Unscripted and interconnected: what happens to some of us affects us all

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the International Journal of Organizational Analysis special issue, “Shaping our unscripted future with service‐learning: when technology, globalism, and community engagement collide.” Design/methodology/approach – The authors of this paper are the Guest Editors for the special issue. In this paper, they provide a brief history of why the special issue was created – what questions it was designed to address, what issues it was designed to highlight, and what future work it was hoped would arise from this collection. Findings – The four papers that are published in this special issue are described and contextualized in terms of the issue's theme. The three commentary pieces that are included are also briefly summarized, as are their respective contributions to the issue. Practical implications – The practical implications of this paper are those that relate to future service‐learning research and practice, as it is extended into the world of global and technological interconnectedness that it faces as part of our unscripted future. Originality/value – As an introductory piece, this paper is unique in that it provides an overview of the entire special issue.