Psychological Drivers of Sustainability in Marketing, Tourism, Supply Chain and Logistics.
Dr. Biqiang Sun
Dr. Yuanwei Sheng
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As sustainability becomes a core concern in marketing and tourism, research attention has gradually shifted from macro-level policies and technological solutions toward the psychological mechanisms that shape sustainability-oriented behaviours (Ni et al., 2025; White et al., 2019). While existing studies have advanced understanding of sustainable strategies and responsible tourism practices, the psychological foundations of how sustainability initiatives are perceived, internalised, and enacted by consumers and organisations remain underexplored. This Call for Papers invites contributions that foreground psychological factors rooted in consumer behaviour and organisational behaviour research as key drivers of sustainable marketing and tourism outcomes.
From a consumer behaviour perspective, sustainability-related decisions are embedded in complex psychological processes involving values, emotions, self-identity, moral judgment, and social influence. Constructs such as self-brand congruence, moral emotions, perceived authenticity, trust, and psychological ownership play an essential role in shaping sustainable consumption, responsible travel intentions, and long-term engagement with sustainable brands and destinations (Kumagai, 2024; Olson, 2022; Sun et al., 2025; Sun & Kumar, 2026). Understanding these mechanisms is critical for explaining the persistent gap between sustainability awareness and actual behaviour.
At the organisational level, the effectiveness of sustainable marketing and tourism strategies depends heavily on internal psychological dynamics. Employees’ psychological empowerment, sense of meaning, value alignment, and psychological safety influence how sustainability initiatives are implemented and sustained over time (Ahmad et al., 2026; Meng et al., 2022; Sabbir & Taufique, 2022). Insights from organisational behaviour research help explain how leadership, organisational culture, and collective sensemaking processes foster pro-environmental and pro-social behaviours within tourism and service organisations.
Against the backdrop of profound adjustments in the global economic landscape and the convergence of technological revolutions, the supply chain has transcended its traditional functions of logistics and coordination to become the center of national economic resilience, corporate competitiveness, and global sustainable development. However, this system is undergoing unprecedented stress tests: from ongoing disruptions caused by geopolitical conflicts and the lingering effects of pandemics to extreme weather events triggered by climate change; from consumers’ expectations for transparency and instant delivery to stringent demands for environmental and social responsibility. The vulnerability of supply chains has never been so apparent, and the paradigm for risk management urgently needs to shift from passive response to proactive design and forward-looking adaptation (Annamalah et al., 2025; Kashav et al., 2025).
At the same time, digital technologies represented by artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, digital twins, and blockchain are reshaping every aspect of the supply chain with unprecedented depth and breadth. Digitization is not merely a tool for efficiency but also a new infrastructure for addressing uncertainty. However, the rapid development of technology brings new challenges: data security, ethical dilemmas, and impacts on human capital (Brandao, 2025; Ishmaev, 2025). A purely technologically deterministic approach cannot solve the fundamental issues of complex systems.
Therefore, we stand at a critical juncture of paradigm shift: from Logistics 4.0, which emphasizes automation and digitization, to a new era of Logistics 5.0 that prioritizes sustainability, resilience, and a human-centric approach (Modica et al., 2023; Coello-Machado et al., 2024). This requires that, while optimizing operational efficiency, we must incorporate human considerations, including employee well-being, consumer behavior, and organizational resistance to change (Schwemmer et al., 2023). Moreover, attention must be paid to multiple threats such as physical disruptions, cyberattacks, reputational crises, and compliance risks.
This Call for Papers welcomes conceptual and empirical studies that integrate psychological theories, such as Self-Determination Theory, Social Identity Theory, Moral Psychology, and Signalling Theory, into sustainable marketing, tourism and supply chain research. A wide range of methodologies is encouraged, including survey-based studies using SEM or PLS SEM, experimental designs, mixed-methods research, and qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews and context-rich case studies, to advance psychologically grounded, practically relevant sustainability research.
Suggested Topics
Psychological needs satisfaction and sustainable consumption or tourism behaviour;
Moral emotions and ethical judgment in sustainability-related decision-making;
Psychological empowerment and employee-driven sustainability initiatives;
Organisational culture, psychological safety, and sustainable strategy implementation;
Technologies, such as VR, AR, virtual influencers, etc., have psychological responses to sustainable marketing and tourism;
Psychological mechanisms underlying the attitude–behavior gap in sustainability contexts
Applications of intelligent logistics technologies;
Intelligent supply chain decision-making and risk warning;
Green/sustainable supply chain design;
Balancing sustainable supply chain practices with business value;
Human-machine collaboration and workforce transformation;
Supply chain risk governance and policy;
Quantitative research on resilience;
(For any inquiries regarding the special issue, please feel free to contact Dr. Sun Biqiang at williamsun121@outlook.com. A response will be provided within five working days. )
Dr. Biqiang Sun
Dr. Yuanwei Sheng
Guest Editors