In recent years, software engineering researchers have recognized the importance of the role of theory or SE research, resulting in the emergence of the General Theories of Software Engineering (GTSE) community. This editorial introduces a special section that contains four articles, and reflects on the advances made by the contributing authors. We discuss the different approaches taken in each of the four papers and outline a number of avenues for future research. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.