Administrative screening
The organizing team checks that the submission is in English, identifies a conference track, follows the 1,500-word extended-abstract requirement and contains the information needed for academic assessment.
Conference scope: All topics related to the sustainable development of multinational enterprises are welcome.
2026 thematic focus: Multinational Enterprises, Sustainability and Responsibility in Times of Crisis.
Submissions do not need to address crisis contexts, provided they make a clear contribution to the broader MESD field.
What is reviewed: MESD'26 requires one English-language extended abstract of 1,500 words. No full paper is required for conference consideration. Acceptance concerns the extended abstract and the conference presentation; any later publication opportunity will be announced separately.
Review model
Eligible submissions will undergo a single-anonymous peer review: the reviewers will know the authors' identities, while reviewer identities will not be disclosed to authors. This model is consistent with the current requirement that author information appears in the extended abstract.
Independent peer review
Each eligible abstract will normally be assessed by two reviewers selected for relevant subject expertise and the absence of conflicts of interest.
Editorial assessment
The conference co-chairs or a designated track chair consider the reviews and make the final decision. A third opinion may be requested when reviews differ substantially or specialist expertise is needed.
Decision and feedback
The corresponding author receives the decision together with anonymized reviewer comments intended to support the development of the work.
Evaluation criteria
Assessment will be proportionate to a 1,500-word extended abstract. Reviewers will not expect the level of detail required from a full paper. Research in progress, conceptual work and completed empirical studies will be evaluated according to their stated purpose and stage of development.
| Criterion | What reviewers will consider |
|---|---|
| Relevance | Clear relevance to the sustainable development of multinational enterprises. Engagement with the 2026 thematic focus or an indicative track is welcomed but is not mandatory. |
| Research purpose | A clearly stated problem, objective, research question or proposition and an explanation of why it matters. |
| Originality and contribution | The potential to offer a new insight, perspective, application, dataset, method, framework or implication for research, practice or policy. |
| Conceptual grounding | Appropriate engagement with relevant concepts, theory and prior research, within the limits of the abstract format. |
| Methodological quality | A suitable and credible research design or analytical approach. For work in progress, the proposed method and its feasibility will be considered. |
| Findings or expected insight | For completed work, the main findings and their interpretation; for ongoing or conceptual work, the expected contribution and development potential. |
| Coherence and clarity | Consistency between the research purpose, approach, findings or expected outcomes and conclusions, expressed clearly within 1,500 words. |
| Research integrity | Originality, appropriate attribution, responsible treatment of data and participants where applicable, and disclosure of material limitations. |
Possible decisions
- Accept: the extended abstract is accepted for presentation.
- Accept subject to minor revision: limited changes are required before the contribution is confirmed in the programme.
- Decline: the abstract is not accepted for MESD'26.
When revisions are requested, authors will revise the same extended abstract. No full paper will be requested as a condition of conference acceptance.
Confidentiality, conflicts of interest and responsible reviewing
- Reviewers must treat submissions, reviews and editorial correspondence as confidential.
- Reviewers must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, collaborative or personal relationship that could reasonably affect their impartiality and must decline the assignment when appropriate.
- Committee members who submit an abstract will take no part in selecting reviewers for, discussing or deciding on their own submission.
- Reviews must be evidence-based, respectful, constructive and focused on the work rather than the authors.
- Unpublished ideas, data or arguments obtained through review must not be used or shared for personal advantage.
- Reviewers must not upload an abstract, review or confidential submission information to public or third-party generative-AI, summarization, translation or similar services. Academic judgement and the review recommendation must remain entirely human responsibilities.
- Concerns about plagiarism, duplicate submission, fabricated material, unethical research or another integrity issue should be reported confidentially to the conference co-chairs rather than raised directly with the authors.
Notification and procedural questions
Decision messages will state the outcome and provide anonymized feedback. A request for reconsideration must identify a specific factual or procedural error; disagreement with academic judgement alone does not constitute grounds for a new review. Such requests should be sent through the conference contact page promptly after notification. The conference co-chairs' decision is final.
Important: At least one author of every accepted contribution must register for and present the work at MESD'26. Submissions open on 15 August 2026 and close on 15 October 2026. Acceptance notifications will be sent on a rolling basis as submissions are reviewed, with final decisions no later than 30 October 2026; see the Important Dates page.