Call | Proposals for Special Issues of Kybernetes

Call for Special Issue Proposals

The editorial team at Kybernetes invites proposals for special issues from scholars and practitioners interested in topics related to cybernetics, systems thinking, and management science. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Management Science
• Management Studies
• Organisation Science
• Organisation Studies
• Social Sciences
• Social Theory
• Systems Theory
• Design Theory
• Decision Science
• Information Systems
• Information Management
• Digital Humanities
• Philosophy of Science
• Communication Studies
• Economics
• Management and Strategy
• Management Information Systems

If you would like to propose a special issue, please contact Paul Kidd pkidd@emerald.com to request a proposal form. The editors will review submissions to assess their relevance and suitability for the journal.

Special Interest Series

We are particularly keen to receive proposals that contribute to one of our annual special issue series, each designed to highlight enduring or emerging themes across the broad field of cybernetics and systems:

Classics of Cybernetics
Devoted to the work of key forethinkers and founders of cybernetics and systems theory.

Codes and Cultures of Communication
Focused on diverse forms of communication, including animal communication, human–computer interaction, interspecies communication, and specific subforms of human communication.

Contours of Complexity
Dedicated to research on complexity across disciplines, including major contributions from figures such as Friedrich von Hayek, Niklas Luhmann, and others who have shaped contemporary understandings of complex systems.

Background literature

• Foss, N. J., Klein, P. G., and Murtinu, S. (2022). The economy doesn’t need a reset, and neither does management theory. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 38(3), 101214.
• Fritzsche, A. (2025). Propositional logic, paradox, and Indian dialectics–towards a deeper ontological approach in paradox theory. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 42(3), 629-639.
• Luhmann, N. (2020). Organization, membership and the formalization of behavioural expectations. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 37(3), 425-449.
• Roth, S. (2019). Digital transformation of social theory. A research update. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146 (September), 88-93.
• Roth, S. (2024). Truth tables, true distinctions. Paradoxes of the source code of science. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 37(3), 261-267.
• Roth, S. and Sales, A. (in press). Multifunctional organisation. A systems-theoretical concept and its practical implications. Kybernetes, DOI: 10.1108/K-05-2025-1387.
• Spencer Brown, G. (2021). Design with the NOR. In: Roth, S., Heidingsfelder, M., Clausen, L., and Laursen, K. B. (Eds.). George Spencer Brown’s “Design with the NOR”: With Related Essays. Emerald Publishing Limited.
• Valentinov, V. (2017). Wiener and Luhmann on feedback: From complexity to sustainability.Kybernetes, 46(3), 386-399.
• van Assche, K., Valentinov, V., and Verschraegen, G. (2019). Ludwig von Bertalanffy and his enduring relevance: Celebrating 50 years general system theory. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 36(3), 251-254.