Responsible Enterprise Pedagogy: A collaborative and engaging place to embrace opportunities and challenges
Responsible Enterprise Pedagogy: A collaborative and engaging place to embrace opportunities and challenges
Dr Shelley Beck and Dr Simon M. Smith, Oxford Brookes University
We warmly welcome you to the launch of this new Emerald journal, namely Responsible Enterprise Pedagogy (REP). There is a considerable ‘labour of love’ to inject into this essential area of education focus. The education sector around the world is in constant flux, new technological developments and financial constraints all demanding change and reimagination. Thus, we want to be a journal that provides a space to promote ideas and thoughts, push boundaries on educational approaches, bring disciplines together in thinking, provide novel theoretical and/or practical contributions, and develop a community and network of like-minded individuals where our voices can be shared.
The SDGs
As a society, we are falling short on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Smith et al., 2022, Stokes and Smith, 2023). These 17 United Nations global goals provide a great framework of focus to consider many of the world issues concerning sustainability, sustainable development, responsible management and responsible education. Yet, within a capitalistic consumed global platform, we remain embedded within complexities, contradictions and paradoxes (e.g. Smith et al., 2023), and fail to move firmly forward on much needed change for all 17 SDGs. Education, and therefore responsible enterprise pedagogy, is a space from which we can attempt to address these challenges through education that then transcends into industry and society practice.
But what the SDGs offer is a window into a depth of discussion topics potentially available to us. As a starting point for idea generation, and linked to the Editors here at REP, that could include (but, of course, certainly not limited to) sustainability mindsets (e.g. Cripps and Smith, 2023), biodiversity (e.g. Kopnina et al., 2024), the circular economy (e.g. Kopnina et al., 2025), social entrepreneurship (e.g. Nagdev et al., 2025), the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) (e.g. Seraphin et al., 2021), green social media (e.g. Beck et al., 2021), or climate change (e.g. Deliwe et al., 2021). The potential for topics is wide ranging and far reaching. The growing Editorial Board also highlights a depth of experience and insights to help us push our boundaries further.
Developing an entrepreneurial mindset: Address higher education's hot topics
Being resilient, thinking differently, taking a proactive approach and using what you have to make a difference - Is at the heart of having an entrepreneurial mindset. How we build, shape and develop this mindset is of critical importance in the ever changing world and education sector that is embracing technology at rapid speed. Looking into initiatives that develop the entrepreneurial mindset (e.g. gamification), the skills and competencies (e.g. using virtual reality), and the delivery thereof in a way that ignites student creativity and embraces challenges as opportunities. In addition, the inclusion of topics around entrepreneurial wellbeing (Zwiegelaar and Beck, 2024), hybrid work (Handley and Beck, 2025) and boundary setting, uses of AI and smart technologies (Pergelova et al. 2026) and women entrepreneurship (Zwiegelaar and Beck, 2024) and how these are integrated into entrepreneurial education would be welcomed.
Areas that could be opportunities for submission include those that offer students the opportunity to be partners in solving higher education challenges (e.g. student sense of belonging, AI usage by different stakeholders and inclusive curriculum). Other avenues that can be explored include, incorporating international collaboration projects between institutions, successful integration of experiential learning to support the development of employability and entrepreneurial skills, academic advising, induction transition activities and student retention and success.
Research methods: All things bright and beautiful
To be truly multidisciplinary, we know we need to be embracing all kinds of research methods approaches. We do not mind the traditional in terms of surveys and interviews (and other common empirical approaches), but we will strongly consider and support alternative approaches. How about action research approaches that emphasise something more akin to live change or creating interventions? Small case studies could be highly relevant, e.g. classroom focused, task and finish impact cases. Autoethnography could help many readers to tap into the deep experiences of long standing educational practitioners. Or perhaps you could be exploring innovative approaches and want to know a journal is out there that would support such innovation. We are open minded, and we are also keen to learn extensively from others.
Is the Responsible Enterprise Pedagogy community one you would be interested to be a part of? Do you want to get a viewpoint out there? Do you have a study (or want to complete a study) you want to get published relating to our themes and scope (and want a refreshing and timely process for that)? Have you got a related Special Issue idea you want to discuss? Do you have the experience and desire to be a part of our Editorial Board? If any answers are yes, then reach out and get in touch. Let us see if we can make a big global difference.
References
Beck, S.B., Deliwe, A.P. and Smith, E.E. (2021) Assessing SME Perceptions of Using Green Social Media Marketing, Journal of Management and Marketing Review, 6(1), 65-72.
Cripps, K. and Smith, S.M. (2024) Embedding a sustainability mindset in responsible management education, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 32(8), 1522- 1538.
Deliwe, A.P., Beck, S.B. and Smith, E.E. (2021) Perceptions of food retailers regarding climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, Journal of Business and Economics Review 5(4), 26-35.
Handley, K and Beck, S. (2025). ‘Everyday talk’about working-from-home: How the affordances of Twitter enable ambient affiliation but constrain political talk, New Media & Society, 27(10),5755-5775.
Kopnina, H., Hughes, A.C., Zhang, R., Russell, M., Fellinger, E., Smith, S.M. and Tickner, L. (2024) Business education and its paradoxes: Linking business and biodiversity through critical pedagogy curriculum, British Educational Research Journal, 50(6), 2712-2734.
Kopnina, H., Smith, S.M., Thomsen, B. and Garvey, A. (2025) Biodiversity and Business Education: Examining Organizational Ambidexterity within ecopedagogy and ecoliteracy, Journal of Circular Economy, 3(3), 181-195.
Nagdev, K., Ahtesham, S., Paliwal, S., Smith, S.M. and Rajesh, A. (2025) Navigating Impact: A Systematic Review of Social Entrepreneurship’s Journey towards Sustainable Development, International Journal of Organizational Analysis.
Pergelova, A., Beck, S., Stylos, N. and Zwiegelaar, J. (2026). A balancing act: Smart technology for SMEs in the hospitality industry, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 132(January): 104384.
Séraphin, H., Yallop, A.C., Smith, S.M. and Modica, G. (2021) The Implementation of the Principles for Responsible Management Education within Tourism Higher Education Institutions: A Comparative Analysis of European Union Countries, The International Journal of Management Education, 19(3).
Smith, S.M., Cripps, K., Stokes, P. and Séraphin, H. (2023) The Principles for (Ir)Responsible Management Education: An Exploration of the Dynamics of Paradox, the Hidden Curriculum, Competencies and Symbolization, Management Learning, 54(3): 384-395.
Smith, S.M., Séraphin, H. and Cripps, K. (2022) The responsible management education paradox: Applying the conceptual lens of organizational ambidexterity. In Moratis, L. and Melissen, F. (Eds.), Business Schools, Leadership and Sustainable Development Goals: The Future of Responsible Management Education. Oxfordshire: Routledge.
Stokes, P. and Smith, S.M. (2023) Wrestling with the “sustainability” conundrum: considering ways forward for the business school curricula – the DBA as a solution? In Chevalier F. and Kalika M. (Eds.) Research in Sustainability. Éditions EMS.
Zwiegelaar, J. and Beck, S. (2024). Entrepreneurial Wellbeing: Perspectives in SMEs based on gender and immigrant entrepreneurs. Routledge: London.