[AISWorld] ECIS 2017 Theme Track CfP: IS for a Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive World

[Chadi Aoun]

25th European Conference on Information Systems
Conference date and location: 10-15 June Guimaraes, Portugal

Theme Track Webpage: http://www.ecis2017.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ECIS2017-T17.pdf
Deadline for Submission of Research and Research in Progress Papers:  3 December 2016

Track Description:

ECIS 2017 calls for research that is concerned with creating a smart, sustainable and inclusive world. It is our contention that information systems must play a crucial role in supporting inclusiveness and sustainable development - one that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Our Common Future -report, UN, 1987). As such, sustainability is investigated from diverse perspectives, typically focusing on environmental, economic, and social aspects (Elkington 1997).
First, information systems can help individuals, groups, firms, and society at large choose sustainable alternatives that reduce waste and use of energy, and thus contribute to environmental sustainability. Second, information systems have always aimed to contribute to economic sustainability, for instance, through management information systems, transaction processing systems, or data management systems. Third, information systems can form the global gateway to sustainability through sensor networks, business information systems, or data management, amongst others. Importantly, the three dimensions are closely intertwined, and the topic of sustainability is now addressed from a view of a single bounded ecosystem (Elliot 2011; Melville 2010).

The aim of this theme track is to advance the ongoing, yet emergent, discussion on the role and relevance of information systems in the context of sustainability. It intends to provide thought leaders with a forum that accounts for the breadth of sustainability research in the information systems discipline in terms of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Potential topics range from the design of systems and digital services for sustainability to the application of existing theories on change at the individual, group, organizational, and societal levels, as well as the development of new theory. Specifically, we feel challenged to also make the track interesting to practitioners who ultimately will benefit from the knowledge and solutions generated through the academic IS field.

Consequently, we encourage submission of a broad range of works, using various epistemic scripts. Conceptual papers are also welcomed. We particularly invite rigorous and relevant empirical studies employing a wide variety of methods. While we are primarily searching for full research papers, to foster the timely dissemination of innovative ideas, we also welcome ground-breaking research in progress.

A tentative list of topics of interest includes (but not limited to) the following:

-          Green IS and Green IT in organisations

-          Smart green devices

-          Smart cities

-          Energy informatics

-          Maritime informatics

-          Ecological, social, and economic impacts of information technology

-          IS enabled sustainability education and training

-          Crowdsourcing and environmental collaboration

-          Convergence between Green IS theory and practice

-          Equity and diversity through IS


References:

-          Elkington, J. (1997) Cannibals with Forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business, Oxford: Capstone.

-          Elliot, S. (2011) "Transdisciplinary perspectives on environmental sustainability: A resource base and framework for IT-enabled business transformation", MIS Quarterly, 35(1), pp. 197-236.

-          Melville, N.P. (2010) "Information systems innovation for environmental sustainability", MIS Quarterly, 34(1), pp. 1-21.


Further Publishing Opportunities:
This track is supported by the Special Interest Group for Green Information Systems (SIGGreen) of the Association for Information Systems. The Information Society will invite high-quality papers for review.

Track Chairs:
Chadi Aoun, Carnegie Mellon University, chadi at cmu.edu<mailto:chadi at cmu.edu>
Helena Karsten, Åbo Akademi University, ekarsten at abo.fi<mailto:ekarsten at abo.fi>
Stefan Seidel, University of Liechtenstein, stefan.seidel at uni.li<mailto:stefan.seidel at uni.li>

Best Regards,
Dr Chadi Aoun
B.S. Bus, MCom, PCHE, PCEnv, MACS, MAIS, PhD
Office: +974 4454-8603
Fax:    +974 4454-8410
chadi at cmu.edu
Education City, PO Box 24866
Doha, Qatar
http://www.qatar.cmu.edu