This study reviews theoretical comparisons regarding reentry issues of incarcerated people in order to promote a better understanding of individuals’ criminal desistance. There are three major competing criminal desistance theories, and they include the subjective (identity) theory explaining an individual’s subjective processes, structural (social bonds) theory focusing on structural conditions, and integrative (subjective-social model) theory describing personal commitment and motivation combined with structural resources. First, identity defined as a sense of self is directly linked to one’s motivation and behavioral guidelines. Thus, identity theory assumes that intentional changes in one’s sense of self are necessary for criminal desistance. The theory posits that only justice-involved individuals who intentionally transform their identities can attempt to utilize structural support to help them pursue change. Second, the structural theory on social bonds provides an appropriate theoretical foundation on how social bonds, such as employment, affect criminal desistance through a series of exogenous circumstances called turning points. Employment is an important example of a social bond for justice-involved individuals since it provides structure to one’s life. Third, the integrative model assumes that personal characteristics may interact within social contexts, in that an individual has to identify, select, and act within the structure they live in, through their cognitive transformation. This article also briefly discusses two major methodological challenges deriving from the utilization of the theory.

Introduction and Rationale Research interest in the global and strategic marketing field has been stimulated significantly over the past two decades by the increasing globalization of economic systems and accelerating pace of competition worldwide. The establishment and development of global business operations involves international marketing strategy decisions that can bring substantial economic benefits for both national economies and individual companies. A large number of conceptual propositions and empirical works have examined how firms can derive sustainable competitive advantage from their global and strategic marketing activities and cross-border collaborations. The Special Session aims to uncover and debate on some important empirical, methodological, and theoretical research challenges within the broad domain of global marketing and strategy. Further, it sets to highlight emerging trends and concepts in the field to critically evaluate their potential impact on existing theory development and management practice. Emphasis will be placed on comparing contributions from leading international scholars to stimulate research synergy and collaboration. Specifically, the Special Session will provide a strong base for establishing, maintaining, and developing a dialogue among marketing academics who have interests in the global marketing and strategy phenomena. All panel members specialize in the topic and have published extensively in well-recognized academic journals. All contributors hold a highly international profile and are affiliated to different research institutions. The proposed topic cover important and timely issues in global and strategic marketing which are outlined below.