B., Mackay, M., Novaglio, C., Fullbrook, L., Murunga, M., Sbrocchi, C., McDonald, J., McCormack, P.C., Alexander, K., Fudge, M., & Gollan, N. (2021): “The future of ocean governance.” Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 32, 253–270.

• Herrfahrdt-Pähle, E., Schlüter, M., Olsson, P., Folke, C., Gelcich, S., & Pahl-Wostl, C. (2020): “Sustainability transformations: socio-political shocks as opportunities for governance transitions.” Global Environmental Change, 63, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102097.

• Jain, R., Urban, L., Balbach, H., & Webb, M.D. (2012): “Contemporary Issues in Environmental Assessment.” In: R. Jain, L. Urban, H. Balbach,& M. D. Webb: Handbook of Environmental Engineering Assessment: Strategy, Planning, and Management. Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier), Chapter 13.

• Li, P., & Liu, D. (2025): “How blue carbon financing can sustain blue carbon ecosystems protection and restoration: A proposed conceptual framework for the blue carbon financing mechanism.” Ocean & Coastal Management, 265, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107644.

• Maraseni, T., Karki, S., Koju, U., Shresta, A., & Cadman, T. (2022): “Evaluating the governance of sustainable development: The quality and legitimacy of the blue economy.” In: T. Cadman & T. Sarker (eds.): De Gruyter Handbook of Sustainable Development and Finance. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 567–598.

• Morgan, P.J., Huang, M.C., Voyer, M., Benzaken, D., & Watanabe, A. (eds.) (2022): Blue Economy and Blue Finance: Toward Sustainable Development and Ocean Governance. Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute.

• OECD (2025): The Ocean Economy to 2050. Paris: OECD Publishing.

• Ostrom, E. (2009): A Polycentric Approach for Coping with Climate Change. WB Research Working Paper 5095. Washington, DC: The World Bank.

• Picatoste, X., Tirca, D.M., Novo-Corti, I., & Picatoste-Novo, I. (2025): “Blue Finance.” In: M. Zioło & M. Zaleska (eds.): Financial Innovation and Sustainability: Green, Blue and Sustainable Finance. New York: Routledge, 25–44.

• Sardá, R., Lüdeke-Freund, F., Condon, L., Cascajo, R., Agardy, T., Tintoré, J., Troumbis, A.Y., & Castilla, J.C. (2023): “Business for ocean sustainability: Early responses of ocean governance in the private sector.” Ambio, 52 (2), 253–270.

• Scott, K.N. (2023): “The BBNJ Agreement: Strengthening the Oceans-Climate Nexus?” In: J. Kraske, R. Long, & M.H. Nordquist (eds.): Peaceful Maritime Engagement in East Asia and the Pacific Region. Leiden: Brill, 403–422.

• Shiiba, N., Wu, H.H., Huang, M.C., & Tanaka, H. (2022): “How blue financing can sustain ocean conservation and development: A proposed conceptual framework for blue financing mechanism.” Marine Policy, 139, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104575.

• Strang, V. (2016): “Justice for all: Inconvenient truths and reconciliation in human–non-human relations.” In: H. Kopnina & E. Shoreman-Ouimet (eds.): Routledge Handbook of Environmental Anthropology. London: Routledge, 259–275.

• Thompson, B. S. (2022): “Blue bonds for marine conservation and a sustainable ocean economy: Status, trends, and insights from green bonds.” Marine Policy, 144, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105219.

• Wang, H., & Ran, B. (2023): “Network governance and collaborative governance: A thematic analysis on their similarities, differences, and entanglements.” Public Management Review, 25 (6), 1187–1211.

• Wang, D., Zhang, X., & Chen, S. (2024): “Visualizing the landscape of blue finance for sustainable development: A bibliometric analysis and future directions.” Business Strategy & Development, 7 (2), e368, https://doi.org/10.1002/bsd2.368.

• Wisz, M.S., Satterthwaite, E.V., Fudge, M., Fischer, M., Polejack, A., St. John, M., Fletcher, A, & Rudd, M.A. (2020): “100 Opportunities for More Inclusive Ocean Research: Cross-Disciplinary Research Questions for Sustainable Ocean Governance and Management.” Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00576.

• Zhu, K., & Bai, J. (2022): “Review study on governance and international law for coastal and marine ecosystems in response to climate change: Social science perspective.” Advances in Marine Biology, 93, 117–145.