Role of Future Generations: Growing Up Responsible? Children, Youth and Markets in the Age of AI

Call for Papers

Younger generations are growing up amid overlapping crises: climate, technological disruption and mental health. They are often described as the agents of change who will build a more sustainable future. At the same time, the markets that shape childhood and early adulthood are changing fast. For example, toys and children’s products are under pressure to become more sustainable, and food marketing to children faces growing scrutiny. Young adults entering the workforce are also reconsidering what they expect from work and from employers, from meaning and flexibility to firms' social and environmental commitments. In addition, AI now enters play, learning and family life through connected toys, voice assistants and companion chatbots. Children and young people are addressed as consumers, influencers, co-creators and future employees, yet they are also asked to carry sustainability goals that adults have not always met.

The “Responsible Youth” Special Interest Group was created to explore how younger generations think, act and drive responsible change in an era of profound environmental, digital and social shifts. It also asks to what extent they feel accountable for doing (or not doing) so. The first conference (2025) opened this discussion. This second edition turns to the markets that shape childhood, adolescence and early adulthood most directly: what young people play with, eat, buy and learn from, how they enter the world of work, and the technologies that increasingly sit between them and these activities. It invites international scholars, practitioners, policymakers and industry experts to take up this question from their own disciplines and fields.

We welcome empirical and conceptual papers, case studies and thought pieces from marketing, management, human resources, education, information sciences, psychology, law and public policy. Together, let’s explore how youth can redefine the future of responsible business and policy in a rapidly changing world. We encourage scholars to explore questions related to sub-themes given in the following tracks.

The Responsible Youth Special Interest Group of MSP Research invites interdisciplinary contributions from scholars, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and doctoral researchers to engage in rigorous dialogue on the following themes and tracks:

Track 1. Sustainable Toys and Products

• Eco-design, second-hand, repair and rental in families
• Circular business models in children’s markets
• How children and parents judge what counts as a “responsible” product

Track 2. Food, Health and Well-being

• Food marketing to children, family food practices, healthier and more sustainable eating
• Compulsive use, consumption pressure and other threats to young people’s well-being

Track 3. Connected, Smart and AI-Enhanced Toys and Services

• Companion chatbots, voice assistants, educational robots, generative AI in play and learning
• Parental acceptance, children’s own uses, emotional attachment to AI companions

Track 4. Ethics, Governance and Research with Children

• Minors’ data and privacy, consent, manipulative design, advertising literacy
• The effects of regulation such as the EU AI Act and the DSA on firms’ practices
• Methodological and ethical constraints of studying minors: assent, age-appropriate methods, safeguarding and data handling

Track 5. Youth Agency, Co-creation and Intergenerational Influence

• Kidfluence and kidfluencers, co-creation with brands
• Young people as advocates of change
• Adults and play across generations

Track 6. Young Adults, Work and Responsible Careers

• Gen Z’s relationship to work and engagement in the workplace
• Expectations towards employers, CSR and employer branding
• Youth entrepreneurship and social engagement

Submit pdf version of your abstract of 500 words or extended abstract of 2000 words or manuscript of 5000 words in double spacing using Arial Font 11 point. Please ensure that your submission includes purpose, objectives and novelty of your research with a brief of methodology, contribution and implications. Please indicate the track that best fits your paper.

• Submit a PDF version of your abstract (500 words), extended abstract (2000 words), or full manuscript (5000 words).
• Use Arial font, 11-point size with double spacing throughout.
• Include purpose, objectives and novelty of your research.
• Provide a brief overview of methodology, contribution and implications.
• Please clearly indicate the track that best fits your paper.

For further information and submissions, please contact info@mspresearch.com