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IFIP WG8.6 Working Conference: Call for Papers

Re-Imagining Diffusion of Information Technology and Systems: Opportunities and Risks

5th June 2017: Hotel Guimaraes, Guimaraes, Portugal

In this group (WG 8.6), we consider adoption and diffusion at individual (for example, mobile shopping adoption), organisational (for example, adoption of digital and social media marketing) and societal levels. In this particular event, position papers on any of these levels related to adoption and diffusion are welcomed if they can challenge existing way of examining adoption, diffusion and use.

We solicit position papers for a working conference to formulate new directions for the working group that will address emerging trends, continuous with the original charter of diffusion of IT/IS.

Statement of Theme:

IFIP WG8.6 was established in the early ‘90s “to foster understanding and improve research in practice, methods, and techniques in the transfer and diffusion of information technology within systems that are developed, and in the development process” . A brief history of the group can be found at .

Since that time, the original premises of the working group–how to foster diffusion and adoption–have been overtaken by events. Developments in social media, mobile computing and applications, agile systems development techniques, cloud computing and business analytics can now be said to be viral; the cycle of innovation has sped up, platforms provide quick access to infrastructure, and information spreads on a 24-hour cycle. These developments, in turn, have impacted the way both organizations and societies engage with transfer and diffusion of IT systems within and between organizations, in interactions with customers, and in society in general. The question is no longer how to adopt and diffuse information technologies, but how to quickly assess and manage those that best serve the larger purposes of businesses and societies.

At our last conference in Lungskile, Sweden in August, 2016 we discussed the evolution of the field and whether the time was right to identify and discuss emerging trends that WG8.6 might fold in to a new agenda, one that is consistent with the purpose of the original statement but that is adapted to today’s more viral diffusion environment.

We are planning a 1-day working conference to solicit position statements from group members and the broader IS community that address our theme of “Re-Imagining Diffusion of Information Technology and Systems: Opportunities and Risks”.

We will start the day with a themed panel, hear position papers, and then discuss the most viable ideas for a shift in focus for future conferences and research directions.

Research Questions:

• How do we characterize the shifts of scale and state change we have seen in IT/IS since the early 90s? What are the interacting variables and enabling forces? How do we describe the rate of change, its arc, affordances and constraints?
• How do we reframe our ideas about how the (possibly different) rates of IT/IS diffusion impact individuals, groups, organizations and societies in general?
• What core purpose of the working group transitions smoothly into a new direction?

Possible Paper Topics:

• IS and Organizational Adaptiveness, OR IS for Adaptiveness/Sustainability
• Integration of Computing and Social Systems: “Singularity”
• Ethics and Dynamics of Viral Diffusion of Information and Technologies
• Diffusion or Intrusion? Internet of Things, Utility and Privacy
• Adapting Traditional Methods to Emerging Issues in IS/IT
• Social Networks and Diffusion of Innovation and Practices
• Information Technology and Collective Learning
• Transformative Systems Development for Agility
• Cloud as Diffusion Accelerator
• IS as Continuous Disruption
• Designing for Resilience and Adaptation
• Effect of Big Data and Analytics on Diffusion of Innovation
• Collective Intelligence
• Other Topics (that might extend the original goals of WG 8.6)

General Chairs: Deborah Bunker and Eleanor Wynn

Program Chairs: Dave Wastell, Yogesh Dwivedi & Amany Elbanna

Conference Chair: Isabel Ramos (Chair)

Program Committee: TBA

Important Dates:

• Paper submission deadline – 28th March, 2017;
• Acceptance notification – 21st April, 2017;
• Final camera-ready copy – 12th May 2017;
• Early bird registration – until 12th May, 2017:
• Conference dates – 5th of June, 2017.

Submission Types: Position Statements (only). These should be kept to 5 pages (excluding references) and be structured in the following way:

• Introduction – which includes an identification of the issue and a statement of the author’s position;
• Body of the Argument – which includes background information, supporting evidence or facts, a discussion of both sides of the issue/position; and
• Conclusion – which includes suggested courses of action and possible solutions.

Reference:

All submissions will be double-blind reviewed.

Submission website:

For more details of the event, including registration, please visit the conference web-page, on which further information will be published in due course:

 

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