Transforming Industries Responsibly: Digitalization, Meaning, and Circular Innovation

As 2025 draws to a close, we witness a period of profound transformation across the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Digitalization and artificial intelligence have evolved from emerging trends into defining elements of industrial competitiveness and organizational identity. At the same time, the search for purpose, sustainability, and responsible innovation continues to guide corporate strategy. This final issue of the Journal of Business Chemistry for 2025 reflects these dynamics – capturing how technology, meaning, and circularity jointly shape the future of business chemistry.

We are honored to introduce ourselves as the new editors of the Journal of Business Chemistry: Sabrina Duswald and Friederike Fontes. We sincerely thank the former editorial team for their many years of commitment and for their contributions to establishing the Journal of Business Chemistry as a respected platform for research and practice alike. Building on the strong foundation established by our predecessors, we aim to continue the journal’s mission of bridging the gap between management and the natural sciences. Our shared goal is to further strengthen the journal’s international orientation and to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue on innovation, sustainability, and responsible business transformation within the chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological sectors. As the industries we study evolve, so does our mission: to highlight how new technologies and business models can drive competitiveness without compromising ethical or environmental responsibility.

We open this issue with the article “Artificial Intelligence in the German Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry: A Comparative Analysis of Empirical Survey Results from 2020 and 2025” by Thorsten Daubenfeld, Fé Hasselbach and Svenja Just. Drawing on a longitudinal survey, the authors reveal how the adoption of artificial intelligence has expanded dramatically within five years – from selective experimentation to broad, multi-functional application. Their findings highlight not only the speed of digital transformation but also the new organizational and technical challenges that accompany it.

Next, Anke Dassler, Evgenia I. Lysova, Svetlana N. Khapova and Konstantin Korotov investigate the human dimension of innovation in “Employer attractiveness in the chemical industry: Investigating the impact of product novelty, product relevance and work meaningfulness.” Their study shows that internal employer attractiveness is shaped not only by HR instruments but also by how employees perceive the novelty and societal value of their company’s products. The work underscores the importance of purpose and meaning in retaining skilled talent within highly innovative environments.

Finally, Marie Sauer and Ralf Ehret bridge the gap between sustainability assessment and product innovation in “Sustainable Use of PiWi Vine Leaves: Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis of a Novel Vine-Leaf-Based Beverage within the Framework of the Circular Bioeconomy.” By combining life cycle and techno-economic analysis, the authors illustrate how circular bioeconomy concepts can generate both ecological and economic value through the upcycling of agricultural by-products. Together, these contributions capture the breadth of transformation shaping today’s industries – from digital intelligence to human motivation and ecological regeneration. They demonstrate that sustainable progress depends on integrating innovation with responsibility, and technology with purpose.

Please enjoy reading the third issue of our journal in 2025. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to contact us at contact@businesschemistry.org. For ongoing updates and insights, follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/jobc and subscribe to our newsletter.

We extend our heartfelt thank you to all authors, reviewers, and readers for their engagement and support throughout the year.

Warm regards,

Friederike Fontes (née Woltmann)
(Executive Editor)

Sabrina Duswald
(Executive Editor)