Editorial

It is our pleasure and honour to present this special twentieth anniversary issue of the Organisational and Social Dynamics journal. When we released the “Call for papers” in early 2020, we set out to celebrate this moment by reflecting upon our history and how we, as organisational scholars and practitioners, are engaging with the complex elements and events that have been affecting and defining organisational and social life at the beginning of the new decade. We noted our turbulent, fragmented and polarised societies, and specifically drew attention to potentially threatening trends such as “the rise of economic inequity, populism, nationalism, racism and ethnocentrism, and authoritarianism”. In seeking a variety of relevant manuscripts, we emphasised new forms of leadership and an understanding of how we organise in response to modern challenges. The “Call” appeared as these environmental, social, and cultural challenges were growing and as a new, unknown, and potentially lethal virus was appearing on the horizon.

Little did we realise how the terms “volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous” (VUCA), as applied to organisations, would barely do justice to these extraordinary currents. The months immediately following the “Call for papers” brought a worldwide pandemic, societal lockdowns, massive and enduring economic disruption, and political upheaval. These societal impacts were exemplified by events such as the final Brexit in the United Kingdom, and a violent and deadly threat to a democratic election and transition of power in the United States. These events and others raise larger existential questions about the advancement of science, factual knowledge, and the pursuit of truth of the kind represented in this and other journals.

We were delighted to receive many wonderful manuscripts focusing on different aspects of these organisational and social challenges, and we bring this selection to you in the spirit of scholarly inquiry and the depth of conceptuali