In a world increasingly characterized by complexity and dynamism (Forliano et al., 2022; Sunder & Prashar, 2022), addressing multifaceted challenges becomes essential. These challenges span the spectrum of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) dimensions, which underscore the interconnectedness of ecological factors such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity with social, geopolitical, and governance considerations (Sandberg et al., 2023). The urgency for conservation and regeneration of natural resources further compounds these challenges (Bresciani et al., 2022; Ferraro et al., 2015; George et al., 2015). Within this intricate landscape, agri-food systems emerge as a focal point, both for their pronounced impact and their potential for transformative change (De Bernardi & Azucar, 2020). Consequently, there is a growing call for innovative and systemic paradigms that prioritize sustainability and regeneration as foundational principles in these systems (Bresciani, 2017; Felicetti et al., 2023).
The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), along with the guidelines from the Task Forces on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), underscore the importance of transparency and accountability in addressing these critical issues (Chua et al., 2022; EFRAG, 2020). They call for a re-evaluation of the strategic and operational management of resources, particularly within the agri-food systems, emphasizing the need for a twin transition – sustainability and digitization – in response to the growing environmental and societal demands (Rehman et al., 2023; Tashman, 2021).
Because of their complexity, accomplishing these wicked problems necessarily requires collective continuous, and multi-disciplinary efforts from various heterogeneous actors, such as policymakers, public institutions, companies, academia, and the broader civil society (Ricciardi et al., 2020). Hence, to address the wicked problems of our time, intersectional and systemic approaches to knowledge co-creation (Dentoni et al., 2022; Schiuma et al., 2012), bridging various disciplines and sectors, are increasingly required.
Ecosystems emerge as intricately linked yet independently organized clusters of varied entities, jointly crafting a value proposition (De Bernardi et al., 2020). They typically come into existence through coordinated endeavours, where participants interact within themselves and with the surrounding milieu. In the nascent stages of such organizational frameworks, the primary challenge is securing legitimacy (Thomas & Ritala, 2022) to alleviate the “liability of newness”. By adopting a collective action perspective and endorsing a legitimacy-as-process methodology, procedural models for collective action within ecosystems could be adeptly formulated. In this structure, an orchestrator, complementors, users, and external actors collaboratively contribute to legitimizing the ecosystem (DiVito et al., 2021). In the current landscape, orchestrators, platformizations (related to goods, services, information flows, data, etc.), innovation brokers, and similar entities are presently leading the way, directing shifts in sustainable and regenerative business models.
Despite the increasing recognition of the importance of systems thinking and knowledge co-creation in addressing complex environmental and social issues (Ricciardi et al., 2020), there is still much to be understood about their systemic impact and the governance systems that support them. Scholars and practitioners are exploring the processes through which individuals and organizations co-create and share knowledge, not just within organizational boundaries, but in wider, boundaryless contexts (Scuotto et al., 2017). This approach goes beyond the linear paradigm of knowledge exchange, emphasizing systemic interactions and partnerships among diverse stakeholders.
Given the multifaceted nature of sustainability challenges and the diverse array of actors involved, there is a pressing need for contributions that explore the theoretical and practical aspects of systems thinking and knowledge co-creation. Contributions from various fields, encompassing ecological management, social innovation, sustainable energy, regenerative agriculture, and holistic health and wellbeing, are essential to unveiling the complexities and potentialities of systemic interventions in these critical areas.
In conclusion, this call welcomes contributions that explore how systems thinking and knowledge co-creation can be harnessed to address the pressing environmental and social challenges of our time, particularly in the context of agri-food systems. Investigations into the interactions, partnerships, and governance structures that underpin these processes are of particular interest, offering insights into the potential for transformative change in pursuit of a sustainable and flourishing future.

Canio Forliano,University of Turin, Italy
Paola De Bernardi, University of Turin, Italy
Francesco Venuti, ESCP Business School, Italy/France