Track Descriptions

The Accounting Information Systems track highlights research that focuses on the link between accounting and information systems, including topics that range from IT governance to interorganizational information systems and draws from a variety of disciplines like accounting, psychology, sociology, cognitive science, behavioral science, economics, politics, computer science, and information technology. The track considers papers from all research methods, including design science, behavioral, and archival.

Track Chairs:

Fiona Rohde, University of Queensland f.rohde@law.uq.edu.au
Scott Boss, Bentley University sboss@bentley.edu

Mini-tracks:

General Accounting Information Systems 

Accounting information systems (AIS) research focuses on the link between accounting and information systems. It includes topics that range from IT governance to interorganizational information sharing. The General Accounting Information Systems mini-track includes any and all topics in the field of AIS that are not included in the other more specialized mini-tracks. Suggested topics include systems integration, value of information systems, and global AIS and case studies.

Sumantra  Sarkar  ssarkar@binghamton.edu
Gray,  Joy  jgray@bentley.edu

IS Control, Audit, Reporting, Enterprise IT Governance and Security for Compliance Management 

This mini-track focuses on the role AIS play in capturing and storing transactions, ensuring their accuracy, timeliness and validity, and satisfying the organization’s legal and regulatory requirements. AIS provide the majority of data required for decision making, as well as interorganizational information sharing and external reporting to various stakeholder groups and the subset of IT activities associated with fulfilling external regulatory or ethical obligations.   Appropriate topics include continuous auditing, auditing end user systems, internal audit, COSO, CobiT, AS5, forensic auditing, data mining/business intelligence, ebXML, XBRL, AIS use, data ambiguity, enterprise IT governance structures for effective compliance management, enterprise compliance risk assessment and compliance risk management, information assurance prioritization and strategy, establishing auditable trust models for securing electronic commerce, valuation of information assets for security assurance resource optimization, successful and unsuccessful compliance management via automated, continuously auditing software solutions, and shared information, interorganizational trust models and policy ontologies for compliance management.

Alec Cram wacram@uwaterloo.ca
Tawei (David)  Wang  david.wang@depaul.edu

Accounting Information Systems: Models, Designs, Implementation, and Data Innovation 

This mini-track is focused on the role that AIS plays in creating models to help better store, share information, reengineer, process and represent the organization’s resources, events and agents including the impact of data innovation and emerging data use. This mini-track is intended to promote research on the different data and process models for AIS. Appropriate topics for this mini-track include (but are not limited to) AIS design, Ontologies used for representation of AIS, Object Oriented databases for AIS, Items-Agent-Cash (IAC) Model, UML for modeling of AIS, AIS Architectures, Reengineering of legacy AIS into ERP systems, XBRL databases modeling and design, AIS using blockchain or distributed ledger technology, Resource-Event-Agent (REA) models, data models, Information sharing of AIS with supply chain systems, enterprise systems modeling, interorganizational information sharing, risk management, privacy, data analytics and data relevance.

Alastair  Robb  a.robb@business.uq.edu.au
Karina  Honey  k.honey@business.uq.edu.au

The extant literature on adoption and diffusion has improved our understanding of how IT is utilized by individuals, groups, and organizations and its wanted and unwanted consequences. In turn, we now have rich insights into relevant topics such as digital innovation, digital business models, and factors that affect IT implementation, to name a few. With the accelerating pace of digital transformation in many organizations and societies and the fundamental role of IT systems and services in it, as has been witnessed during COVID-19 pandemic, there is still much to learn about the diffusion and adoption of IT. We need to investigate the potential of new digital innovations, while also examining downsides of adoption and diffusion of IT. Issues such as IS misuse, obsessive addiction, technostress, information overload, and new digital divides to name a few, all have become important areas to investigate. This track seeks to be a forum for high quality research that can theoretically and/or practically provide valuable insights into the adoption and diffusion of digital innovations at the individual, group, organizational, and societal levels. This includes the application of all types of research methodologies.

Track Chairs:

Andreas Eckhardt, University of Innsbruck andreas.eckhardt@uibk.ac.at
Hamed Qahri Saremi, DePaul University hamed.saremi@depaul.edu
Jean-Grégoire Bernard, Victoria University of Wellington jean-gregoire.bernard@vuw.ac.nz

Mini-Tracks:

The role of IT identity in IT adoption and use       

Because information technology (IT) use is the crucial connection between IT investments and organizational performance, IS researchers have focused on adoption and diffusion of IT and how it is utilized by individuals. To that end, recent theoretical work introduced IT identity — representing the extent to which an individual views use of an IT as integral to his or her sense of self — as a means to explain richer, adoption and IT use behaviors. IT identity’s utility extends to a wide range of topics relating to how people express, maintain and expand their self-concepts in relation to IT. Accordingly, this mini track calls for further research that considers IT identity as an integral part of models and research approaches seeking to explain IT adoption and use. We welcome research using a variety of methodologies and at all levels of analysis.

Victoria Reibenspiess, Victoria.Reibenspiess@uibk.ac.at
Michelle Carter, michelle.carter@wsu.edu

Adoption and Use of Immersive Systems              

Immersive systems can enhance the user’s perception of reality and alter their behaviour and IT use. The immersive system has been widely used in various practice, such as digital learning, organisational training, digital marketing, fitness technology, and computer/video games. The immersive technology include such categories as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (VR/AR), and interactive storytelling et al. To better understand the role of immersive system and technology in IT use and adoption, this track sets out to invite high quality research on immersive systems. We welcome research using a variety of methodologies, and at any level of analysis, such as quantitative method (experimentation, survey, and analysis with observational data etc.), case study, theory development, and design science etc.

Qiqi Jiang, qj.digi@cbs.dk
Chih-Hung Peng, chpeng@nccu.edu.tw

Emerging IT design and adoption             

User experiences with emerging information technologies (IT), such as blockchains and artificial intelligence (AI), depend on their designs. The designs, however, may not turn out to have the exact effects as expected. For example, the features related to utility and privacy may be contradictory to each other. Currently, there is a lag between academic research and industrial practice. It is expected that theoretical discussions and empirical studies may yield deeper insights and provide theoretical and practical guidelines. We solicit expositions and investigations of both qualitative and quantitative natures. Analyses at different levels (individual, group, organizational, societal, and cultural) using a variety of methods (e.g. survey, case study, ethnography, big data analysis etc.) are all welcome. Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to, the design and adoption of AI-based systems, blockchain applications, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data, virtual reality, social platforms, enterprise systems, and so on.

Jun Sun, jun.sun@utrgv.edu
Zhaojun Yang, zhaojunyang@xidian.edu.cn
Ying Wang, ying.wang01@utrgv.edu

Adoption and Use of Ambivalent Information Technologies          

Ambivalent Information Technologies (IT) are perceived as having the potential to both benefit and harm users and organizations, rendering them a double-edged sword. Ambivalent IT comprises a wide range of IT that we use today; some examples include smartphones that can be both beneficial and harmful for the users, work emails that despite their flexibility and connectivity benefits can be interruptive for the work, and security software or access control tools with benefits that can come at the cost of security and privacy intrusions. As a result, adaptors and users can have mixed attitudes toward ambivalent IT. Currently, there is a paucity of research in the IS literature for this up and coming research area. This mini-track provides a forum for the exchange of research ideas regarding the antecedents, processes, and issues related to adoption and use of ambivalent IT and their potential impacts for users, organizations, and the society.

Isaac Vaghefi, sashrafvaghefi@pace.edu
Shamel Addas, shamel.addas@queensu.ca

For most of a decade, now, The Advances in Information Systems Track under the sponsorship of the longest continually published MIS research journal, The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, has provided an open and diverse venue in which emerging SIGs and established SIGs that do not have sufficient critical mass to sponsor their own Track can offer collegial environments for the recruitment and presentation of speciality research.

In addition to providing a useful outlet for smaller SIGs to have a conference presence, The Advances in Information Systems Track also provides the critical service of housing the General Minitrack, where papers from other track and mintrack leaders may be safely reviewed to avoid conflict of interest issues. As part of this the rising Program Committee of the next year’s conference operates the General Minitrack as an experiential exercise designed to be the classic “realistic job preview” for the coming year’s Program Committee work.

Track Chairs:

Tom Stafford, Louisiana Tech University stafford@latech.edu
Deborah Armstrong, Florida State University djarmstrong@business.fsu.edu

Mini-tracks:

Research Commentaries and Literature Reviews in IS 

As information Systems matures as a discipline, there is a need to conduct and publish research on meta-analysis to synthesize the findings and to identify the potential research gaps and future research agenda. Such meta-analysis can help identify critical research gaps and help us identify the questions that have been answered, and also the ones that still remain unanswered. The meta-analysis also helps the body of evidence to determine the contextual factors and enhance our understanding of how and when they work. Such contextual knowledge can help us understand the contextual features associated with our theories and help identify what planned intervention is likely to be most powerful. Such meta-analysis will help contextualize our findings, and It will help fine-tune our research questions and will help provide more meaningful guidance to practitioners. Thus, this minitrack is focusing on inviting papers that provide theory-based, literature-based, or quantitative analysis based meta-analysis based on IS research.

Gaurav Bansal, bansalg@uwgb.edu
Don Heath drheath2@gmail.com

Civic and Democratic Processes in Digital Age

The emergence of technologies such as smart devices, social media, or Internet of Things (IoT) has redefined how citizens engage in civic and democratic processes. With the potential to influence millions of people across the world, such technologies have not only enabled new ways to engage people in civic processes but have also posed challenges to governments across the world in ensuring that citizens are appropriately informed.

The objective of this mini-track is to provide a forum for discussion and presentation of original research highlighting role of such technologies in shaping the technical, organizational, managerial and socio-economic aspects of civic and democratic processes. We seek to invite papers that identify emerging frameworks of democratic engagement and highlight the opportunities/challenges posed to governments across the world. We seek papers from a theoretical, conceptual, or empirical perspective to set the stage for future research direction.

Vikas Jain, jain_vikas12@yahoo.co.uk

General Topics    

The General Topics minitrack is intended for papers written by other track chairs who cannot submit a paper to their own track. We also may accept papers from authors who are unable to find a suitable AMCIS track for submission. Ideally we look for papers that break new ground and have exciting implications. Thus, we are open to all topics and methodologies outside the other tracks. Please check the detailed descriptions of other tracks before submitting to this track.

K.D. Joshi, kjoshi@unr.edu
Kevin P. Scheibe, kscheibe@iastate.edu
Gove Allen gove@byu.edu

The purpose of this track is to provide a forum for academics and practitioners to identify and explore the issues, opportunities, and solutions using Artificial Intelligence, computational ontologies, data driven IS, and intelligence related to business and systems including the social web, intelligent systems design, implementation, integration and deployment. An increasing number of artificial intelligence-based systems are being developed in different application domains employing a variety of tools and technologies. This track is intended to increase cross-fertilization of ideas from these areas, share lessons learned and stimulate areas for further research.

Track Chairs:

Don Heath, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh drheath2@gmail.com

Mini-tracks:

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Antecedents, Mechanisms, and Consequences – Social, Ethical, & Practical 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have brought significant changes to workplaces and our daily lives. However, there are many issues that remain unresolved. In this mini-track, we focus on the social, ethical, and practical aspects of AI and ML, and investigate the antecedents, mechanisms, and consequences of the use of AL and ML. Issues of interest include but are not limited to the following: 1) factors affecting automation through AI and ML, including both technical and practical factors, 2) how to automate work through AI and ML, 3) how AI and ML are used in practice, 4) issues related to the use of AI and ML, such as legal, ethical, governance, and biased use. 5) consequences and impact of use of AI and ML, such as operational efficiency and effectiveness, business performance, job displacement, and dark side of AI or ML.

Gang  Peng  gpeng@fullerton.edu

Innovative Technologies for Managing Data-intensive Systems 

Evoked by recent trends, such as big data, data science or cloud computing, the planning and engineering of IS in today’s data-driven world is getting progressively a more complex task. In many cases, sophisticated approaches are required to overcome the data-intensive nature of such endeavors. At this point, established technologies, as they have been used for many years, are reaching their limits. However, innovative technologies and concepts, such as automation, continuous integration, micro services, domain specific ontologies or decision support systems appear to be promising “enablers” to meet the current demands. To overcome their realization shortcomings, a plethora of facets must be handled. Hence, in this mini-track, we welcome a variety of research approaches including, but not limited to, theoretical articles, reviews and use case studies that are related to the use of innovative technologies for planning, engineering, deploying, testing and operating data-intensive systems.

Matthias  Volk  matthias.volk@ovgu.de
Daniel  Staegemann  daniel.staegemann@ovgu.de

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Automation in Business – Tools, Technologies, and Techniques 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is assuming increasing importance in business, specifically in the areas of machine learning, analytics, statistical analyses, and a variety of big data-related topics.  The purpose of this mini-track is to provide a venue for forum for researchers involved in basic discovery investigations, applied research investigating business phenomena, and tool or platform development associated with large data sets or other AI-related areas.

Potential areas include but are not limited to:

  • Machine learning theory and application
  • Large data set analysis
  • In-memory computing models
  • Data cleansing, and incomplete data set analysis
  • Tool development in R, Python or other languages or techniques
  • Text mining
  • Sentiment analysis
  • Block chain implementation and analysis
  • NoSQL or Hadoop-based analytics

John  Erickson  johnerickson@unomaha.edu
Keng  Siau  siauk@mst.edu

Promises and Perils of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Disruption, Adoption, Dehumanisation, Governance, Risk and Compliance 

In the last decade, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have developed from peripheral technologies to dominant drivers of innovation. They are routinely used to recognize images; parse speech; respond to questions; make decisions; and replace humans.

Given that AI and ML tools are becoming a part of our everyday lives, it is critical that researchers and practitioners understand their state of art, adoption and influence. Improperly deployed AI and ML tools can incorporate biases, violate privacy, threaten safety, and take questionable decisions that can affect individuals, organizations and ultimately society.

This minitrack will focus on the promises and perils of AI and ML with a particular focus on (a) adoption, (b) disruption, (c) potential dehumanisation, and (c) governance, risk and compliance mechanisms required to protect and enhance human wellbeing. We welcome wide-ranging papers with qualitative and quantitative orientations; with theoretical and practical contributions; from personal, organizational and societal perspectives.

Valeria  Sadovykh  valeriasadovykh@gmail.com
David  Sundaram  d.sundaram@auckland.ac.nz
Kevin  Craig  kac0117@auburn.edu

Artificial Intelligence and its Role in Intelligent Systems 

Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems are experiencing a resurgence. Significant progress has been made over the last few years in the development of machine learning, and computational intelligence techniques such as bio/nature-inspired computing, deep learning, and cognitive computing. Similarly, there is an upsurge in the application of AI technologies and multi-agent systems in a variety of fields such as electronic commerce, internet of things, computer vision, natural language processing, speech and voice recognition, and healthcare. While research on various aspects of artificial intelligence is progressing at a very fast pace, there are still a number of issues that have to be explored in terms of the design, implementation and deployment of AI applications and multi-agent systems. This mini-track provides a forum for sharing cutting edge research in AI applications and their implications on organizations.

Best papers from this mini-track will be fast tracked for publication in a special issue of International Journal of Intelligent Information Technologies (http://www.idea-group.com/IJIIT).

Vijayan  Sugumaran  sugumara@oakland.edu
Stefan  Kirn  stefan.kirn@uni-hohenheim.de

Customer Experience and Organizational Intelligence 

Increasingly, organizations are interacting with current and potential customers across a plenitude of IT-mediated “touch points”. Consequently, coordinating strategies will likely dominate management thought in the near and intermediate term as the number and variety of these “touch points” continues to expand. Effective strategies will rely on quality practitioner and academic research on a variety of issues, such as how to: differentiate user experience across points of interaction, increase reach to the consumer, improve conversion rates, sustain consumer loyalty, manage the global and the local experience, etc. The end customer is at the focus, with various technologies, devices and networks facilitating seamless computing, communication, collaboration as well as commerce related functionalities to the end users. This is made possible by embedding data, sensors, controllers, and other devices into the physical and virtual spaces of human beings thereby facilitating seamless interactions and co-engagement between the end customer and the organization.

John  Muraski  muraskij@uwosh.edu
Ivor  Addo  addoid@uwosh.edu
Michael  Patton  pattonm@uwosh.edu
Kathleen  Lynch  lynchk@uwosh.edu

Human cognition deals with how we know and make decisions, through processes including reasoning, perception, and judgment. The future of the Information Systems discipline will continue to involve human cognition as systems are increasingly used to meet social and business needs in innovative settings. Understanding human cognition is a critical component to the successful design, implementation, and use of information systems. The questions of interest relevant to this track focus on IS problems in terms of the processes of knowing and making decisions. This track solicits research investigating the widest variety of cognition, including but not limited to: situated, shared, social, distributed, and team cognition; group and individual decision support systems; cognitive aspects of business analytics and intelligence; problem-solving; knowledge-sharing & -management; cognitive perspectives on IS design, use, and development; human-computer interaction or human factors; and research methods to investigate cognitive issues in IS. We welcome qualitative, quantitative, experimental, and case study research and research-in-progress.

Track Chairs:

Jia Shen, Rider University jiashen@rider.edu
Emre Yetgin, Rider University eyetgin@rider.edu
Cindy Riemenschneier, Baylor University c.riemenschneider@baylor.edu
Bob Otondo, Mississippi State University rotondo@business.msstate.edu

Mini-track:

Human-Centered IS Design

As our professional and personal lives become more virtual, our well-being increasingly depends on the design of the digital tools we use to work and connect and on their ability to help us to contrast Information overload and increase the quality of the Information we consume.

The design of IS systems has traditionally prioritized functional or marketing objectives while neglecting users’ well-being and ethical concerns. This track explores alternative, truly human-centered approaches to IS design that focus on the improvement of individual and social well-being and on making our interaction with digital technology more meaningful, purposeful, and sustainable. Research approaches based on the application of Design Thinking, Positive Design, Design Science, and Aesthetics to the development of IS systems are particularly welcome.”

Luca  Iandoli  iandolil@stjohns.edu
Dr. Ivana  Quinto  ivana.quinto@unina.it

Human-Robot Interactions in Information Systems 

This mini-track aims to enhance our understanding of human-robot interactions in an emerging area in Information Systems. This mini-track seeks to solicit submissions from a range of topics pertaining to the cognitive and behavioral aspects of interactions with robots and artificial intelligence (AI) and their corresponding outcomes. This includes empirical studies and conceptual frameworks which seek to theoretically advance our knowledge of the topic.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Promoting the performance of individuals, teams, and organizations working with robots
  • Adoption and appropriation of robots
  • Empirical studies examining cognitive, psychological, emotional, and social aspects in human-robot collaboration
  • Theoretical frameworks for human-robot interaction
  • Case studies on human-robot interaction
  • Design implications for robots in the workplace and home
  • Work practices which focused on human-robot collaboration
  • New methodological approaches to studying human-robot interactions”

Sangseok  You  you@hec.fr
Lionel  Robert  lprobert@umich.edu

The unprecedent increase in the amount of data available for processing has created novel innovative opportunities for individuals, organizations, and society. This is creating a huge impact across industries (e.g. healthcare, finance, energy, and sports) when engaging in complex analytical tasks. The ability to manage big data and generate insightful knowledge is also leading towards significant organizational transformation. At a higher level, big data and analytics applications are driving positive impact in society in areas, such as health and well-being (e.g. in the fight against Covid19), poverty mitigation, food safety, energy, and sustainability.

Organizations are allocating greater resources to enhance and develop new innovative applications of advanced analytics capabilities. As organizations transform into data and analytics centric enterprises (e.g. health insurance companies, automobile companies), more research is needed on the technical, behavioral, and organizational aspects of this progress. On one hand, research focused on the creation and application of new data science approaches, like deep learning and cognitive computing, can inform different ways to enhance decision making and improve outcomes. On the other hand, research on organizational issues in the analytics context can inform industry leaders on handling various organizational and technical opportunities along with various challenges associated with building and executing big data driven organization. Examples include data and process governance and ethics and integrity issues, management and leadership, and driving innovation and entrepreneurship.

The track “Data Science and Analytics for Decision Support” seeks original research that promotes technical, theoretical, design science, pedagogical, and behavioral research as well as emerging applications in analytics and big data. Topics include (but are not limited to) data analytics and visualization from varied data sources (e.g. sensors or IoT data, text, multimedia, clickstreams, user-generated content) involving issues dealing with curation; management and infrastructure for (big) data; standards, semantics, privacy, security, legal and ethical issues in big data, analytics and KM (knowledge management); intelligence and scientific discovery using big data; analytics applications in various domains such as smart cities, smart grids, financial fraud detection, digital learning, healthcare, criminal justice, energy, environmental and scientific domains, sustainability; business process management applications such as process discovery, performance analysis, process conformance and mining using analytics and KM, cost-sensitive, value-oriented, and data-driven decision analysis, and optimization. Visionary research on new and emerging topics that make innovative contributions to the field are also welcome.

Track Chairs:

Ciara Heavin, University College Cork c.heavin@ucc.ie
Aleš Popovič, NEOMA Business School ales.popovic@neoma-bs.fr
Haya Ajjan, Elon University hajjan@elon.edu

Mini-tracks:

Big Data for Business and Societal Transformation

The minitrack aims to explore the business and societal transformations big data entail, and how they enable innovative ways of conducting business supporting rapid decision making with external stakeholders such as business partners, customers, public authorities, and citizens. To understand how big data can be of value requires an examination of the interplay between various factors (e.g., social, technical, economical, environmental), as well as the interrelation between different actors in a big data ecosystem (e.g., academia, private and public organisations, civil society, and individuals).

Emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary papers that bridge the domains of organizational science, information systems strategic management, information science, marketing, and computer science. Despite the hype surrounding big data, the aforementioned predicaments still remain largely unexplored, severely hampering the business and societal benefits of big data analytics. This mini track aims to add in this direction and therefore welcomes quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods papers, as well as reviews, conceptual papers, and theory development papers. Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

Big data and management

  • Data-driven competitive advantage
  • Big data enabled organizational capabilities
  • Big data strategic alignment
  • Organizational learning and innovation from big data analytics
  • Big data and its impact on business strategy-formulation
  • Leveraging big data for social innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Human resource management in the data-driven enterprise
  • How big data shapes strategy and decision making
  • Big data digital business models
  • Big data and the dynamics of societal change
  • Big data for social good
  • The role of big data in social innovation
  • Proactive strategy formulation from big data analytics
  • Data and text mining for business analytics
  • Behavioural and Recommender Systems Analytics
  • Big data analytics for strategic value
  • Data quality improvement for business analytics
  • Application of big data to address societal challenges

Ilias Pappas ilias.pappas@uia.no
Patrick  Mikalef  patrick.mikalef@ntnu.no  Paul  Pavlou  pavlou@bauer.uh.edu

Geo Innovation and Entrepreneurship 

Today, Location Intelligence is created using cloud-based platforms and various geospatial analytic techniques. As a result, Location Intelligence is at the forefront of emerging trends in Geo Innovation and Entrepreneurship where companies like Esri, Planet, and Carto are providing access to their platforms specifically for the startup community. This minitrack will examine the intersection of these activities and provide a research forum to discuss the varied aspects of geospatial-based analytics; geospatial data management; emerging, innovative, location intelligence; and geo-entrepreneurship.  As such, papers are solicited across topics such as, but not limited to: Geospatial startups and geo-entrepreneurship; Innovation using geospatial platforms and analytics; Geospatial AI with Machine Learning and Deep Learning; Geospatial AR, VR, MR, XR, and 360; Geospatial big data management and analytics; Geospatial data mining and knowledge discovery; and Geospatial decision making and knowledge management.

Brian  Hilton  brian.hilton@cgu.edu
Daniel  Farkas  djf2128@gmail.com
James  Pick  james_pick@redlands.edu
Namchul  Shin  nshin@pace.edu
Hindupur  Ramakrishna  hindupur_ramakrishna@redlands.edu

Computational Social Science Research through Analytics

Computational social science research has garnered much interest from multiple disciplines through the use of massive, multi-faceted, and authentic data. The analysis of huge amount of trace data, which are event-based records of activities of transactions, to unveil insights on how to address larger societal issues. A recent trend in understanding social phenomena using computational social science research, especially through the use of analytics has led to many discoveries, and confirmation of hypotheses and theories interdisplinarily.

This minitrack encourages research on using trace data from human digital footprint to investigate human activities and relationships, and potentially come up with innovative and theory-grounded models of the social phenomena. Submissions may focus on descriptive research process, novel algorithm designs, questions forming, new and interesting directions in computational social science. The formulation of nascent theories through a bottom up approach using data is especially encouraged. Research in any domains are welcome.”

Au Vo  au.vo@lmu.edu
Yan  Li  yan.li@cgu.edu
Anitha  Chennamaneni  anitha.chennamaneni@tamuct.edu

Social Media and Network Analytics

Online Social Networks (OSN) content (e.g., online reviews, eWOM via tweets, likes, claps) differs in nature and frequency from traditional offline networks. OSN structure increases the content’s reach and propagation speed by orders of magnitude. Further, the content can be continuously captured at the finest level of granularity. Unstructured data that is disseminated over OSN provides lean, yet unique and rich means of communication that has the potential to influence receivers and provide a window into the participants’ information needs, responses to incentive structures, and the collective sentiments of social groups (consumers, employees, voters, etc.). Moreover, COVID-19 has enabled a change in consumer behavior with OSN providing the means to stay connected with family and colleagues. This mini-track invites original research on the use of analytical techniques to advance the theories of social networks to further understand social influence, human behavior and decision-making, network structures, and information diffusion.

Amit  Deokar  amit_deokar@uml.edu
Uday  Kulkarni  uday.kulkarni@asu.edu
Babita  Gupta  bgupta@csumb.edu

Behavioral Research in Data Science and Analytics

The ability to take advantage of data analytics tools and AI technologies has become an important factor for firm success. With the availability of data with high velocity, volume, and variety, many firms have invested in business intelligence and data analytics tools and technologies to improve the quality of their decisions. However, firms also recognize the importance of human cognition, judgment, and behavior in developing, implementing, and using such technologies. For example, data analysts need to integrate aspects that are not captured by analytical tools, such as ethical principles and intuition into their analytics processes and decisions.

The focus of this minitrack is to explore and enhance understanding of the behavioral aspects of data science and analytics technologies. In particular, this minitrack focuses on perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, intentions, and behaviors related to analytics and their potential impacts on decision-making performance in organizational and social settings.

Nima  Kordzadeh  nkordzadeh@wpi.edu
Maryam  Ghasemaghaei  ghasemm@mcmaster.ca

Organizations have recognized the importance of the need to swiftly sense and respond to changes in the marketplace. Organizations resort to different approaches to developing organizational agility based on several contextual conditions. Agility can span from operational to strategic in that organizations can focus specifically on streamlining their operations or consider agility at the strategic level focusing on game-changing opportunities. Depending on their focus, organizations need to adapt their approach to agility. This track explores relationship between IT and organizational agility. How does IT play an instrumental role in enabling organizational agility? How does IT shape various business processes in shaping organizational agility? How is agility differentiated across various business processes? What can we learn from specific pockets of literature such as those on agile software development agility, lean development, etc. to develop insights into the relationship between organizational agility and IT. This track is open various types of research including those that use quantitative, qualitative, and theoretical approaches to examining IT-enabled organizational agility.

Track Chairs:

Jongwoo (Jonathan) Kim, University of Massachusetts Boston jonathan.kim@umb.edu
Lan Cao, Old Dominion University lcao@odu.edu

Mini-tracks:

Digital Innovation Units and Digital Agility

The minitrack offers a stimulating forum where researchers and practitioners, who are investigating the field of „digital agility“ in close relationship with Digital Innovation Units can present and discuss recent research results on a wide range of topics, in addition to exchanging ideas, experiences and challenging problems. We are looking for qualitative and quantitative contributions.

– Digital Innovation Units (as an expression of digital agility)

– Innovation management practices in digital innovations units

– The interlink between digital agility and digital innovation

– Skills and capabilities for digital agility in Digital Innovation Units

Falk Uebernickel, falk.uebernickel@unisg.ch

Marta Caccamo, marta.caccamo@ju.se

Strategic Agility through Innovative Knowledge Management

As enterprises continue facing harsh business challenges, they require accelerating strategic agility. Strategic agility helps enterprises achieve innovation, productivity improvement, strategic change, and cultural change. Innovative knowledge management enables enterprises to accomplish important strategic agility. This mini-track explores (1) novel knowledge management approaches and (2) effective enterprise structures that can support enterprises to achieve strategic agility and innovation by facilitating interactive scholarly movements and raising significant issues on knowledge management methodology, its requirements, and organizational practices, both from theoretical and applied perspectives.

Call for Paper

The objective of this mini-track is to draw appropriate papers on the broadest range of research approaches and methodologies. Insightful, coherent, and methodically sound studies of any type (theoretical, empirical, or design science research) are equally encouraged.

Topics in this mini-track focus on strategic agility through knowledge management in the areas listed below, but are not limited to:

  • Agile enterprise systems
  • Agile innovative organizations
  • Agile enterprise engineering
  • Agile enterprise architectures and design
  • Knowledge modeling and framework
  • Knowledge management methodology
  • Requirements for innovative knowledge management and agility
  • Strategic business processes and organizational knowledge management
  • E-government agility
  • Supply chain agility
  • Business intelligence
  • Agility and knowledge management performance analysis and evaluation
  • Organizational culture and knowledge management practices”

Eunice  Park  epark@odu.edu

Tianjie  Deng  tianjie.deng@du.edu

IT-enabled Organizational Agility and Security (Digital Agility)

We live in a turbulent volatile world today. In this context Prahalad (2009) aptly describes this hypercompetitive environment, “In Volatile Times, Agility Rules.” Organizations aspire to be agile in this highly unstable market. IT has enabled organizational agility by helping adapt to changing conditions (Lucas Jr. and Olson 1994), building digital options (Sambamurthy,  Bharadwaj et al. 2003), etc. While there has been a great focus on increasing organizational agility with IT enablement, we are not sure whether there have been compromises on security practices while the firm tries to be more agile (Baskerville 2004). Organization agility makes the organization more flexible while security practices follow strict rules and processes. The objective of this minitrack is to invite research articles which investigate the interplay between organizational agility through IT enablement and security practices which may have been compromised because of the focus on agility.

IT-Enabled Agility most times bring in advantages to an organization. However it also opens the door for security loopholes. This proposal fits in the overall scheme of the track “IT-Enabled Agility” since this mini-track focuses mainly on the security aspects of IT-Enabled Agility practices in organizations.

References:

o  Baskerville, R. (2004). “”Agile Security for Information Warfare: A call for research.”” ECIS 2004 Proceedings: 13.

o  Lucas Jr., H. C. and M. Olson (1994). “”The Impact of Information Technology on Organizational Flexibility.”” Journal of Organizational Computing & Electronic Commerce 4(2): 155-176.

o  Prahalad, C. K. (2009). “”In Volatile Times, Agility Rules.”” BusinessWeek(4147): 80-80.

o  Sambamurthy, V., A. Bharadwaj, et al. (2003). “”Shaping Agility through Digital Options:

o  Reconceptualizing the Role of Information Technology in Contemporary Firms.”” MIS Quarterly 27(2): 237.”

Sumantra  Sarkar  ssarkar@binghamton.edu

Hyung Koo  Lee  hyung-koo.lee@hec.ca

Tianjie  Deng  tianjie.deng@du.edu

Emerging IT Resources and Strategies for Digital Agility 

The rapid advancement of information technologies (IT) has driven businesses to transform their business strategies and operations by adopting and implementing emerging digital initiatives, such as AI, data analytics, edge computing, and IoT. As the variety of available information technologies for digital transformation grows, businesses face challenges of effectively leveraging these emerging IT resources and strategies to sense and respond to market competitions, changing demands, and unexpected social and business crises (like the current pandemic). This minitrack seeks studies that focus on the investigation of the impact of cutting-edge information technologies and corresponding digital transformations on organizational agility. Some fundamental questions are: What are the emerging IT resources and strategies to enhance organizational agility for today’s highly digitalized market competition?; How should a business implement these emerging IT resources and leverage their benefits?; How can the emerging IT strategies and practices help transform a business into an agile organization?

Peng  Xu  peng.xu@umb.edu

One-Ki Daniel  Lee  daniel.lee@umb.edu

The information systems discipline (IS) has been at the forefront of helping organisations and society navigate the rapid terrain of technological change. However, despite decades of IS research, very few studies have examined the ICT-related experiences and practices of Indigenous people, as well as the digital artefacts they develop. The lack of IS research on Indigenous people is surprising because, in the last few decades, Indigenous people have purposefully begun using technology as a platform to reclaim their cultural identity and represent their cultural values in digital artefacts. The paucity of work in this domain may be both a cause and a consequence of the underrepresentation of indigenous groups within IS. Western worldviews, theories and assumptions continue to dominate the IS literature and are accepted and taken for granted as the normal way of doing things.

Across the world, Indigenous people have been and, in many places continue to be, discriminated against and marginalised. This track is an invitation to IS scholars and practitioners to showcase research for the Indigenous, of the Indigenous, and by the Indigenous to develop an inclusive understanding of information systems-related topics.

Exemplar topics and types of contributions looked-for

Topics of interest to the track include, but are not limited to:

  • Critical analysis of technology initiatives that involve Indigenous people
  • Technology and decolonisation
  • Emancipatory role of digital technology for Indigenous people
  • The role of Indigenous knowledge and practices in technology initiatives
  • Successful technology initiatives that embrace Indigenous knowledge and practices
  • Challenges associated with Indigenous technology initiatives
  • Indigenous knowledge and its applications in a specific technological context
  • The role of technology in addressing social inequality and inequity among Indigenous communities
  • The inclusion of Indigenous viewpoints in designing and developing technology

Track Chairs:

Angsana A. Techatassanasoontorn, Auckland University of Technology angsana@aut.ac.nz
AntonioDiaz Andrade, Auckland University of Technology antonio.diaz@aut.ac.nz
Amber Young, University of Arkansas ayoung@walton.uark.edu
Harminder Singh, Auckland University of Technology harminder.singh@aut.ac.nz

Mini-tracks:

Digital technology and decolonization, Indigenous cultural reclamation and identity restoration 

Indigenous communities have had unique and somewhat mixed experiences with digital technology. In many cases, their experiences with digital technology have been described as being similar to what they underwent during colonization, when the overarching goal was to assimilate Indigenous communities into Western culture. Today, the absence of Indigenous methods and theories, particularly in the IS literature and social studies more generally, have led some researchers to use Western and/or Euro-centric methods to explore and explain Indigenous issues. Scholars have called this a process of colonization that marginalized Indigenous knowledge into Western frameworks. A decolonization of methods and theories is called for in research. This mini-track welcomes decolonization research that showcases Indigenous perspectives, using Indigenous theories and methods, and highlights how Indigenous communities use digital technology to overcome oppression and restore their Indigenous identity in society.

Hameed  Chughtai  h.chughtai@soton.ac.uk
Devinder  Thapa  devinder.thapa@uia.no

Digital technology design and development for the Indigenous, of the Indigenous and by the Indigenous 

Much of information systems research is dominated by the investigation of digital technology design and development that is embedded with Western worldviews. Moreover, the legacy of colonization translates into information systems/technologies that neither recognize Indigenous worldviews nor considers Indigenous needs. Despite being subjected to decades of colonization and marginalization, Indigenous communities around the world are increasingly turning to digital technology to serve their interests and goals. Instead of assuming that Indigenous communities are merely another group of technology developers, we need to recognize that Indigenous groups and Westerners have vastly different (and sometimes incompatible) worldviews that are likely to reflect in different approaches to digital technology design and development. However, these differences are not always accounted for in the information systems literature. This mini-track welcomes research that takes into consideration Indigenous worldviews in digital technology design and development. In particular, this track welcomes work that includes Indigenous people as the makers and developers of digital technologies.

Andrea  Jiminez  a.jimenez@sheffield.ac.uk
Pitso  Tsibolane  pitso.tsibolane@uct.ac.za

The introduction, use and maintenance of enterprise systems (ES) require a significant investment of organizational energy and resources. As such, ES represent the largest IS investment organizations are likely to make. Many organizations are now upgrading, replacing, or extending their original ES. Early versions of ES provided back office functionality that integrated a range of internal business processes, whereas modern ES have evolved to include support for a variety of front office and inter-organizational activities and processes, such as customer relationship management (CRM), human capital management (HCM), and supply chain management (SCM). The design of such large integrated systems represents a major technical challenge, requiring new ways of thinking about business processes, system development, and enterprise architecture.

Because of both their size and their integrated nature, ES are difficult to implement, and are associated with a variety of organizational changes. Organizations expect, but unfortunately do not always realize, significant benefits from their sizable investments in ES. Because of the importance of ES in organizations, educators continue to explore approaches for introducing ES into IS and other business curricula. As such this track will investigate issues to pertaining large-scale systems adoption, implementation, and integration, academic, and practice-based case studies on ES best practices, interdisciplinary concerns with specialized ES in areas such as healthcare and supply chain management, emerging delivery models, and enterprise and business architecture.

Track Chairs:

Renée Pratt, University of North Georgia renee.pratt@ung.edu
Randy V. Bradley, University of Tennessee rbradley@utk.edu

Mini-tracks:

Healthcare Enterprise Systems: the adoption of Integrated Information Systems in healthcare industry 

Integrated Enterprise systems are one of the vital items for digitalization that is in progress in all industries and the healthcare industry is not an exception. Using suitable enterprise systems provides an opportunity to improve competitive advantages by increasing efficiency and effectiveness and quality improvement in the healthcare industry.

Enterprise systems include different clinical and administrative workflows and applications that should be successfully integrated and implemented to support processes and facilitate operations, administration, and decision making in hospitals. Applications such as CDSS or healthcare information systems (HIS) and etc. provide necessary data and information for decision making or operations. However, the lack of integration between different information systems cannot be ignored, there are information systems such as LIS (laboratory Information systems), EHR and etc. that can be a part of healthcare information systems but evidence shows in some cases these systems do not work properly or work separately in hospitals.

On the other hand, by emerging new advanced technologies in healthcare, such as expert systems, critical medical devices, intelligent information systems, digital communication tools, and neural networks, it is necessary that healthcare enterprise systems consider them and use them integrated with operation modules to improve staff productivity, healthcare operations, process quality, patient safety, and the overall patient experience.”

Ahmad  Alibabaei  babaei@gmail.com

Enterprise Systems – Integration and Transformation Challenges in the Era of Digitalization: Managerial and Technological Perspectives

Enterprise systems (ES) are complex software packages designed for integrating data flow across an entire company. Over time, ES have expanded to include manifold areas of an organization’s operations, and were extended beyond organizational boundaries to support inter-organizational activities. Although many efforts towards system consolidation in the past, current developments result in quite heterogeneous software landscapes consisting of different system types and components. With powerful end-user tools and emerging disrupting technologies (like cloud computing, financial technologies (FinTech), internet of things (IoT) and service-oriented architecture (SOA)) at hand, managing these landscapes that encompass different strands of technology becomes even more demanding.

This minitrack aims to discuss various facets and characteristics of ES transformation in the light of digital disruption and the resulting integration challenges caused by new/disrupting technologies. Therefore, we invite papers (empirical and theoretical) that examine those topics from technological, organizational or managerial perspectives.”

Christian  Leyh  christian.leyh@tu-dresden.de
Marko  Ott  marko.ott@tu-dresden.de

Analytics Enterprise Architecture

This minitrack will seek papers in the analysis, design, development and implementation of enterprise data analytics architectures and their supporting infrastructure requirements. In particular, we want to emphasize the presentation of practical and academic knowledge that can assist in the deployment of analytic and infrastructure capabilities to support enterprise-wide business analytics.

Enterprise Data Analytics Architecture is the application of enterprise architecture concepts and approaches to address the challenges of deploying and managing analytics across an enterprise.  These challenges include enterprise technical, data management and governance dimensions. Challenges include, but are not limited to:

  • Overall enterprise governance of the enterprise analytic data, models and tools.
  • Designed the analytics architecture to scale up to deal with the volume of big data
  • Architectures for real time Streaming and loT  Analytics
  • Bringing diverse data together for machine learning (ML) models
  • Ensuring that sensitive information protected at the enterprise level
  • Embedding analytics in data-intensive applications”

Frank  Armour  farmour@american.edu
Stephen  Kaisler  skaisler1@comcast.net

Scholars in Information Systems are investigating societal impacts of ICTs on people, data and things, research in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT4D) is becoming increasingly diverse. Current innovative uses of blockchain technologies to track refugees, offer new identification mechanisms, healthcare tracking for epidemics and the use of cryptocurrencies to offer payment systems are offering new ways for people to bring about improvements in their lives. Digital innovations are offering financial inclusion, health and wellbeing to those who were previously left out of opportunities to improve their lives from the global economy.

While drawing upon theories that help understand these emerging phenomena, research in ICT4D and IS also requires attention to the contextual challenges facing practitioners in the field. There have been attempts to develop theories that enable these challenges to be understood. An interesting and significant issue is whether ICTs can play a sustaining, value-adding role that enables societies to move beyond the conditions that cause mass discontent to beneficial development for all. Such a role may include supporting social groups in: identifying and defining achievable goals, acquirable resources, and constraints to be acknowledged and if possible overcome; supporting sustainable & secure collaboration, offering health and wellbeing; and financial inclusion.

Track Chairs:

Kweku-Muata Osei-Bryson, Virginia Commonwealth University kmosei@vcu.edu
Arlene Bailey, University of the West Indies at Mona arlene.bailey@uwimona.edu.jm
Sajda Qureshi, University of Nebraska Omaha squreshi@unomaha.edu

Mini-tracks:

Blockchain for Development 

Blockchain is a promising technology. It is based on a shared, distributed ledger, where transactions are registered by consensus in a network of peers, using cryptographic mechanisms that render the records virtually immutable. This enables transparency, auditability, and resilience. Additionally, Blockchains can also enforce smart contracts, further reducing uncertainty and promoting confidence among stakeholders and dispensing with middlemen.

There are innovative experiments in high profile areas, such as financial services, healthcare, value chains, intellectual property rights, or crowdfunding. In addition, Blockchain also holds a huge potential for development. It can foster more democratic mechanisms and help fight corruption. It can enable secure and lean ID mechanisms, reduce the number of unbanked, prevent voting fraud and tax evasion, improve management of public benefits, reduce commissions on remittances, or ensure integrity of public records. Using Blockchain, the opportunity exists to address afflicting areas and even leapfrog established solutions in developed countries.

Paulo Rupino  da Cunha  rupino@dei.uc.pt
Piotr  Soja  eisoja@cyf-kr.edu.pl
Marinos  Themistocleous  themistocleous.m@unic.ac.cy

Digital Innovations for Development   

Socio-economic development is not possible without digital innovation, especially in crisis situations such as pandemics. The development of information and communication technologies (ICT4D) is a necessity for the modern economy. Innovative ICT solutions support countries in the development of their business competitiveness, socio-economic, and political development. A particular challenge of ICR4D is to help poor, socially excluded, marginalized communities. The objectives of this mini-track  focus on how digital innovation opportunities such as cyber-physical systems, blockchain, or data analytics can support the overcoming of crises, support socio-economic growth including human capital development, social well-being, promoting social development. We are interested in ICT4D effects in overcoming crisis situations in management, marketing, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, human resource management, alternative trading system, or innovative management systems. Transdisciplinary innovations bridging the digital divide and ensure fair and sustainable access to technology as a factor in international development are particularly desirable.

We are seeking papers dealing with digital innovation for development in their various facets, such as business, technical, social, political, cultural, economic, legal, and educational. Possible topics of interest to this mini-track include but are not limited to the following five issues:

  • The transdisciplinary approach to digital innovation, artificial intelligence and sustainable development (CPS, smart cities, smart grid, intelligent systems, mobile money, etc.)
  • Data, ethics and digital inclusion (Blockchain, analytics, social inclusion/exclusion, information literacy, etc.)
  • Digital technologies, work, identity and dignity
  • Communities, connectedness, digital platforms, and the self
  • ICT innovations for Customer relationship management

Jolanta  Kowal  jolakowal@gmail.com
Pamela  Abbott  p.y.abbott@sheffield.ac.uk
Juho  Mäkiö  juho.maekioe@hs-emden-leer.de

ICTs in Asia

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have long been associated with a country’s innovativeness and development. Asia, as one of the fastest growing regions in the world, benefits a lot from its fast development in country-level ICT infrastructures. With the recent initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road initiative for short, from Asia to Europe and Africa), Asian countries will tighten the economical relationships among the countries on the paths of Belt and Road. In this process, ICT will play an important and critical role in the international trade, collaborations and communications. This mini-track targets on the ICT impacts on country/organizational/user level collaboration and developments as well as how ICT affects economic and market performance in the countries/regions in Asia. Topics related to ICT development for Asia and in the context of new normal of COVID-19 influence are all welcome.

Xusen  Cheng  xusen.cheng@ruc.edu.cn
Kai  Li  likai@nankai.edu.cn

ICT4D Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities 

Sustainability of ICT4D programs is essential to maximize its long-term impact and maintain stakeholder support (Heek et al., 2009). Although literature identifies many ICT4D prototypes and pilot studies, issues and challenges related to their long-term viability and sustainability have not been sufficiently explored. Equally important is impact assessment (Weiss, 1995) at all stages of an ICT4D initiative, short of which progress evaluation, program institutionalization, and articulation of development impact will remain unaccomplished (Heeks 2017).

We welcome engaging discourse on the variety of issues, challenges, and opportunities related to sustainable ICT4D programs and impact assessment. Suggested topics include, but not limited to:

*  Issues and challenges in transitioning from prototypes and pilot studies to sustainable long-term solutions.

*  Institutionalization of ICT4D initiatives to achieve long-term development impact.

*  Role of government agencies, NGOs, NPOs, and local organizations in fostering sustainable capacity building.

*  Approaches to assess long-term viability and sustainability of ICT4D initiatives.

*  Business models for revenue generation and funding of ICT4D programs and related challenges.

*  Novel strategies and cross disciplinary approaches for the assessment of immediate, intermediate, and long-term ICT4D goals.

References:

Heeks, R. (2017) Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D). London and New York: Routledge.

Heeks, R., & Molla, A. (2009) Compendium on impact assessment of ICT-for-development projects Development Informatics. Manchester, UK: Development Informatics Group.

Weiss, C. H. (1995) Nothing as practical as good theory: Exploring theory-based evaluation for comprehensive community initiatives for children and families. New approaches to evaluating community initiatives: Concepts, methods, and contexts, 1, 65-92.

Manoj  Thomas  manoj.thomas@sydney.edu.au
Yan  Li  yan.li@cgu.edu

ICT Innovations Driving Development in Emerging and Transition Economies 

Emerging economies are characterized by a low but growing per capita income and an ongoing process of institutional transformation and economic opening. Transition economies are a particular case of emerging economies which have abandoned the communist-style central planning system and committed to substantial reforms to adopt a free market approach. These fast growing emerging and transition economies play an increasingly significant role in the global market, with information and communication technology (ICT) being a key driving force in this process.

The objective of this mini-track is to encourage more research on ICT innovations driving development in emerging and transition economies by providing a forum for interested authors to disseminate their research, compare results, and exchange ideas. We especially invite researchers from Eastern Europe, as well as from BRIC countries, i.e. Brazil, Russia, India and China to submit their papers.

Grażyna  Paliwoda-Pękosz  paliwodg@uek.krakow.pl
Piotr  Soja  eisoja@cyf-kr.edu.pl
Paulo Rupino  da Cunha  rupino@dei.uc.pt

ICT Collaboration in Cross-Organizational, International, and Global Settings.   

It is appreciated that when properly implemented and managed, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the power to transform organizations and even nations. This mini-track seeks to extend the research to other domains such as ICT collaborations in cross-organizational, international, and global settings. We seek to explore factors that could enhance or impede the benefits of ICT in the settings above. For example, how do government regulations in a given country impact the eco-systems for Mobile Virtual Network Operators? What cross-organizational nuances need to be managed for ICT initiatives to yield the desired outcomes for telehealth partners across multiple countries?

Hoon Seok  Choi  choihs@appstate.edu
Philip F.  Musa  musa@uab.edu
Jason  Xiong  xiongjj@appstate.edu
Femi  Ekanoye Oluwafemi.ekanoye@sus.edu

ICT4D and Data Justice 

Research on data justice, meant with Taylor (2017) as “fairness in the way people are made visible, represented and treated as a result of their production of data”, stems from the increasing availability of digital data for populations worldwide. While used for purposes ascribable to “development” goals, such as provision of better public services, inclusion of vulnerable populations and humanitarian management, such availability of data can result in injustices that are widely documented in literatures across media and communications, human geography and critical data studies. Against this backdrop, it is surprising to see limited explicit engagement of ICT4D with issues of data justice, which – with notable exceptions – is underrepresented in the literature of our field. Such underrepresentation emerges in the limited engagement with data justice in ICT4D journals, conference tracks and symposia, leaving an important gap to fill in this respect.

Against this backdrop, this minitrack invites papers that explicitly engage the theme of data justice, dealing with topics that include, but are not limited to:

– Theorisations of data justice in ICT4D,

– Studies of just or unjust data practices in developing countries, e.g. use of data in public services or social protection for the poor,

– Studies of data use in the management of refugee or internally displaced people,

– Studies of data use towards inclusion or reduction of vulnerabilities,

– Intersections of digital identity with data justice or injustices,

– Data justice implications of COVID-19 tracking practices in developing nations.

Silvia  Masiero  silvima@ifi.uio.no
Soumyo  Das  das@em-lyon.com

Digitalization of Supply Chain in Sub-Saharan Africa 

The aim of this mini-track is to discuss the importance of digital transformation (DT) in supply chain interconnectivity and interoperability and its effects on firm performance in the SSA region (Asamoah et al., 2020). We invite high-quality and original contributions investigating the development and application of cutting-edge technologies and techniques of digital connectivity in logistics and SCM, from both researchers and practitioners. The expected methodological approaches include but not limited to case studies, large-scale surveys, industry studies, field, and laboratory experiments, and interventionist approaches including design science and action research are also welcome. Potential topics include but not limited to:

o  How DT enables players in the supply chain to enhance organizational performance

o  How DT influences the flexibility and responsiveness of logistics service providers

o  How DT influences responsiveness to consumer demands

o  How AI, big data are used in operations management and supply chain decisions

Francis Kofi  Andoh-Baidoo  francis.andohbaidoo@utgrv.edu
David  Asamoah  dasamoah.ksb@knust.edu.gh

Globalization has historically been tied to technological innovation, and the present era of a networked information society is no different. Information systems (IS) have provided the infrastructure for multinational businesses, created new cultural connections irrespective of geographic boundaries and distances, and allowed an increasingly mobile global population to be connected to their friends, families, and cultures no matter where they are, forming global online communities. Of particular interest to the track this year are the socio-cultural features of the intended and unintended consequences of global IS; this includes, for example, disinformation, fake news, hate speech, rumors, conspiracy theories, cyberbullying, racist algorithms, fraud, and trolling. The track welcomes submissions that relate to all aspects of global IS, or IS research situated in a global, international or cross-cultural context. The track is open to all methodological approaches and perspectives. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Research that considers the impacts of cultural values on information systems use, adoption or development
  • Research that consider the global spread of disinformation, trolling, fake news, fraud and conspiracy theories
  • Research on global IT sourcing strategies
  • Cross-national and cross-cultural comparisons of IS adoption, use and development
  • Effects of global social computing on organizational work organization and practices
  • Issues relating to globally distributed teams
  • Issues relating to IT adoption at the national level
  • Issues relating to global knowledge management
  • Issues relating to cross-national legislation and regulation
  • Issues relating to global information governance
  • Use and impacts of IT in the context of multinational organizations
  • Issues relating to security in information systems that span multiple countries
  • Single country studies showing implications for other locations or results different from other contexts
  • Multi-country studies of IS adoption, use, and development

Track Chairs:

Pnina Fichman, Indiana University fichman@indiana.edu
Edward W.N. Bernroider, Vienna University of Economics and Business edward.bernroider@wu.ac.at
Barbara Krumay, Johannes Kepler University barbara.krumay@jku.at

Mini-tracks:

E-commerce in globalization era 

Cross-border e-commerce, which is a new type of trading, has developed rapidly integrating the global economy. With the recent initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt, many countries, especially China, will tighten the economical relationships among the countries on the paths of “Belt and Road.” In this process, e-commerce will play an important role in the international trade, collaborations and communications. E-Commerce in globalization era shares some similarities with existing marketing and logistic channels; but in other ways it will be substantially different. There are many emerging areas to be explored in the globalization era for e-commerce, such as global e-commerce talents training and education, communication and collaboration, supply chain and marketing channels, cultural and social aspects, strategy and economic innovation, organizational and individual human behaviors etc. This mini-track seeks the submission of high-quality papers on topics addressing the many substantial challenges of global issues in e-commerce.

Lin  Xiao  xiaolin@nuaa.edu.cn
Dan  Zhang  danzhang@nankai.edu.cn

Cultural and Value Related Aspects in Information Systems 

The interrelation of social aspects, such as culture, with information systems (IS) is an important research area, particularly, since IS projects and digital transformations continue to struggle due to cultural phenomena such as change resistance.

Research in this area is manifold and includes culture and behavior related aspects of IS stakeholders (designers, programmers, managers, users) on different levels, such as organizational, managerial, and societal levels. Cross-cultural studies comparing design, development, and use of IS in different countries cover only some facets of culture in IS.

This mini-track focuses on organizational and managerial issues of cultural and behavior related aspects of IS including mindset, trust, conflict and knowledge sharing. It aims at achieving a deeper understanding of culture and related aspects required for IS in networked business environments and new forms of agile working.”

Everist  Limaj  everist.limaj@wu.ac.at
Nikolaus  Obwegeser  nikolaus.obwegeser@imd.org

Global Perspectives on Information Ethics and Policy 

As the global use of digital technologies facilitates peoples’ interconnectedness across diverse cultures, global perspectives on ethical considerations and policy interventions can be valuable for policymakers, public-interest groups, and researchers. Ethical issues and policy interventions are complicated, context-sensitive, and yet ubiquitous. Therefore, we call for humane and ethical considerations in every step of information system design along with close examinations of various aspects of the global infosphere. We encourage interdisciplinary, culturally, and geographically diverse works essential to understanding the ethical and social dimensions of ICTs, including but not limited to digital platforms, big data, AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and algorithms. We are particularly interested in research that is culture-specific or comparative, provides innovative conceptual frameworks of information policy and ethics, or addresses cross-sectoral, cross-national collaborations in policy design and implementation for solving information ethics problems.

Xiaohua  Zhu  xzhu12@utk.edu
Shengnan  Yang  yang290@iu.edu

Sustainability and climate change are global issues with many cultural, organizational, technical, social, regulatory, economic, and individual dimensions. Just as computer-based information systems have been a driving force for societal progress, Green IS can be a driving force for strategic sustainable solutions in organizations and communities. Green IS enables the transformative power of information systems to support the multiple dimensions of sustainability. It addresses the world’s greatest challenges including shrinking access to non-renewable resources, decreased energy and food security, and environmental degradation due to climate change. IS can play a pivotal role in enabling sustainable solutions, which greatly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of modern communities and enterprises. Consequently, IS research can contribute in such transformation towards a multidimensional perspective to sustainability.

This track is open to any type of research within the scope of Green IS and Sustainability as well as those that adapt research and industry experiences into teaching cases and modules.

Track Chairs:

Chadi Aoun, Carnegie Mellon University chadi@cmu.edu
Npratyush Bharati, University of Massachusetts pratyush.bharati@umb.edu
Nui Vatanasakdakul, Carnegie Mellon University savanid@cmu.edu

Mini-tracks:

Maritime Informatics 

Maritime Informatics studies the application of information systems to increasing the efficiency, safety, and ecological sustainability of the world’s shipping industry. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), international shipping moves about 90 per cent of global trade and is the most efficient and cost-effective method for the international transportation of most goods. Hence, shipping is critical to future sustainable global economic growth.

The industry can be characterized as many independent actors who engage in episodic tight coupling. It has, however, been a late starter to digitization, possibly because of the long history of autonomy and the lack of inexpensive high bandwidth communication when on the ocean. A lack of information sharing impedes collaboration and reduces efficiency and safety. As a result, there are many opportunities to apply information systems theory and knowledge to a critical global industry.

Michalis  Michaelides  michalis.michaelides@cut.ac.cy
Herodotos  Herodotou  herodotos.herodotou@cut.ac.cy
Sandra  Haraldson  sandra.haraldson@ri.se
Sukhjit  Singh  sukhjit.singh@utt.edu.tt

Data Analytics for Designing and Managing Green IS 

COVID-19 has accelerated the need for innovative strategies that promote sustainable and resilient approaches in the use of technologies such as AR/VR, blockchain, IoT, and robotics. Green IS utilizing data analytics and data sciences have significant roles to play in evidence-based policy making to support sustainability and in providing tools to monitor and achieve sustainable engineering goals. Further, using data analytics tools and technologies such as social media, biometrics, location analytics, and IoT offers organizations endeavoring for environmental sustainability to create new knowledge and insights that can better connect and configure the disparate system of human activities into an integrated and interlocking whole. The use of big data and location analytics can help align the three dimensions of green IS – technology, people, and institutions. This mini-track invites research papers to understand the theoretical framework and enable technologies that inform the integration of infrastructures and urban services, social structures, and governance.

Babita  Gupta  bgupta@csumb.edu
Ganesh  Sahu  gsahu@mnnit.ac.in
Monika  Singh  monika2286@gmail.com

Sustainable Transformation 

Sustainable management aspires towards balancing and integrating social, economic and environmental dimensions. Existing roadmaps, frameworks and systems do not comprehensively support sustainable transformation nor do they allow decision makers to explore interrelationships and influences between the sustainability dimensions. Thus leading to visions without actions and actions without guiding visions. This is true at the micro level in the life of individuals and families and at the macro level in organizations, supply chains and societies as a whole.

This minitrack will explore concepts, models (qualitative, quantitative, optimization, simulation), processes, frameworks, architectures, roadmaps, and systems that will enable individuals, families, organizations, supply chains, and ultimately society to become more sustainable. We seek papers on approaches that enable us to support, share, measure, benchmark, model, quantify, qualify sustainability goals, practices, performances, and indicators. This minitrack also welcomes other relevant topics to Green IS and sustainability, that do not clearly fit in other minitracks.

David  Sundaram  d.sundaram@auckland.ac.nz
Daud  Ahmed  daud.ahmed@manukau.ac.nz
Claris Yee Seung  Chung  claris.chung@auckland.ac.nz
Khushbu  Tilvawala  k.tilvawala@auckland.ac.nz

Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability 

This minitrack adopts a socio-technical perspective to explore how applications of artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to achieve environmental sustainability. The challenge of sustainability is multi-dimensional, involves multiple natural and human systems engaged in complex interactions, and requires trade-offs between conflicting values of decision-makers and stakeholders. Machine-based intelligence can help firms and society tackle complex issues of sustainability by transcending the limitations of conventional computing and human intelligence. Research of all types is invited, from conceptual work that develops theories around AI and, to empirical investigation of the interplay between AI and sustainability, and design work that examines the effectiveness of potential solutions.

Mike Kennedy michael.kennedy@ubc.ca
Rohit  Nishant  rohit.nishant@fsa.ulaval.ca
Jacqueline  Corbett  jacqueline.corbett@fsa.ulaval.ca

The Healthcare Informatics and Health Information Technology (HIT) track seeks to promote research into ground-breaking technology innovations and applications within the healthcare sector, while incorporating interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches beyond the traditional information systems (IS) and health information technology (HIT) disciplines. Information systems and technology (IT) innovations offer significant potential to transform the delivery of care, to improve the quality and efficiency of the healthcare system, to enhance interactions between patients/caregivers and providers, and to enable greater access to the latest advancements in treatments, among other accomplishments and outcomes. Academic efforts within the Healthcare Technology and Systems track should demonstrate novel work within the IS discipline as well as reference perspectives including computer science, economics, organizational behaviour, public policy, public health, software/electrical engineering, management, and strategy, among others. Completed research and research-in-progress topics might include, opportunities and challenges faced within the current healthcare sector; advances in healthcare information technologies (HIT), electronic health (e-health), telemedicine, and mobile health (m-health), among other innovative technological applications; as well as healthcare industry-specific issues related to traditional IS research concerns, including adoption and diffusion, systems design and implementation, and IS success.

Track Chairs:

Richard Klein, Florida International University rklein@fiu.edu
Kaushik Ghosh, Suffolk University kghosh@suffolk.edu

Mini-tracks:

Digital Resources for the Ageing Society

All developed economies face the challenge of aging societies. Not only is the percentage of the elderly within the population growing, they are also getting older than generations before. This trend puts tremendous pressure on social and healthcare systems around the world. Digital resources (wearables, apps, websites, virtual discussion groups, social media etc.) provide a perspective to enable seniors to life longer in self-contained circumstances then today.

The minitrack addresses these challenges and opportunities by providing a forum to share high quality research on all aspects of digital resources which benefit the aging society. We welcome empirical and conceptual work as well as design science papers. All research which adds to our understanding how digital resources are accepted and used by seniors and what benefit they provide is in scope of the minitrack.

Heiko  Gewald  heiko.gewald@hnu.de
Karoly  Bozan  bozank@duq.edu
Doug  Vogel  vogel.doug@gmail.com

Adoption and Impact of Health Information Technology 

Health information technology (HIT) is claimed to have the potential to reduce medical errors, streamline clinical processes, contain healthcare costs, and ultimately improve the quality of healthcare. In this mini-track, we invite research to examine the adoption and impact of HIT. The research can be done at any level, including individual, unit, organization, community, or society, and can use various research methodologies, such as empirical, modelling, case study, conceptual, intervention, or simulation. Issues of interest include but are not limited to the following: 1) factors affecting HIT adoption in health care context. 2) who are the stakeholders and how they interact with each other in affecting HIT adoption? 3) new models of HIT adoption. 4) post-adoption behavior and meaningful use of HIT. 5) how does HIT affect patient care? 6) how does HIT affect hospital operational efficiency and effectiveness? 7) how do online communities facilitate high-quality and affordable health care?

Gang  Peng  gpeng@fullerton.edu

Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Healthcare information technology promotes new and improved opportunities for healthcare providers, and as it becomes more advanced and widely adopted, it will improve the way healthcare is delivered as well as enhance patient outcomes. The new concept of digital transformation shifts the focus from the value embedded in the technology itself, and emphasizes the use of technology to alter the firm’s value proposition. This in turn necessitates various changes in the organization, including but not limited to business processes, strategies, approaches to governance and others.

In the context of healthcare, digital transformation may take on a different meaning due to the difference between patients and consumers. Although consumerism is undeniably a force in healthcare, it is not necessarily a force that improves patient outcomes. Therefore, digital transformation in healthcare can entail novel approaches to delivering care driven by consumerism as well as the need to improve patient outcomes, including those related to patient-centered care or patient engagement.

The aim of this minitrack is to develop a comprehensive view of how patient outcomes and healthcare experiences can be improved through digital transformation. Potential topics for this minitrack include those related to patient experience, care providers, payers, and other key entities in the healthcare value chain; strategic, managerial, and governance-related issues associated with digital transformation; cultural transformations impacted by healthcare IT that influence patient outcomes; and others. This minitrack will consider submissions of positivist, interpretivist, pragmatic and critical research, novel theoretical and methodological approaches, literature reviews, technology evaluations, and position papers.

Michael  Dohan  msdohan@lakeheadu.ca
Christopher  Califf  christopher.califf@wwu.edu
Joseph  Tan  tanjosep@mcmaster.ca

Medical Apps and Mobile Health (mHealth) Solutions for Health and Wellness Management 

Healthcare systems globally are contending with monumental challenges in providing quality care to an aging populace as well as managing effectively and efficiently the exponential increase of chronic disease such as diabetes, obesity and cancer and rapidly rising healthcare costs. To add to this already complex situation, in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic hit and now all countries must juggle return to a normal post COIVD environment as well as address existing challenges to ensure better healthcare delivery and wellness for all. Mobile Health (mHealth), and Medical Apps open the door to the possibility of pervasive anytime, anywhere, for anyone delivery of healthcare services.

The objective of this mini-track is to identify appropriate, efficient, high quality, high value and sustainable solutions to effect superior wellness management and healthcare delivery by soliciting work-in-progress and completed research papers covering technical, organizational, behavioral, economical, theoretical and/or managerial perspectives on mobile Apps and mHealth solutions.

Nilmini  Wickramasinghe  nilmini.work@gmail.com
Ton  Spil  a.a.m.spil@utwente.nl
Doug  Vogel  vogel.doug@gmail.com

Virtual Communities for Healthcare 

Information Asymmetry is one of the major factors that makes the healthcare industry unique. Patients are the ultimate users of health services; however, they have relatively little influence on their own health service choices. Further, when consumers receive services, it is difficult to evaluate what they have received. Virtual communities play a vital role in reducing information asymmetry. For example, patient-to-patient portals provide experiential health information. Blogs relating to health provide useful information to patients. Several virtual communities provide information, support and other opportunities for patients, providers, equipment manufacturers, policy workers, to express themselves and receive support. This minitrack provides a forum for all researchers who work in the healthcare virtual communities space.

Srikanth  Venkatesan  svenkatesan@cpp.edu
Wencui  Han  wenhan@illinois.edu
Joana  Gaia  joanaalu@buffalo.edu
Raj  Sharman  rsharman@buffalo.edu

The AMCIS 2021 HCI Track will provide a forum for AIS members to present, discuss and explore a wide range of issues related to Human-Computer Interaction and Information Systems. Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is an interdisciplinary area that has attracted researchers, educators, and practitioners from several disciplines. It essentially deals with the design, evaluation, adoption, and use of information technology, with a common focus on improved user performance and experience. New and exciting research opportunities are emerging, including issues and challenges concerning people’s interactions with various information technologies that can be examined from an organizational, managerial, psychological, social, or cultural perspective. This track welcomes papers that aim at advancing our understanding of human‐computer interaction at the individual, work group, organization, or society levels. Submissions may use any type of research method.

Track Chairs:

Miguel I. Aguirre-Urreta, Florida International University miguel.aguirreurreta@fiu.edu
Dezhi Wu, University of South Carolina dezhiwu@cec.sc.edu
Jeff Jenkins, Brigham Young University jeffrey_jenkins@byu.edu

Mini-tracks:

Interface Design, Evaluation and Impact 

This mini-track is an outlet for human-computer interaction (HCI) papers that research interface design, evaluation, and impact. It supports a wide-ranging set of research topics, methods, and perspectives in the HCI area. Possible topics include user interface design and evaluation for B2B, B2C, C2C e-commerce, m-commerce, and social media sites, business software including ERP, Internet of Things, big data dashboard, and healthcare IT, AR, VR, and games. User task analysis, usability testing, the analysis of the impacts of interfaces on the attitudes, behaviors, performance, or productivity of individuals, organizations, and society are also the topics of this mini-track. Authors are encouraged to investigate new issues related to and apply new approaches of considering HCI in light of emerging technologies and technology trends. A number of papers have been published at the premier IS journals in the past. Excellent conference submissions have been considered for fast-track options at journals publishing HCI research.

Gabe  Lee  gabelee@miamioh.edu
Andrew  Chen  achen@ku.edu  Anna  McNab  amcnab@niagara.edu

Fostering Trust and Understanding Risk in Information Systems 

We welcome submissions addressing all aspects of trust, distrust, and risk in all types of information systems, including but not limited to examining their relationships with credibility, security, deception, privacy violations, and user perceptions. We are particularly interested in evolutions of trust research that consider the design of information systems to increase users’ trust. We welcome not only empirical research papers but also conceptual and theoretical papers.

Sherrie  Komiak  skomiak@mun.ca
Gaurav  Bansal  bansalg@uwgb.edu
Fiona  Nah  nahf@mst.edu

Conversational , Cognitive, and Affective HCI 

Understanding and adapting to the cognitive and affective states of users enable systems to interact more effectively. The adaptation may come in changes to the system performance, or in the way the system interacts with users. Recent research has explored ways to understand cognitive and emotional states through a variety of sensors and technologies, including natural language processing, fMRI, eye tracking, keystroke dynamics, and mouse tracking. Emerging systems incorporate information from these sensors to create more humanlike responses, to improve decision processes, and to gain a deeper understanding of how the user is thinking or feeling. This mini-track provides an outlet for human-computer interaction (HCI) papers that investigate systems—and human behavior with systems—that respond to cognitive and affective states. Possible topics include conversational technology (e.g., chatbots and digital assistants), affective or cognitive state detection, HCI for credibility assessment, novel use of sensor data, and affective computing.

Ryan  Schuetzler  ryan.schuetzler@byu.edu
Nathan  Twyman  nathantwyman@gmail.com
Jeffrey  Proudfoot  jproudfoot@bentley.edu
G. Mark  Grimes  gmgrimes@bauer.uh.edu

Persuasive System Design 

Information systems are no longer only designed to primarily support or enable processes, increasing efficiency or improving decision-making capabilities. For instance, the human-like design of a conversational agent (e.g., chatbot) can increase trust, enjoyment, and service satisfaction of users. The human-likeness is achieved via social cues (e.g., a chatbot has a name, an avatar, a gender, greets users, uses emoticons) that induce a feeling of social interaction, which can shape the users emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses. Against this background, understanding the complex relationships of design elements, user responses and effectiveness (i.e., persuading the user) stands as an important area of HCI research. We hereby invite submissions to our mini-track.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

– Gamification at the digital workplace

– Digital nudging for sustainable shopping decisions

– Digital nudging versus manipulation

– Ethics of persuasive system design

– Neurobiological evidence for persuasiveness

Alfred Benedikt  Brendel alfred_benedikt.brendel@tu-dresden.de
Milad  Mirbabaie  milad.mirbabaie@uni-bremen.de

Virtual and Augmented Reality

Recent years have seen the emergence of devices supporting virtual and augmented reality. Originally considered for entertainment purposes, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) found their way into industry applications in areas such as education and healthcare among others. Thanks to a constantly improving technology, VR and AR are on the path to become the future of computing. However, some limitations, such as high device cost, social acceptance and safety concerns, may negatively impact this new technology acceptance.

Some possible topics to consider would be:

  • Information sharing through VR and AR
  • Information safety in VR and AR
  • Cultural preservation with VR and AR
  • VR and AR as training platform and in education
  • VR and AR in entertainment
  • Social acceptance and social concern in VR and AR environments
  • Financial impact of VR and AR

Guillaume  Faddoul  gfaddoul@sfsu.edu
Pei-Hsuan  Hsieh  pei.peace@gmail.com

Cybersecurity remains a key challenge for organizations despite massive investments over the last two decades. While technological advancements have been made to improve cybersecurity, human vulnerabilities have become the weakest link in security. High profile events such as defections, espionage, and massive data breaches have led the public to question their own expectations of privacy. While there is an abundance of practices and techniques for employing cybersecurity, many hard problems remain unanswered.

The purpose of this track is to provide a forum for theoretical developments, empirical research findings, case studies, methodologies, artifacts, and other high-quality manuscripts. Sponsored by SIGSEC, we seek to address important questions arising from emerging developments in information security, such as: security analytics, financial crimes, security analytics, and digital forensics? How do system defenders share information to mitigate vulnerabilities and exploits? Does pervasive data collection deter privacy-conscious individuals? Do regulations and policies influence employee security behaviors and organizational security postures?

Track Chairs:

Kane J. Smith, University of North Caroline at Greensboro kjsmith9@uncg.edu
Robert E.Crossler, Washington State University rob.crossler@wsu.edu

Mini-tracks:

Moving Beyond Traditional Constructs in Information Security Research

Employees are organizations’ core assets that interact with Information Systems (IS) in order to perform their tasks; however numerous studies have reported that employees noncompliance of IS security policies is the main cause of security breaches within organizations. Over the last decade, the IS research community has contributed substantial research in order to understand the causes underlying IS security noncompliance. Most of this research draws upon the General Deterrence Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior theory to explain the behavior that motivates IS security compliance. Even though the existing research has significantly contributed to the understanding of the phenomenon of IS security noncompliance, several studies have reported non-convergent findings. The purpose of this mini-track is to provide a forum to present and discuss theoretical models, methodologies, and empirical cases concerning employees’ behaviors and noncompliance with IS security policies.

This mini-track aims to investigate new theories and constructs that have not been explored in IS security compliance literature. Therefore, we invite innovative papers that explore new constructs and theories that address a variety of issues pertaining employees’ behaviors towards IS security in organizations. The goal is to advance our understanding of the IS security noncompliance phenomenon. Cross-cultural studies or comparative studies highlighting differences and similarities regarding employees’ behaviors with IS security in emerging and developing countries are also welcome.

Mohammad  Merhi  mmerhi@iusb.edu
Punit  Ahluwalia  punit.ahluwalia@utrgv.edu

Social Engineering : Trends and Countermeasures

Social Engineering is the art of using deception or manipulative techniques on humans to divulge confidential or sensitive information and using the information for malicious purposes. Social Engineering is still among the most common tactics used by cyber criminals either alone or in conjunction with other hacking methods. Social Engineering takes many forms such as in person conversations, email phishing, social media phishing, phishing via mobile channels and so on. Technological advances in hardware and software applications make it difficult for hackers to gain control of these systems, hence attackers exploit human vulnerabilities to infiltrate systems and gain information. Threat actors are moving on from traditional methods of mass phishing campaigns and turning towards more advanced social engineering attacks targeting organizations and individuals worldwide.

We seek papers that explores various approaches, models, trends, technologies, analysis of social engineering and also, prevention, avoidance and mitigation methods for the social engineering attacks.

Lokesh  Ramamoorthi  lokeshr@miami.edu
Aldrich  Rasco  aldrich.rasco@gmail.com

IT Governance, Risk and Compliance in the context of security and privacy

The main focus of the mini-track includes papers relating to IT Risk, IT Audit and Compliance, Research papers addressing information assurance issues from a socio-technical, behavioral and economic perspective may be submitted to this mini-track.

This broad theme serves to a much larger community, and we hope to provide a forum for in this conference. We expect that the range of papers that will be submitted to this track will help in taking forward issues identified in previous research and set the stage of establishing an agenda for further research. The discussions afforded by this track will also be the basis for sustaining a comprehensive research stream in this area and usher new ways and dimensions to dealing with security.

Arunabha  Mukhopadhyay  arunabha@iiml.ac.in
Raj  Sharman  rsharman@buffalo.edu
Gurpreet  Dhillon  gdhillon@uncg.edu
Manish  Gupta  mgupta3@buffalo.edu

Information Privacy in Firm-Customers and Firm-Employees Relationships 

Information Privacy is an important research topic with wide implications for businesses, regulatory bodies, governments, and the general public. Citizens, consumers, and employees alike are more selective about organizations they can trust in handling their personal data. Although the contribution to the privacy literature has significantly increased over the last decades, how the above-mentioned challenges (security, regulation and increased public awareness) impact the ways organizations deal with privacy remains to be explored. Additionally, how consumers and employees cope with organizations collecting and using their data is still to be deeply explored. This mini track encourages submissions examining privacy issues within firm-customer and firm-employee relationships and exploring how (mis)management of privacy impacts these relationships. We especially encourage research, conceptual and empirical, building on organization science, ethics, marketing, human resources, and management theories. We welcome research utilizing a variety of methods such as survey, case-study, text analysis, and others.

Philip  Menard  philip.menard@utsa.edu
Gregory  Bott  gjbott@cba.ua.edu

Information systems (IS) educators face a number of challenges in the current environment, including dealing with declining enrolments, preparing students for the changes in the profession and updating curriculum to integrate new ideas and technologies. These challenges make sharing IS education-related knowledge and practices especially critical. Therefore, it is critical that leading conferences, such as AMCIS, include a strong IS education track. As the official AIS special interest group on education, SIGED is uniquely positioned to organize an IS education track.

This track provides an opportunity for IS educators and researchers to exchange ideas, techniques, and applications through a combination of workshops, panels, and paper presentations. In constantly changing times full of technological disruption, much of our focus is on digital innovation, disruptive technologies, and quality advances in IS and MIS instruction and curriculum. Different submission topics are welcome, ranging from papers aimed at improving the teaching of specific courses to “big picture” papers intended to address broad topics. Submissions using information systems technology to advance education in other disciplines are also welcome.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Information Technology in education
  • Virtual learning environments
  • Mobile education
  • Pedagogical and curricular innovations in IS education
  • Gamification
  • Assessment of IS courses and curricula
  • The importance of IS education in functional areas
  • Building and integrating disruptive technologies into the curriculum
  • Ethical and social issues in the IS curriculum
  • Women and minorities in IS programs
  • Improving enrolments in IS programs
  • Impacts of COVID-19 on learning and pedagogy
  • Entrepreneurship and IS
  • Teaching cases

Track Chairs:

Asli Akbulut, Grand Valley State University akbuluta@gvsu.edu
Rhonda Syler, University of Arkansas rsyler@walton.uark.edu
Geoffrey Dick, St. John’s University dfdick@aim.com

Mini-tracks:

Learning Analytics and Intelligent Learning Applications

Nowadays, an increasing student-to-lecturer ratio is a common challenge in academic education. Due to this, learning processes suffer for three main reasons: (1) The interactivity between students and lecturers decreases, (2) the workload for educators to provide high-quality feedback to all students exceeds, and (3) offering individualized learning support to students becomes more difficult. By providing intelligent learning applications, these challenges can be addressed. Common features of those innovative intelligent learning applications are the adoption of the learning contents to the learners’ needs and an individualized learning support. To achieve this, it is required to analyze and to understand the underlying learning processes in detail. Thus, learning analytics and intelligent learning applications are strongly linked. This minitrack focusses on this overlap by offering the possibility (1) to present innovative, intelligent software artifacts for supporting learning processes and (2) to discuss analyses of digital learning processes based on learning analytics studies. Both aspects are particularly interesting in the context of the digital transformation due to the COVID-19 situation.

Potential topics:

– Approaches of improved teaching based on learning analytics

– Innovative learning applications for fostering the students’ learning success

– Adoption of learning processes based on learning analytics

– Intelligent tutoring systems

– Conversational agents for teaching and learning

– Gamification for improving learner engagement based on learning-related (usage) data

– Learning analytics approaches for investigating teaching and learning processes

– Visualizations of students’ learning progress based on learning analytics

– Dashboards for providing easy access to learning analytics

– Learning analytics for investigating learning and teaching during COVID-19″

Sebastian  Hobert  shobert@uni-goettingen.de
Florian  Berens  florian.berens@uni-goettingen.de

Technology Enhanced Collaborative Learning 

Information and Telecommunication Technologies (ITT) continue to play a significant role in facilitating collaboration among individuals and organizations around the globe. The use of collaborative systems for teaching, learning, and engagement between both faculty-students and students-students has increased considerably at all levels, in particular, during this current pandemic. The focus of this mini-track is to explore theoretical and practical ways to incorporate learning technologies into teaching and learning to foster engagement, and to improve teaching and learning as well as the overall educational experience.

Rassule  Hadidi  rassule.hadidi@metrostate.edu

Digital Learning Practices, Especially During COVID-19 

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the entire globe in early 2020, most governments introduced crisis-management measures including “stay-at-home” orders. Such orders have affected, among others, schools and universities. Several governments introduced digital learning offers as a solution to enable students to continue learning from home. In this mini-track, we are interested in research that contributes to the understanding of digital learning systems and practices, not only, but in particular during pandemics such as COVID-19. We are also interested in topics on the societal impacts of learning, digital learning usage, and digital learning platforms on all members of the society. We also encourage papers that provide measurable outcomes related to the technology use in learning and support of improving teaching and learning. Our mini-track aims towards deriving best practices and guidelines for decision-makers, institutions, government officers, and other stockholders to reach an inclusive, effective, and productive digital learning systems.

Safa’a  AbuJarour  safaa.abujarour@uni-potsdam.de
Mohammed  AbuJarour  m.abujarour@xu-university.de

The IS Leadership and the IT Profession track is aimed at fostering a forum for IS scholars engaging in a range of issues surrounding the practice of IT related research including IS leadership, the IT workforce, career development/training and issues surrounding the IT profession. Specific objectives of the track are to allow members to share their research, develop the discourse between academia and practice, engage in exchange of perspectives, and encourage future collaborations. The track is sponsored by the AIS Special Interest Group on IS Leadership (SIGLEAD) in collaboration with the Society for Information Management (SIM). This track has been led by SIGLEAD and hosted at AMCIS since 2003. The proposed track title is an evolution of the previous Human Capital in Information Systems title as the new title was determined to be more reflective of the SIGLEAD sponsorship, more reflective of growing coordination with SIM and more inclusive of the research interests of both groups. Though articles on IS leadership and the IT profession abound in the practitioner press, much less attention has been devoted to the topic from an academic perspective. IT professionals – whether leaders at the CIO level, IS project and line staff or external professional service providers – are the human dimension of the discipline and therefore issues surrounding IT practice are of enduring concern to academics and practitioners alike. Mini-tracks will be sought to cover the range of the track interest and authors will be encouraged to submit both conceptual and empirical papers contributing to both research and practice that employ a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

Track Chairs:

Jennifer Gerow, Virginia Military Institute gerowje@vmi.edu
Ibtissam Zaza, Florida State University iz13@my.fsu.edu

Mini-tracks:

IS Leadership 

The mini-track seeks to explore the various dimensions, theoretical bases, and perspectives on IS Leadership Development and to advance the state of scholarship on the issue. Authors are encouraged to submit both conceptual and empirical papers that employ various quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Topics include, but not limited to:

IS Leaders’ Roles and Careers

  • CIO reporting structure
  • Strategic positioning within the organization
  • Characteristics of a successful and effective leader
  • Managing success and failure

Technical Employee Development (Career Transition)

  • Promoting from within the company or hiring from the outside
  • Required skills for IS leaders like CIOs and CTOs
  • Qualifications for being promoted to CEO
  • IS succession planning

Non-Technical Employee Development (Career Transition for Non-IT Managers)

  • Preparation and development of non-technical executives for IS leadership positions like CIOs and CTOs in large enterprises and for IS as a secondary role in SMEs
  • Importance of CIOs to have a “pure” IT background

Mazen Shawosh  m.shawosh@uga.edu
Joseph  Taylor  joseph.taylor@csus.edu

IT Profession 

The IT Profession is a term that covers IS/IT professionals playing different roles within organizations. The roles include CIOs, IT managers, IT supervisors, software developers, programmers, data scientists, IT security officers, IT consultants, and IT project managers. While IT Professionals drive success in today’s organizations, the IT Profession has challenges and dilemmas which include; IT value realization, climbing the corporate ladder, diversity in the IS/IT workforce, professional identity, ever changing skillsets, professional development, work-life balance, role of industry certifications , talent management, professional resilience, professional ethics, managing  IT workforce among others. Though literature on the IT Profession abound in the practitioner press, there is need to address the topic from academic perspective. The mini track aims at research that addresses these challenges and dilemmas within the context of organizations and society. The mini-track, sponsored by SIG LEAD will enable  scholars and IT Professionals to network and explore areas of collaboration.

John  Oredo  john.oredo@uonbi.ac.ke
Paola  Gonzalez  paola.gonzalez@dal.ca

IS leadership in practice   

The Issues in the IT Profession mini-track in the IS Leadership and the IT Profession track is aimed at fostering a forum for IS scholars engaged in issues highly relevant to the practice of  managing information systems to share their research, engage in exchange of perspectives, and encourage future collaborations. Management within the IT profession is broadly defined to include research on issues as relevant to IS leaders such as CIOs and CTOs, as well as other individuals responsible for managerial oversight of organizations with IS responsibilities. This proposed mini-track would be sponsored by the AIS Special Interest Group on IS Leadership (SIG LEAD).

Joseph  Taylor  joseph.taylor@csus.edu
Antoine  Harfouche  harfoant@yahoo.com

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, organizations continue to look for ways to make the most of their projects. Information technology (IT) projects specifically continue to face challenges related to uncertainty and changing technology. IT projects have become notorious for high failure rates, significant cost and/or budget overruns. Both research and anecdotal evidence suggests that many IT projects struggle to meet functionality and quality targets. Research has identified multiple reasons for these challenges in IT projects, such as: project escalation, poor risk management, failure to manage user expectations, poor software development or project management processes, inability to learn from past mistakes and successes, or even challenges related to virtual projects. The insights gained from research in this area are often highly relevant to practice and can offer new contributions to existing theory. As a research community, there is still much to be learned and discussed about improving success rates for IT projects. This track welcomes papers that address a diverse range of topics related to IT project management.

Track Chairs:

Dawn Owens, The University of Texas at Dallas dawn.owens@utdallas.edu
Alanah Mitchell, Drake University alanah.mitchell@drake.edu

Mini-tracks:

Managing projects in a digital world 

The global pandemic fundamentally changed the way of working and managing projects. Organizations increasingly rely on remote and digital teams. New opportunities emerge because of digital disruption in organizations. The new operation modes that drive digital innovation demand effective virtual project management and change management. Organizations tighten the connections among projects, digital transformation programs (portfolios), and initiatives with organizational strategies.

Furthermore, digital technologies bring fundamental changes to project management (PM) processes, such as team collaboration and re-design and automation of PM tasks and processes. This mini-track provides a forum for researchers and practitioners to share and disseminate insights about managing virtual projects and how the PM profession and processes change in the digital world. Submissions can be conceptual, empirical, and others. Studies may vary at different levels, including country, industry, organization, team, and individual levels. Research related to project management in technical, behavioral, psychological, or organizational perspectives are welcome.

Yuzhu  Li  yli3@umassd.edu
Sheng-Pao  Shih  sbao@mail.tku.edu.tw

Agile Project Management  

Agile methodologies are a large part of IT project management. They strive to reduce the cost of change throughout the software development process and rely heavily on teams and teamwork. Therefore, a better understanding of the factors that help teams using agile methodologies drive project success is needed. Further difficulties for organizations relate to sustaining the use of agile methodologies in the long-term and the management of a potentially diverse range of agile projects at the portfolio level. These and related items will be explored in this minitrack.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Agile and adaptive IT project management versus traditional management
  • Agile project portfolio management
  • Challenges implementing and sustaining agile methodologies
  • Communication and interaction on agile teams
  • Controls used in agile teams
  • Decision-making and governance in agile teams
  • Evaluation and reward systems used by agile teams
  • Managing co-located, virtual and/or distributed agile teams
  • Agile project management trends

Meghann  Drury-Grogan  mdrury@fordham.edu
Mali  Senapathi  mali.senapathi@aut.ac.nz

Emerging Technologies and Project Management 

Emerging technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), sensor networks, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), and big data analytics are yielding a wide range of new applications and project management research issues. These relatively recent technological innovations bring many challenges and also often affect economic interests. Some of these challenges can severely undermine the various resources of organizations. To understand the full potential of these technological innovations and trends requires that we not only produce technical solutions but also address corresponding changes in the way we manage them. This means that work tasks and skills of various IT project stakeholders will need to be further understood.  Furthermore, these issues are also a relevant concern for IT leaders (Kappelman, L. et al., 2018). Policies and frameworks related to these trends are critically important for organizations and a greater understanding of these emerging technological trends is required to address the various organizational and socio-political threats (Tripathi & Khazanchi, 2018).

We are seeking high-quality research papers for this track that investigate various aspects of emerging technologies, IT project management and IT leadership. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Changes in project management techniques with the emergence of new technologies.
  • Various factors which are required for successful emerging IT project completion
  • Theory and characteristics of leadership for the successful and failed emerging technology projects.
  • IS/T leaders work alignment and emerging technology.
  • Examination of key issues of IT leaders from emerging technology positions.

References:

  • Kappelman, L., Johnson, V., Maurer, C., McLean, E., Torres, R., David, A., & Nguyen, Q. (2018). The 2017 SIM IT Issues and Trends Study. MIS Quarterly Executive, 17(1).
  • Tripathi, A., & Khazanchi, D. (2018). IS/T Leadership: A Comprehensive Review of Published Research.”

Abhishek  Tripathi  tripatha@tcnj.edu
Deepak  Khazanchi  khazanchi@unomaha.edu
Anoop  Mishra  amishra@unomaha.edu

General Topics in IT Project Management 

The Minitrack will feature papers and panel(s) that focus on problems that cut across many traditional IS/T Project Management areas, including, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Theories used in project management
  • Virtual and distributed project management
  • Patterns of project management
  • Agile project management
  • Knowledge networks
  • Project management methodologies
  • Project leadership
  • Project quality metrics
  • Best practices in project management
  • Project management standards
  • Project success
  • Knowledge sharing and management in IT projects
  • Portfolio project management
  • Project governance models
  • Software and eservices project management
  • Project auditing

The Minitrack welcomes high-quality conceptual and empirical contributions that attempt to advance theory and application of project management using any research approach – action research, experimental, grounded theory, design science, survey research, theory development, prototyping, methodology development, PM tool development, etc.

All submissions to the minitrack are expected to represent original work that has not already been published in a journal or conference proceedings. If the work has been presented at another conference or is currently under consideration for publication or presentation elsewhere, the authors must disclose this fact.

Submissions can either be “completed research” or “research-in-progress” papers.

Gaurav  Shekhar  gauravshekhar2003@gmail.com
Deepak  Khazanchi  khazanchi@unomaha.edu

By adopting, adapting, or developing Information Systems (IS), organizations and their IS continually undergo a considerable transformation often referred to as “digital transformation”. As a result, information systems, business models, business processes, and end-user workplaces are perpetually analyzed, rethought, and changed. Nowadays, many systems in organizations are already interconnected to form inter-organizational IS, contributing to a complex IS landscape in current organizations. This renews the importance of analyzing the interplay between IS and organizations from socio-technical and end-user perspectives and the implications of changing IS on end-users and customers, who are increasingly technologically savvy and immersed in this digital transformation.

This year, we invite research papers and real-life teaching cases to be submitted on topics related to organizational transformation and IS, business process management, changing workplaces and IS integration, knowledge management and training, end-user computing, agile methods, IT consulting, and inter-organizational information systems.

Track Chairs:

Paul Drews, Leuphana University of Lüneburg paul.drews@leuphana.de
Elaine Mosconi, Université de Sherbrooke elaine.mosconi@usherbrooke.ca
Frank Ulbrich, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts frank.ulbrich@hslu.ch
Lauri Wessel, University of Bremen lauri.wessel@uni-bremen.de

Mini-tracks:

Disruptive Start-Ups vs. Traditional Companies

The opportunities provided by digital technology and lower entry barriers to markets gave rise to large numbers and diversity of start-ups that confront incumbent firms with fast changing competitive landscape and the disruption of their traditional businesses.

Especially in traditional service industries like Financial Services, Legal Services and Health Services, new competitors -referred to as Fintechs, Legaltechs and Healthtechs- start to mix up competition. This trend continues and stretches far beyond the mentioned industries.

Incumbent companies struggle to compete with these new entities due to the differences in business logics entailing, e.g., speed, agility, and customer-centricity. Also, these start-ups specifically target weak spots in the value chain of the traditional businesses. This makes them both a pain and a gain for the traditional companies: A pain, as they take business away. A gain, as successful collaboration or integration can elevate the competitive position of the traditional business.

Heiko  Gewald  heiko.gewald@hnu.de
Heinz-Theo  Wagner  heinz-theo.wagner@tum.de
Daniel  Gozman  daniel.gozman@gmail.com

Organizational Transformation by Scaling and Extending the Use of Agile Methods 

Many of today’s organizations see agility as a core capability of the digital enterprise. While following agile values, principles and methods in software development projects is well established, organizations across all industries increasingly try to harness agile’s potential in other areas.

These areas include (1) scaling agile development to larger settings involving multiple teams and/or projects, (2) managing distributed organizational setups, (3) extending agile values, principles and methods to other functions in the enterprise beyond software development and IT, and (4) establishing inter-organizational setups for agility that include customers, partners or suppliers. These extensions lead to intensive organizational change activities with a high impact on potentially all organizational levels: individual, team, management and governance.

For this minitrack, we seek to attract research contributions that extend existing research by focusing on socio-technical, organizational, managerial and/ or individual challenges of extending the application of agile values, principles and methods beyond their original scope. We welcome conceptual, empirical, and design-oriented contributions for this mini-track.

Bettina  Horlach  horlach@informatik.uni-hamburg.de
Andreas  Drechsler  andreas.drechsler@vuw.ac.nz

Digital transformation through smart services

Nowadays, the digital disruption and the fourth industrial revolution change fundamentally the way enterprises do business. Enterprises need to innovate to create unique and exceptional competitive advantages. This mini-track aims at expanding our knowledge regarding the adoption of smart services in today’s business landscape to accelerate the digital transformation. Smart services, which are built based on knowledge-based and intelligent systems and services, have the capacity of self-detecting and self-adaptation to users’ needs without their explicit requests. Big data, business analytics, the Internet of Things and cloud computing provide a huge source of knowledge that allows to determine user contexts and then to enable intelligence capabilities of smart services.

Based on the business perspective, this mini-track provides a forum for exchanging research ideas and best practices related to new business strategies and models, applications and management of smart services within the context of digital transformation. We welcome the following (but not limited to) research topics:

– Theory, approaches and applications for design, development and deployment of knowledge-intensive smart services

– Smart services for industry 4.0

– Enabling smart services with knowledge management

– Predicting user intentions

– Self-detecting, geolocation-based services

– User knowledge management, user context in knowledge-intensive smart services

– Enabling smart services with Big data, Cloud computing and the Internet of Things

– Smart service evolution and adaptation

– Smart services, smart service systems and value co-creation networks

– Information systems for a smart world, smart cities and smart communities

– Smart services for crisis management

Thang  Le Dinh  thang.ledinh@uqtr.ca
Jolita  Ralyté  jolita.ralyte@unige.ch
Thanh Thoa  Pham Thi  thoa.pham@tudublin.ie

Digital Practices – A Perspective on Digital Transformation Processes 

Emerging scholarship has offered various accounts of digital transformation (e.g., Vial et al. 2019), and has also begun to distinguish digital transformation from earlier IT-enabled transformations (e.g., Wessel et al. 2020). But what is it exactly that organizations do, when they embark on a digital transformation journey? Based on previous accounts, we still require a sharpened understanding of the social practices inspired by digital artefacts that help to cope with or overcome arising challenges and tensions within the digital transformation process as well as creating a new unique identify that is given to a digitally transformed organization. What are these digital practices? What is the particular in the digital that is new in digital transformation, innovation, or other digital “X”-related fields? How can we conceptualize digital practices? What does a practice understanding add to the debate of digital transformation? How are digital practices enacted in digital transformation processes such as those related to sensor-based technology, artificial intelligence, etc. These are but a few questions that are relevant for this mini track. Against the background of these questions, the purpose of this mini-track is to unpack the essence and peculiarities of digital practices. We seek theoretical contributions that help us better understand these phenomena as well as practice-oriented knowledge and design artifacts for dealing with or leveraging digital practices in transforming and organizing.

Abayomi  Baiyere  speak2ab@gmail.com
Daniel  Fuerstenau  dfu.digi@cbs.dk

This track proposes to continue and extend the past tracks on philosophical approaches to Information Systems. Interest in this field appears to be growing, as shown by the two panels at this year’s AMCIS conference. The theme of digital innovation and entrepreneurship would be proposed along the dimensions of social media, digital live AI and digital transformation and BPM. Other IS and philosophical approaches related to the theme may be envisioned.

Track Chairs:

Elisabeth Joyc, eEdinboro University ejoyce@edinboro.edu
Emmanuel Monod, Paris Dauphine University emmanuel.monod@dauphine.fr

Mini-tracks:

Philosophical foundations of IS: Philosophical, psychological and sociological perspectives on digital innovation and entrepreneurship 

Organizations increasingly introduce technologies based on artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, cloud computing or IoT. This phenomenon is described here under the perspective of digital innovation and entrepreneurship.

Beyond multiple potentials, digital innovation fundamentally affects employees’ work processes and thus, the nature of human work. These changes result in increasing psychological and sociological issues for employees and evoke fundamental philosophical questions.

This mini-track encourages authors to critically reflect on psychological, philosophical, and societal changes that gain in importance with the rise of digital innovation and entrepreneurship. All kind of papers (conceptual, qualitative, and quantitative research) are welcome.

Topics relevant to this track include but not limited to:

–  Downsides of digital innovation

–  Ethical implications of digital innovation and entrepreneurship

–  Impact of digital innovation on psychological constructs (e.g. well-being, stress)

–  New philosophical approaches to digital innovation and entrepreneurship

Anne-Sophie  Mayer  anne-sophie.mayer@uni-passau.de
Franz  Strich  franz.strich@uni-bayreuth.de

Philosophical Ideas for Research Design and Theorizing in IS Research

Any mention of philosophy, especially in front of PhD students, brings about an uncomfortable situation. They take it either as business for the philosophy department or as something that is filled with intimidating terminology. The irony, however, is most of the time they have to deal with questions such as: what is your ontological and epistemological stance; how are your methodology and philosophy interrelated; are you a positivist, interpretive, pragmatist, or critical realist. Likewise, terminologies such as empiricism and rationalism, which they use frequently without knowing their actual origins, keep on arising.

We as IS-scholars need to read and understand basic philosophical ideas. Hence, this mini-track will invite papers that emphasize but not limited to philosophy of technology in IS context; comparative analysis of different philosophical paradigms (positivists, interpretive, critical realist, pragmatists, etc.), role of eastern philosophy, how philosophy make sense in theorizing, and role of ethics in artificial intelligence.

Amir  Haj-Bolouri  amir.haj-bolouri@hv.se
Devinder  Thapa  devinder.thapa@uia.no

Ethics in Information Systems 

Information systems are transforming our lives, becoming an essential resource that makes our daily activities inconceivable without their use. As they become more present, their influence on society is increasingly significant, raising ethical concerns and challenges in relation to issues such as privacy, inequality, power relations, data manipulation, and prejudice, among others. In the present scenario, it is necessary to reassess the development of information systems to balance the well-being of society with the ethical use of the technologies employed. Ethical paradigms must be adapted to the needs of the community, in line with the current challenges of the smart society. Only a multidisciplinary effort can find the best ways to address these concerns, including experts from various fields in addition to the IS, such as ethics, philosophy, economics, sociology, psychology, law, history, and political science, and those with experience in relation to the implications of computer systems in society.

Flávia  Santoro  flavia@ime.uerj.br
Rosa Maria  Costa  rcosta@ime.uerj.br
Kate  Revoredo  katerevoredo@gmail.com

Current IS challenges from the view points of philosophical fundations

Information systems field has a glorious and not-so-short history. From emerging discipline in 1960 to mature and accepted discipline nowadays. Today, there is a fast pace of innovation in technology, social practices and information systems. To cope with this there are more calls to engage in knowledge-contesting research (Salovaara et al., 2019) and on knowledge expanding research i.e blue ocean theorising (Grover & Lyytinen, 2015).

The purpose of this mini-track is by relaxing the ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2011) to explore

– Which dominant approaches do not create value?

– How to do blue-ocean theorising?

– How to do knowledge-contesting research?

– How can we use abduction in IS research?

– Should IS theories reflect the past or invent the future?

The submissions should relate the ideas and proposals to contemporary empirical events like social media, artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital innovation, IoT, digital platforms etc.

Mijalche  Santa  mijalche@santa.mk

From Regulating Technology to Regulatory Technologies

Increasingly, novel IT-artifacts are surfacing that are either under-regulated, self-regulated, or unregulated. Under-regulated artifacts like Uber and Airbnb have disrupted markets and caused social unrests and regulatory bodies continue to amend existing laws to govern platform activities. Distributed peer-to-peer architectures like music-sharing platforms and public distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) continue to be unregulated enabling artifacts like crypto-currencies and torrents to threaten the financial and entertainment ecosystems.

Existing laws fall short of adequately governing the development and use of Intelligent Artifacts like autonomous cars and smart-contracts especially when those get organically produced by virtual communities on github and sourceforge. Concurrently, policy development worldwide advocates for the under-regulation of industries like finance and technology based on the principle that regulations can stifle innovations and growth. An example is the EU ‘hands-off’ approach to FinTechs which enabled the UK to become the world’s FinTech leaders.

Enabling such technologies to self-regulate (or peer-regulate), has often led to condemnation by various communities and ethnic groups. Self-regulation requires AI algorithms that have not yet embraced digital libraries of ethics and fairness; causing legal havocs across the globe.

The purpose of this mini-track is to critically review the underlying assumptions of the IS field and its’ schools of thoughts. Does the IT-artifact require reconceptualization as it drifts from reflecting our reality to creating it? What methods can be adopted to govern the IT-artifact in light of it’s transformation from one that is governed to one that governs?

Mazen  El-Masri  mazen.elmasri@qu.edu.qa
Jon  Truby  jon.truby@qu.edu.qa
Karim  Al-Yafi  karim.alyafi@qu.edu.qa
Rafael  Brown  rbrown@qu.edu.qa

As the quantity of data captured about and shared by individuals has exploded over the last decade, there has been a resurgence of interest in information technologies – such as social networking platforms, collaborative filtering and reputation management systems – that facilitate social interaction among individuals. With the recognition that Social Computing straddles research at the intersection of social behavior and computing technologies, we would like to encourage papers that approach this topic from a plurality of research methods and perspectives. This track welcomes submissions that explore how these Social Computing technologies have transformed how people work, communicate, and play together.

Track Chairs:

Nanda Kumar, City University of New York nanda.kumar@baruch.cuny.edu
Sara Moussawi, Carnegie Mellon University smoussaw@andrew.cmu.edu

Mini-tracks:

Trust in Social Computing

In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in internet penetration and people’s digital presence. As the internet is becoming increasingly accessible, the online-driven lifestyle, such as social computing is having a far-reaching effect on mass consumer behaviour, resulting in a digital consumption surge.

In whatever cultural background and market environment and to whatever stage social computing develops, building, maintaining and enhancing social computing trust is always a primary issue for social computing’s development. The trust-building mechanism of social computing is helpful for one party in the relationship to confirm that the other party will not do harm to the first by virtue of its information advantage, thereby effectively facilitating the smooth social interaction. As a result, analysis of major factors that shape trust in the social computing environment and study of the online trust-building mechanism become an important task in the development process of social computing.

The purpose of this minitrack is to discuss the impact of trust on social computing in terms of customer, enterprise, and social perspectives. We look for submission that cover but are not limited to:

–  Trust in social computing

–  Trust in social networking service

–  Trust in unfamiliar enterprises

–  Trust and trust management in O2O environment

–  Trust in social shopping

–  Sentiment analysis in social media for trust issues

–  Social innovation and the trust relationship

–  Impact and influence of fake news in social media

–  Trust of fintech on social media platforms

Cong  Cao  cong.cao@outlook.com
Jun  Yan  jyan@uow.edu.au
Meng Xiang  Li  mengxiangli@hkbu.edu.hk
Xuhong  Ye  xhye@zjut.edu.cn

Social Media Analytics in Organizational Knowledge Management

Social media analytics (SMA) is concerned with developing and evaluating informatics tools and frameworks to collect, monitor, analyze, summarize, and visualize SM data [3]. The past decade has witnessed dramatic growth of SMA research and its application in different domains. Despite technological and theoretical relevance, the impact of SMA on organizational knowledge management is not entirely clear [2].

Recent advances in deep learning, artificial intelligence, and network science present exciting opportunities to enrich SMA for organizational knowledge creation and management [1]. Much research is needed to elevate the impact of SMA on organizations. This mini-track solicits innovative research papers on the development and application of social media analytics in organizational knowledge management (accepted papers will have the opportunity to be fast-tracked for publication in special issues of peer-reviewed journals under preparation). Topics of interests include (but are not limited to):

  • Innovations of deep learning approaches in SMA for organizational KM
  • SM-based environment monitoring, social listening, and situational awareness
  • Innovative extraction of knowledge and intelligence from SM content using natural language processing in SMA
  • Analysis of SM networks for organizational knowledge creation
  • Intelligent summarization and visualization of SM content and usage
  • Time-aware SMA for organizational sensing and knowledge creation
  • Application of social and psychological theories to SMA development
  • Domain-specific use of SMA for organizational KM (e.g., finance, marketing, human resources, public administration, public health)

References:

  1. Chung, W., Mustaine, E.E. and Zeng, D. A Computational Framework for Social-Media-based Business Analytics and Knowledge Creation: Empirical Studies of CyTraSS. Enterprise Information Systems, (in press). 2020.
  2. Kane, G.C., Alavi, M., Labianca, G.J. and Borgatti, S.P. What’s different about social media networks? A framework and research agenda. MIS Quarterly, 38 (1). 2014, 275-304.
  3. Zeng, D., Chen, H., Lusch, R. and Li, S.-H. Social Media Analytics and Intelligence. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 25 (6). 2010, 13-16.

Wingyan  Chung  wingyan@acm.org
Daniel  Zeng  zeng@email.arizona.edu

Social Media Platform Analytics and Behavioral Modeling 

Recently, social media platforms for e-commerce are popular for users or companies. The amount of data or behaviour on social media are huge and accumulated continuously. The power on social media platforms reveals deep meanings; for example, photos, videos, emotions, or microblogs. The meaning of words, photos, or icons is not just the way it has. The sentiment and behaviour behind social media platforms has influence and impact on e-commerce. Enterprises attempt to employ social media platforms to implement e-commerce and increase profits. By using the advantages of social media platforms, enterprises have lots of opportunities to increase the success of e-commerce businesses. Social-commerce is gradually emerged on account of practical circumstances and the necessity of business operation. Social commerce also is regarded as an important combination of social computing technologies and the rising social platforms in an online situation that have deep impact in shaping commercial channels on and off the Internet. Certain disciplines also cover the scope of social media such as psychology, computer science, communication, management, marketing, and social science. The purpose of this minitrack is to discuss the impact of social media platforms on business in terms of customer, enterprise, and society perspectives. Besides, this minitrack also aims to figure out the critical factors and relations of social media platforms, commerce, and customer behaviors on e-commerce business.

Wei-Lun  Chang  wlchang@ntut.edu.tw
Yen-Hao  Hsieh  yhhsiehs@nfu.edu.tw
I-Ting  Lu  itinglu@mail.tku.edu.tw
Aviv  Segev  segev@southalabama.edu
Vladlena  Benson  vladlena.benson@uwl.ac.uk

Decision Making in Online Social Networks: Wisdom and Folly of Crowds

Online Social Networks and Communities (OSN) have transformed how we make decisions. Increasing use of the ‘wisdom of crowds’ as a source of information or reference for those seeking advice raises research and practical interest in understanding how OSN influence and change our everyday decision-making (DM).

The challenges that face users of OSN are information overload and a wide range of online information sources that can complicate decision-making and lead to delays. A further problem is that the most referenced decision-making theories, frameworks, models and concepts were developed in the early 20th century when the influence of online collaboration could not be foreseen. Therefore, it is anachronistic to examine contemporary decision-making practice using more than six decades old models.

The objective of this minitrack is to understand and build theoretical foundations on how OSN can provide support, influence, manipulate, dehumanize and change decision-making at the individual, corporate, and societal levels.

Valeria  Sadovykh  valeriasadovykh@gmail.com
Gabrielle  Peko  g.peko@auckland.ac.nz
Artur  Kiulian  akiulian@gmail.com

The Dark Side of Social Media 

The challenges and problems of social media have drawn increasing scholarly attention in recent years, such interest is further fueled by more people turning to social media with the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and the social distancing. There are pressing questions that remain unanswered and call for further investigation. This min-track invites papers that identify and address the dark side of social media, the aspects of social media that negatively impact people’s personal lives, disrupt the operation of organizations, and mangle the social fabrics. The goal is to raise awareness of the negative aspects of social media use, address the challenges of maintaining a safe and productive environment, and create social wellbeing for the greater good. Empirical, theoretical, or position papers are welcome in this track.

Qin  Weng  qinweng@uark.edu
Wendy  Wang  wendy_phoenix@hotmail.com

Social Media within the Organization

Social media technologies such as wikis, forums, blogs, podcasts and online social networks have changed the communication landscape into one based on user-generated content. They also change the expectations placed on employees when they are not in the office. Because it is changing the way that people create, store and share information, social media is a topic of great importance to future IS research.

Some firms have tried to capitalize on the power of social media technologies to change work routines and culture within the organization. In this regard, IS research can play a role in building a rich understanding of both the opportunities and challenges presented by social media within the organization. We welcome empirical, theoretical, and conceptual works of any and all methodological approaches.

Shadi  Shuraida  shadi.shuraida@gmail.com
Simon  Bourdeau  bourdeau.simon.2@uqam.ca

The Social Inclusion track welcomes relevant theoretical, empirical, and intervention research, in either completed research or emergent research format, that relates to the mission of SIG Social Inclusion (SIGSI). The purpose of SIG-SI is to promote research, pedagogy, and outreach on all aspects of social inclusion in the field of Information Systems (IS). The goal of such efforts is to stimulate greater diversity of thought and personnel in AIS and the IS field overall, and participation of all AIS members in an equitable and more socially-aware and inclusive discipline.

Social inclusion research investigates the part IT plays in enabling or inhibiting individuals and social groups’ participation in the social structures in which they exist and the needs of under-represented producers or consumers of information systems and technology within the IT field. Topics include: the under-representation of gender minorities, race, ethnicities, neurodiversity, and abilities in the IS field, intersectionality of identities (such as ethnicity, gender and socio-economic class), socioeconomic divisions that impact access to or use of technology, designing for the differently-abled, the digital divide, underserved groups in the information society, and a range of topics related to human diversity, and the “haves” and “have nots” in the information society.

Track Chairs:

Mike Gallivan, Georgia institute of Technology mgallivan6@gatech.edu
Hala Annabi, University of Washington hpannabi@uw.edu

Mini-tracks:

Towards an Inclusive Education

Diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational platforms are essential to achieve fairness in society and integrated communities. This minitrack considers topics related to intersections between gender, age, ethnicity, culture, disabilities, and socioeconomic status and how they relate to education (both in information systems and other disciplines). The focus lies on the role of technology in education (including e-learning and open education) addressing both digital literacy (including also aspects of societal changes, opportunities, and risks) and specific media usage skills.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Challenges and opportunities of equality, diversity, and inclusion in education
  • The inclusion/exclusion dichotomy of (open) education
  • Using ICT to promote and achieve an inclusive education
  • Digital transformation and the future of (open) education
  • Educational opportunities and challenges of marginalized groups
  • Gender issues in education, e.g., stereotypes, values, roles, etc.
  • Implications for policy and practice in education, open education, and e-learning

Safa’a  AbuJarour  safaa.abujarour@uni-potsdam.de
Gergana  Vladova  gergana.vladova@wi.uni-potsdam.de

Using IS for Good

Information systems (IS) have the potential to improve social welfare through redistribution of power, providing a voice for marginalized people, improving access to education, and increasing economic opportunity (George & Leidner, 2019; Lin, et al., 2015; Ortiz et al., 2019; Silva & Hirschheim, 2007; Vaidya & Myers, 2017). Some development programs that sought to use IS for a good cause have been highly successful, but many other projects have never gotten off the ground (Chipidza & Leidner, 2019). This track is dedicated to research on how IS has been used for good, how and when it is successful, and why and when it tends to fail. The contribution of the track is the development of theory and methods for improving the outcomes when IS is used for Good.

We welcome papers that theoretically, conceptually, or empirically advance research on the impact of IS on society when IS and ICTs specifically target the improvement of social welfare. Papers may use any acceptable methodology and theory. Submissions are encouraged at any level of analysis or progress. Both full papers and emerging research are encouraged so that authors can gain valuable feedback for moving their projects forward. Possible topics may include (but are not limited to):

  • Fintech in economic development
  • Projects or systems focused on the digital divide
  • Social connections of geographically distant groups with a common cause
  • Digital strategies to fight disenfranchisement and marginalization
  • Corporate social responsibility success and failure
  • Digital activism that advances human rights
  • Emancipatory technologies

Jordana  George  jgeorge@mays.tamu.edu
Wallace  Chipidza  wallace.chipidza@cgu.edu

Social Theory in Information Systems Research (STIR ’21)

STIR’21 solicits papers that use social theory in IS research drawing upon such approaches as sociotechnical theory, critical theory, social informatics, and organizational theory. We are interested in highlighting research that critically examines the constitution of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and their roles in communities, organizations, and society. We are interested in questions about how we interact with ICTs in our work and social lives in ways that help and hinder the move towards more useful, productive, and happier lives. We are particularly interested in research that addresses the main theme of the conference “Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship.” We welcome papers that are innovative in terms of multi- and trans-disciplinary uses of social theory and methodologies to study the ways in which people are using technology to transform or create innovative digital organizations, engage in digital entrepreneurship, and work that focuses on digital innovations pre, during and post global pandemic; the changing roles of ICTs from planning for utopian futures to responding to current dystopian times; the intended and unintended consequences of the use of ICTs, social media platforms, or synchronous videoconferencing tools.

This year we are proud to celebrate the 24th year of the Social Theory in Information Systems Research minitrack. Since 1996, scholars and researchers have presented cutting edge research, using social theory in their work.

Howard  Rosenbaum  hrosenba@indiana.edu
Pnina  Fichman  fichman@indiana.edu

The AMCIS 2021 Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin America track promotes IS/IT/MIS research in and about Latin America. Latin America makes up a large part of the Americas and its population speaks primarily Spanish or Portuguese. This track opens a space for rigorous and high-quality research that is written in Spanish or Portuguese while also accepting papers in English that bring together IS/IT/MIS research and Latin America.

Track Chairs:

Gladys Simpson, Florida International University gsimpson@fiu.edu
Indira Guzman, Trident Universit yindira.guzman@trident.edu
Flavio Horita, Federal University of ABC flavio.horita@ufabc.edu.br
José Antonio Robles, Universidad ESAM jrobles@esan.edu.pe

Mini-tracks:

MIS/IT/IS in Latin America 

The AMCIS 2021 Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin America track promotes IS/IT/MIS research in and about Latin America. This minitrack opens a space for rigorous and high-quality information systems research in Latin America that is written in English.
Jose  Pineda  jpineda@fiu.edu

MIS/IT/IS Research in Spanish 

The AMCIS 2021 Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin America track promotes IS/IT/MIS research in and about Latin America. This minitrack opens a space for rigorous and high-quality information systems research that is written in Spanish.
Juan Manuel  Gomez Reynoso  juan.gomez@edu.uaa.mx

MIS/IT/IS Research in Portuguese 

The AMCIS 2021 Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin America track promotes IS/IT/MIS research in and about Latin America. This minitrack opens a space for rigorous and high-quality information systems research that is written in Portuguese.
Alexandre  Graeml  graeml@utfpr.edu.br

With the increasing success of strategic and competitive use of information and digital technologies in generating business value and gaining competitive advantage, businesses are even more interested in the successful design, development, and deployment of these technologies. Submissions to the Strategic & Competitive Uses of Information and Digital Technologies (SCUITDT) track may include complete papers and research-in-progress (ERF). Papers can be conceptual, theoretical, or empirical research or case studies. Any research that focuses on the strategic and competitive use of information and digital technologies will find a home in this track.

Track Chairs:

Jack D.Becker, University of North Texas jack.becker@unt.edu
Lazar Rusu, Stockholm University lrusu@dsv.su.se

Mini-tracks:

Digitization and IT-enabled capabilities

While IT and digitization are relevant factors in firm success, firms’ ability to synthesize information and knowledge is becoming of greater salience in shaping firm performance and innovation. In the present era of breakthroughs in communication, cognitive, and computing capabilities of IT systems, firms must explore avenues for gaining strategic advantage through improved information management. Digitization, manifested through different IT-enabled capabilities such as IT-enabled Information Management Capability (IMC), enables firms to respond to rapidly changing market needs, provides resourceful information for better decision making, facilitates flexibility to fulfill more customers’ needs, and enables digital innovation. However, the abundance of data, privacy regulations, security threats and the raging pandemic are now compelling firms to rethink how to best utilize digitization. The challenges and IT enabled solutions during these testing times have the potential to change the way businesses utilize IT enabled capabilities.

Bidyut  Hazarika,  bidyut.hazarika@wmich.edu
Utkarsh  Shrivastava,  utkarsh.shrivastava@wmich.edu
Mariana  Andrade,  mariana@ntu.edu.sg

Strategic Impact of Digitized Products   

The digital transformation of the business world has been keeping companies and economies in a constant transition over the last years. In the course of this rapid internal and external transformation, digitized products and services are becoming increasingly important to achieve competitive advantage. The combination of physical and digital components and the resulting potentials, enables companies to innovate their products, business processes and even whole business models. Due to the high importance and topicality of these issues and their rapid evolution, relevant and future-oriented research in the field of digitized products and services is of tremendous importance. There is a strong need for additional insights into the strategic impact of digitized products and services on businesses processes and models, how to achieve and maximize the impact of them, and finally how to uncover opportunities as well as challenges offered by digitized products and services.

Christian  Leyh,  christian.leyh@tu-dresden.de
Marko  Ott,  marko.ott@tu-dresden.de
Katja  Bley,  katja.bley@tu-dresden.de

Implications of Affordance Theory for Digital Strategy and Innovation Research

We have seen the emergence of various streams of literature that examine how innovation is fostered by affordances that are created by digital technologies such as Social media, Mobile applications, Analytics, Cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (SMACIT). An affordance is “the potential for behaviors associated with achieving an immediate concrete outcome and arising from the relationship between an object and a goal-oriented actor or actors.”

Researchers use technology affordance theory to study the implications of digital technologies for innovation processes and practices. Nonetheless, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of “how to use and apply affordance theory.” Entrepreneurs leverage ecosystem-wide digital affordances and depend on the affordability, accessibility, and availability of the offered services and technologies to drive innovation.

We seek papers that contribute to and extend our understanding and applicability of affordances theory within innovation ecosystems; also, papers that further illustrate the importance of affordances in creating innovative outcomes.

Suchit Ahuja, suchit.ahuja@concordia.ca
Arman Sadreddin, arman.sadreddin@concordia.ca

IT Governance and Business-IT Alignment in the Era of Digital Transformation

IT plays today a key role in digital successful companies. This role calls for a specific focus on IT governance in order to achieve business value from digital investments. On the other hand, business-IT alignment continues to be essential for organizations due to the strategic benefits brought to organizations and the contribution to the improvement of their performance. Today’s organizations are very committed to engaging in a digital transformation journey in order to create business value. Therefore, this requires from organization’s management to focus on having an effective IT governance in their organization that as a result will enable business-IT alignment. In the era of digital transformation, we noticed that the research in IT governance and business-IT alignment has continued to grow in importance; therefore is still a need to explore new insights into the theories and practices in this research topic.

Gianluigi Viscusi, g.viscusi@imperial.ac.uk
Wim Van Grembergen, wim.vangrembergen@uantwerpen.be
Steven De Haes, steven.dehaes@uantwerpen.be

Renewed Focus on IT Deliverables: Strategic IT Service Management (ITSM) Metrics

ITSM is a customer-focused approach to delivering IT in the present-day corporation. ITSM can strengthen customer relationships, enhance customer understanding of the services provided, and consistently deliver customer value. Although ITSM is not new (origins in Information Technology Infrastructure Library [ITIL]), it is regaining importance as CIOs struggle to increase the relevance of IT to both its internal and external customers. ITSM-oriented leaders generally employ a framework that defines the relationships of IT technical resources to the services demanded by their users, and defines the basic business services that they provide. Rigorously employed service terminology (ITIL, Version 4) clarifies the service to both the customer and the service provider, delineating service offerings, service features, providers, limitations, exclusions, eligibility, duration, cost, and service levels. This mini-track also focuses on theoretical approaches to providing strategic IT services, alignment of IT service deliverables with the corporate strategic plan, and best practices.

Ahmad Alibabaei,  babaei@gmail.com
Naoum Jamous, naoum.jamous@ovgu.de

Impact of IT on Strategic Innovation & Competitive Advantage

Competitive advantage is an established driver of strategic innovation. Information Technology (IT) is a vital element in facilitating innovations in strategy, business models, and management practice. Thus, IT-enabled strategies, IT-enabled capabilities, and associated information capabilities have emerged as a business imperative to foster strategic innovation and realize resultant performance gains in recent times.

Despite developments in practice regarding the role of IT in enabling several forms of innovation and innovative strategies, literature examining the role of information systems in this process is sparse. This mini-track solicits studies that examine nuances associated with leveraging IT for strategic innovation and competitive advantage. Although the focus is on studies at the firm level, studies at the individual, team, group, or industry levels are also welcome. Papers in this mini-track would explore how IT enables any or several innovative strategies for firm performance.

Abhishek Kathuria, abhishek_kathuria@isb.edu
Jiban Khuntia, jiban.khuntia@ucdenver.edu
Terence Saldanha, terence.saldanha@uga.edu

Strategic and Competitive Behavior on Digital Platforms

Digital platforms provide a stage for individuals to engage with each other and exchange a variety of goods and services. Intra-platform competition may arise, as there is a rivalry for limited resources on these platforms. For instance, individuals on social media compete for attention, entrepreneurs on crowdfunding platforms for investments, and sellers on online marketplaces for customers. To attract those limited resources, individuals may engage in strategic behavior. Complementary strategic behaviors may include the strategic positioning of offerings (e.g., pricing strategies) or opportunistic behaviors towards competitors. Platform providers may use platform governance mechanisms to allow for increasing levels of competition to expand the size and variety of its offered goods and services. This mini-track invites research that investigates how and which strategic behavior individuals apply on digital platforms.

Michael Wessel, wessel@cbs.dk
Annika Baumann, annika.baumann@uni-potsdam.de

Strategic Implications of Digital Technologies, Autonomous Mobility & Artificial Intelligence

The ubiquitous nature of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in the area of autonomous mobility, has generated enormous amounts of hyperbole in industry and the press. A pressing need for measured, balanced, and rigorous academic investigation of this phenomenon is required.

Furthermore, many other digital technologies, such as the Blockchain distributed data architecture will be both critical and disruptive with wide-ranging digital applications. The Blockchain structure takes advantage of cryptography, redundancy, and self-validation to create an amazingly robust, secure, and potentially anonymous distributed data structure. Experts have proven the security of the Blockchain structure in the extreme environment of cryptocurrency, where it serves as the backbone of Bitcoin.

This mini-track hopes to attract serious researchers who can objectively evaluate the current state of autonomous mobility and venture into both its immediate and long-term future. In addition, papers in this mini-track should investigate specific digital technologies, such as the role of Blockchain as an enabling technology for financial transactions, cryptocurrencies, and the proliferation of the Internet of Things. A wide range of theoretical perspectives and research methods are welcome within this mini-track.

Chris Maurer, csm9y@comm.virginia.edu
Russell Torres, Russell.Torres@unt.edu
Anna Sidorova, Anna.Sidorova@unt.edu
Obi Ogbanufe, obi.ogbanufe@unt.edu

General: All Other Strategic & Competitive Uses of Information and Digital Technologies Topics

Studies related to the strategic and competitive uses of information and digital technologies that are not easily classified into one of the above mini-tracks will find a potential home here. This mini-track welcomes both theoretical and practice-oriented studies at the firm, individual, team, group, or industry level. This general category mini-track serves as a venue for the broadest possible range of research methodologies, including empirical, case study, conceptual, and simulation models.

Matthias Goeken, matthias.goeken@bundesbank.de

Systems analysis involves examining business problems (opportunities) and identifying possible solutions, whereas systems design includes the identification, specification, and implementation of an information technology solution.  The combined field of Systems Analysis and Design (SAND) deals with all issues related to the development of systems and, as such, is of central importance to the Information Systems discipline, including understanding how businesses can create value with new digital technologies.  The SIGSAND track provides a forum for discussing research related to systems development tools, methodologies and other activities throughout the systems development life cycle (SDLC). This includes requirements determination, modeling techniques and languages, agile systems development practices, empirical evaluation of analysis and design methods, user involvement in systems development, open source development, design of systems architecture, and other technical and organizational issues in systems development.  Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Systems Analysis and Design: Methodologies and Processes
  • Systems Analysis and Design: Modeling Methods, Techniques, and Languages
  • Systems Analysis and Design: Requirements Elicitation, Modeling, and Validation
  • Systems Analysis and Design: Artificial Intelligence
  • Systems Analysis and Design: Blockchain
  • Systems Analysis and Design: User Generated Content and Social Media
  • Analysis and Design for Service-Oriented Enterprises
  • Microservice-based Development
  • Contemporary Issues in Agile Development
  • Strategic Software Management: Issues, Experiences, and Theory
  • Technical and Managerial Issues in Open Source Development
  • User Participation in Information Systems Development
  • Impact of Systems Analysis and Design on IS use (e.g., adoption, information quality)
  • Application of SAND concepts and principles beyond IS development (e.g., in data analytics)
  • New and Emerging SAND Tools and Approaches

Track Chairs:

Roman Lukyanenko, HEC Montréal roman.lukyanenko@hec.ca
Arturo Castellanos, Baruch College arturo.castellanos@baruch.cuny.edu
Jon W. Beard, Iowa State University jwbeard@iastate.edu

Mini-track:

Modeling Languages, Methodologies, Methods, Techniques, and Tools

This minitrack recognizes the important role modeling languages, methodologies, methods, and tools play in SAND. This minitrack provides a forum for researchers, educators, and practitioners working in the areas of modelling language development, use, modification, and evaluation. We are particularly interested in papers that combine conceptual modelling with emerging trends like Artificial Intelligence and in pieces that target the changing role modelling and models can take now and in future.

An objective of this minitrack is to work toward a more standardized set of concepts which would in turn benefit researchers, educators, and practitioners in this field while also considering recent developments in domain-specific conceptual modelling. We welcome empirical, conceptual, theoretical, and technical pieces, and are open to all research methods.

The most promising submissions will be invited for a fast-track to the Journal of Database Management.

Dominik Bork dominik.bork@tuwien.ac.at
John  Erickson  johnerickson@unomaha.edu
Keng  Siau  siauk@mst.edu
Xin  Tan  xtan@fdu.edu

The goal of the Virtual Communities and Collaboration track is to disseminate research and extend our knowledge and understanding of virtual communities and collaboration. Collaboration is a fundamental part of organizations and organizational partnerships. Following a continuing trend toward globalization, especially during the current Covid-19 pandemic, virtual communities and collaboration are an increasingly important part of organizations. Virtual communities are collective groups of individuals who utilize computer-mediated environments to interact and pursue mutual goals. They can be found in virtual worlds, social media, and crowdsourcing sites, among others. Organizations and teams can use computer-mediated environments to improve their processes and outcomes, as well as create business values. Therefore, researchers and practitioners need to address behavioral, social, cognitive, and technical issues in such environments. Research areas range from design issues in collaboration systems, sense of community and engagement in virtual communities, to impact of virtual communities and collaboration in domains as diverse as business, education, and government. The track aims to solicit contributions from a range of epistemological and methodological perspectives to extend our understanding of virtual communities and collaboration as well as enhance the theoretical foundation for research, share important empirical findings related to these venues, and provide guidance to practitioners.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • The design, development, deployment, use, and evaluation of virtual communities in business and educational settings
  • Individual and group behaviors in virtual communities and collaboration
  • Collaboration among and interplay between virtual communities, and the impact of these environments on participants and communities
  • Swift transitions from traditional collaboration to virtual collaboration in crisis situations
  • Individual and group behaviors, processes, and governance mechanisms in virtual communities and collaboration
  • The role of individual attitudes and characteristics on behaviors, processes and outcomes in virtual communities and collaboration
  • Ethics, privacy, security, and trust issues in virtual communities and collaboration
  • Intra- and inter-organizational communication and collaboration in virtual communities associated with social media, crowdsourcing and virtual worlds
  • Business and economic models of virtual communities associated with crowdsourcing, social media, and virtual worlds
  • Power and political issues related to individual, group, organizational, and societal behaviors in virtual communities and collaboration
  • Organizational and societal impacts of social networking in virtual communities and collaboration
  • Applications of virtual communities and collaboration in different social/cultural settings and business domains
  • Novel and innovative applications of virtual communities and collaboration
  • Social analytics and big data analytics of virtual communities and collaboration
  • Business implications of virtual reality and augmented reality in collaborative contexts
  • Methodological and measurement advances in virtual communities and collaboration

Track Chairs:

Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Missouri University of Science and Technology nahf@mst.edu
Gert-Jande Vreede, University of South Florida gdevreede@usf.edu
Tom Meservy, Brigham Young University tmeservy@byu.edu

Mini-tracks:

Behavioral and Design Issues in Virtual Communities 

A lot of research in the information systems discipline is comprised of two paradigms: the behavioral-science paradigm and the design-science paradigm. In virtual communities, humans and organizations utilize technology to maintain relationships and social networks in order to pursue mutual goals and interests. While the process of constructing and evaluating innovative IT artifacts enables design-science researchers to understand the problem addressed by the artifacts and the feasibility of the approach to the solutions, the behavioral-science researchers evaluate the outcomes and implications of technology use. Behavioral and design science paradigms serve as a complete research cycle in IS research. Therefore, mixed research relating to behavioral and design science can help to increase our understanding of virtual communities. We welcome research addressing behavioral issues, design issues or a mixed stream of both to make theoretical contributions and practical implications in the area of virtual communities.

Xusen  Cheng  xusen.cheng@ruc.edu.cn
Xiangbin  Yan  xbyan@ustb.edu.cn

Information Processing and Decision Making in Online Communities 

Online communities consist of individuals who share a common interest and who use the internet to communicate with each other and work together in pursuit of shared interests. Individuals seek out information online for both utilitarian and hedonic reasons. Online forums are one example of a pervasive platform where individuals can submit and receive answers to questions as well as browse the experiences of others. Individuals with questions often turn to these forums, either directly or indirectly (through search engine results), to find answers to problems they face and make more effective decisions. This mini-track focuses on research related to understanding information processing and decision making in the context of online communities.

Matthew  Jensen  mjensen@ou.edu
Kelly  Fadel  kelly.fadel@usu.edu

Virtual Collaborations for Knowledge Sharing and Learning

Virtual collaborations can facilitate knowledge sharing and learning. Virtual environments provide platforms for individuals to collaborate and acquire information in a variety of domains. These environments present new channels to educate others on various topics, as well as learn about a particular domain from others’ knowledge and experiences. Organizations are utilizing virtual collaborations to support knowledge sharing with existing and potential customers, stakeholders, partners, and employees. However, concerns, such as privacy-related issues and performance issues of virtual collaborations, also arise with virtual environments.

The COVID-19 pandemic makes virtual collaborations more important and relevant than ever before including the need to support transitions from traditional collaboration to virtual collaboration in difficult circumstances to learn and share knowledge. Anecdotal reports have shown both advantages and disadvantages of virtual collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some reports claim that virtual collaborations for knowledge sharing and learning may be embraced over traditional collaboration methods even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. Academic research is needed for a deep understanding of the opportunities and issues associated with virtual collaboration. We encourage paper submissions that study the development, use, and assessment of virtual collaborations for knowledge sharing in learning and training contexts from a variety of perspectives (e.g., individual, organizational, and international). We welcome papers that study the application of virtual collaborations for knowledge sharing and learning as well as challenge such applications. This minitrack is open to both theoretical and empirical studies, and is open to all research methods.

Xiaofeng  Chen  chenx@wwu.edu
Brenda L.  Eschenbrenner  eschenbrenbl@unk.edu

Social Shopping: The Good the Bad and the Ugly 

Many of us have encountered struggles when making shopping choices, having many questions in mind and often seeking answers via various channels. Almost every one of us uses the internet for information, opinions, and discussions to support shopping. How shopping is conducted through collaboration in online social networks (OSN) has not been explored sufficiently in research. Although the usage of OSN is growing rapidly, there is a poor understanding of how OSNs can provide support, influence and manipulate purchase decisions in general. The objective of this mini-track is to obtain insights and develop theoretical understanding on topics and issues related to the influence of OSN on consumption orientated shopping. We seek conceptual, theoretical, and empirical papers that enrich our understanding of OSN and how they support collaboration and influence shopping. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: communities, marketplaces, incentives, tools, technologies, recommendations, influence, persuasion, fraud, deception.

Gabrielle  Peko  g.peko@auckland.ac.nz
Khushbu  Tilvawala  k.tilvawala@auckland.ac.nz

Value Appropriation and Creation in Platform-Mediated Collaborative Environments

Virtual communities have emerged as a game-changing collaboration paradigm that facilitates interactions among individuals, groups, and organizations in the pursuit of mutual goals. As virtual communities reshape the boundaries and structures of human collaborations, comprehending human behaviors in online environments and deriving design considerations for digital services that optimize collaborative practices is imperative for realizing collaboration in the virtual space.

This mini-track provides a forum for the exchange of research ideas and business practices on the interplay of human behaviors and virtual collaborative platforms at the individual, group, organization, and societal levels. It aims to expand our knowledge on how technologies govern and shape human behaviors in virtual communities as well as how such technology-mediated human behaviors, in turn, inform the design of virtual collaborative platforms. We are particularly interested in research that sheds light on how digital services can contribute to value appropriation and creation in platform-mediated collaborative environments.

Chee-Wee  Tan  ct.digi@cbs.dk
Eric  Lim  e.t.lim@unsw.edu.au
Zhengzhi  GUAN  zhengzhi.guan@nottingham.edu.cn

Fake News, Rumors and Other Unintended Consequences of Engagement in Virtual Communities

Virtual communities enabled by social media are providing new opportunities for people to engage with each other. Recently, such engagements have been exploited to spread fake news, rumors, biased reporting, or for promoting unsupported viewpoints. Such interactions have the potential to significantly influence the discourse of social, political, moral, or economic debate. It cannot be denied that virtual communities hold a lot of potential for beneficial and positive engagement among the community members but there is a need to examine some of these unintended consequences prevalent in virtual communities.

The objective of this mini-track is to provide a forum for discussion and presentation of original research highlighting some of these unintended consequences and subsequent challenges/or solutions to deal with them. We seek papers that address nature of unintended consequence of engagements in virtual communities from a theoretical, conceptual, or empirical perspective. Both quantitative and qualitative studies are welcome.

Vikas  Jain  jain_vikas12@yahoo.co.uk
Vishal  Midha  vmidha@ilstu.edu

Crowdsourcing and Virtual Collaboration for Social Inclusion

Crowdsourcing and virtual collaboration through digital platforms affords large groups of people to contribute to an overarching goal, usually via virtual communities. Today anyone in the world with basic knowledge or resources has work opportunities afforded by digital platforms which link buyers and sponsors with a crowd or community. Inspired by the conference theme of “Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, this mini-track aims to investigate the high-impact potential of crowdsourcing, the gig-economy, sharing-economy, and platform-economy for social inclusion in organizations and society.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Social and political impact case studies
  • Economic development potential for crowdsourcing in emerging markets
  • Impact sourcing through crowdsourcing
  • Social benefits of the sharing economy
  • Community-sourced credibility assessment
  • Better crowdsourcing methods and models
  • Human and community factors
  • Crowdsourcing markets and economic models
  • Collaboration among and between individuals of the crowd
  • Labor and work organization within virtual crowdsourcing communities

Timothy  Olsen  olsen.tim@gmail.com
Pitso  Tsibolane  pitso.tsibolane@uct.ac.za
Joseph  Taylor  joseph.taylor@csus.edu

In the digital age, organizations must continually innovate with digital technologies in order to succeed over time. This innovation involves the generation of digital products and services that enable fundamental changes to organizations (digital innovation) and the initiation of new ventures (digital entrepreneurship).

In recent decades, an increasing portion of this innovation is enabled or driven by digital technologies. New start up organizations, products, services, operational models, business models, industrial arrangements, work organization, etc., have all been dramatically influenced by the digital technologies that are involved in their development, and the digital technologies that are embedded in the innovations themselves. The goal of this track is to offer a venue for research that focuses on digital technologies and different forms of organizational innovation and entrepreneurship, broadly conceived.

Track Chairs:

Kathryn Brohman, Queen’s University kathryn.brohman@queensu.ca
Robert W. Gregory, University of Virginia rg7cv@comm.virginia.edu
Ola Henfridsson, University of Miami ohenfridsson@miami.edu

Mini-tracks:

AI Applications in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SIG DITE) 

Artificial intelligence (AI) become increasingly ubiquitous in everyday life and almost all industry sectors (Klaus Schwab, 2016). Moreover, AI applications increasingly go beyond merely automating tasks that have traditionally been performed by humans such as via robotics, image recognition, and virtual agents (e.g., Brynjolfsson & Mcafee, 2017) and instead start augmenting them (Raisch & Krakowski, 2020). This augmentation potential opens up entirely new pathways and opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation (e.g., Yoo 2010; Nambisan et al. 2017; Murray et al., 2020). However, research on the role of AI technologies in entrepreneurship and innovation, and especially their augmentation potential, is still in its infancy (e.g., Chalmers et al., 2020). Together with the SIG Digital Innovation, Transformation, and Entrepreneurship (SIG DITE), we seek high quality submissions that contribute to the understanding of AI technologies as enablers, outcomes, or contexts for entrepreneurship and innovation (e.g., von Briel 2020, Nambisan 2017).

Hannes  Rothe  hannes.rothe@fu-berlin.de
Janina  Sundermeier  janina.sundermeier@fu-berlin.de
Frederik  von Briel  f.vonbriel@business.uq.edu.au

Conference Theme Track – Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship 

Montreal is characterized by a vibrant IT industry. Several large IT firms have started in Montreal or have established a strong presence in the city. It creates a very dynamic innovation ecosystem.

The conference theme is “”Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship””. This mini-track welcomes papers that fit the conference theme but that would not necessarily be a direct fit with the other minitracks.

Paola  Gonzalez  paola.gonzalez@dal.ca
Heinz-Theo  Wagner  heinz-theo.wagner@tum.de