[AISWorld] Research Policy - Special Issue on Digitization of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Tue May 2 15:40:45 EDT 2017

Research Policy  
Call for Papers for a Special Issue on
Digitization of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Submission Deadline: 1 December, 2017

Guest Editors

• Satish Nambisan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA 
• Mike Wright, Imperial College, UK
• Maryann Feldman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Background and Focus of the Special Issue
      The emergence of novel and powerful digital technologies, platforms and infrastructures (e.g., social media, crowdsourcing/crowdfunding, mobile computing, cloud computing, 3D printing, data analytics, digital makerspaces, virtual worlds, Internet of Things, blockchain) has transformed both innovation and entrepreneurship in significant ways with broad organizational and policy implications (Nambisan, 2017; Nambisan et al., 2017; Yoo et al., 2010). This special issue aims to address the need to build a broadened understanding of the implications of digitization for innovation and entrepreneurship—an understanding that bridges organizational and policy levels and draws on ideas and concepts from diverse fields (e.g., strategy, innovation/product development, entrepreneurship, information systems, economics, organization science, marketing, public policy, etc.). 
      The infusion of new digital technologies has transformed the nature of uncertainty for innovators and entrepreneurs, in terms of both processes and outcomes. Digitization has led to less predefined agency as well as less bounded outcomes (Nambisan et al., 2017; Yoo et al., 2012). Entrepreneurs and innovators have discovered the power of digital technologies to fuel new forms of entrepreneurial actions that cross traditional industry/sectoral boundaries, embrace networks, ecosystems and communities, and accelerate the inception, scaling and evolution of new ventures (e.g., Chandra & Leenders, 2012; Fischer, & Reuber, 2011; Huang et al., 2017; Rayna et al., 2015; Younkin & Kashkooli, 2016). Established large companies such as GE, Volvo, Johnson Controls, Caterpillar, and Boeing have responded by redefining themselves and radically restructuring their innovation strategies and practices (e.g., Fitzgerald et al., 2014; Svahn et al., 2017). 
      Digitization has also compelled government agencies and other public institutions to rethink the laws, regulations, and policies related to a broad range of issues including intellectual property rights, privacy and security, consumer rights, entrepreneurial financing and securities, incubator/accelerator programs, and regional/local development (e.g., Agrawal et al., 2014; Bruton et al., 2015; Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014; Greenstein et al., 2013; Goldfarb et al., 2014; Goldfarb & Tucker, 2012). Further, digitization of innovation has also translated into innovation productivity gains with important policy implications (Brynjolfsson, 2011).
      We welcome empirical and conceptual research that focuses on a wide range of related issues. Below are some possible topics/issues, however, this is by no means an exhaustive list: 
• Organizational strategies & policies (e.g., alternate forms of organizing for digital innovation/entrepreneurship; strategies for resolving tensions between digital and non-digital elements of an innovation; temporal trajectories of digital innovation and digital entrepreneurial initiatives; inception and scaling of digital ventures; etc.)
• Digital platforms and ecosystems (e.g., digital platforms as venue for innovation & entrepreneurship; new venture strategies on digital platforms; governance and control of digital platforms/ecosystems; competitive and collaborative approaches on digital platforms; role of digital platforms in enabling/constraining entrepreneurial experimentation; patterns of participation in digital platforms/ecosystems; etc.) 
• Economics of digitization (e.g., digital privacy/security regulations and implications for innovation/entrepreneurship; digitization and governance of intellectual property; etc.)
• Social networks and communities (e.g., interactions on social media/online/open source communities and entrepreneurial actions; social connections/practices and institutional arrangements enabled by digital infrastructures and implications for innovation & entrepreneurship; etc.)
• Entrepreneurial financing (e.g., equity and non-equity crowdfunding platforms and their policy implications)  
• Regional development (e.g., digital infrastructure and regional innovation/entrepreneurial ecosystems; cities and regions as launch pad for digital innovation and entrepreneurship; digital social innovation/entrepreneurship and urban revitalization; etc.)

Deadline, Submission and Review Process 
The deadline for submission to this special issue is 1 December, 2017. Submissions should be prepared in accordance with Research Policy’s author guidelines available at https://www.elsevier.com/journals/research-policy/0048-7333/guide-for-authors. 

The Guest Editors will screen the submissions to ensure appropriate scope and relevance. Manuscripts that do not pass this initial screening will be returned to the authors and the remaining manuscripts will be reviewed according to standard Research Policy procedures. Publication of this special issue is planned for 2019. 

For questions regarding the content of this special issue, please contact the guest editors: 
• Satish Nambisan, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee; nambisan at uwm.edu 
• Mike Wright, Imperial College, UK; mike.wright at imperial.ac.uk
• Maryann Feldman, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; maryann.feldman at gmail.com

For questions about submitting to the special issue, contact Research Policy at respol at sussex.ac.uk

References:
o Agrawal, A., Catalini, C., & Goldfarb, A. (2014). Some simple economics of crowdfunding. Innovation Policy and the Economy, 14(1), 63-97.
o Bruton, G., Khavul, S., Siegel, D., & Wright, M. (2015). New financial alternatives in seeding entrepreneurship: Microfinance, crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer innovations. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(1), 9-26.
o Brynjolfsson, E. (2011). ICT, innovation and the e-economy. EIB papers, 16(2), 60-76.
o Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The second machine age: Work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. WW Norton & Company.
o Chandra, Y., & Leenders, M. A. (2012). User innovation and entrepreneurship in the virtual world: A study of Second Life residents. Technovation, 32(7), 464-476.
o Fischer, E. and A. R. Reuber. (2011). Social interaction via new social media:(How) can interactions on Twitter affect effectual thinking and behavior? Journal of Business Venturing, 26(1): 1–18.
o Fitzgerald, M., Kruschwitz, N., Bonnet, D., & Welch, M. (2014). Embracing digital technology: A new strategic imperative. MIT sloan management review, 55(2), 1.
o Goldfarb, A., & Tucker, C. (2012). Privacy and innovation. Innovation Policy and The Economy, 12(1), 65-89.
o Goldfarb, A., Greenstein, S., & Tucker, C. (2014). Introduction to “Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy”. In Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy (pp. 1-17). University of Chicago Press.
o Greenstein, S., Lerner, J., & Stern, S. (2013). Digitization, innovation, and copyright: What is the agenda? Strategic Organization, 11(1), 110-121.
o Huang, J., Henfridsson, O., Liu, M. J., & Newell, S. (2017). Growing on steroids: rapidly scaling the user base of digital ventures through digital innovation. MIS Quarterly, 41(1), 301-314.
o Nambisan, S. (2017). Digital entrepreneurship: Toward a digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice (forthcoming).
o Nambisan, S., Lyytinen, K., Majchrzak, A. & M. Song. (2017). Digital innovation management: Reinventing innovation management research in a digital world. MIS Quarterly, 41(1), 223-238.
o Rayna, T., Striukova, L., & Darlington, J. (2015). Co-creation and user innovation: The role of online 3D printing platforms. Jrnl of Engineering and Technology Management, 37, 90-102. 
o Svahn, F., Mathiassen, L., & Lindgren, R. (2017). Embracing digital innovation in incumbent firms: How Volvo cars managed competing concerns. MIS Quarterly, 41(1), 239-253.
o Yoo, Y., Boland Jr., R. J., Lyytinen, K., and Majchrzak, A. (2012). Organizing for innovation in the digitized world. Organization Science (23:5), pp. 1398-1408.
o Yoo, Y., Henfridsson, O., & Lyytinen, K. (2010). The new organizing logic of digital innovation: An agenda for information systems research. Information Systems Research, 21(4), 724-735.
o Younkin, P., & Kashkooli, K. (2016). What problems does crowdfunding solve? California Management Review, 58(2), 20-43.

________________________________________________________
Satish Nambisan
Professor of Entrepreneurship & Technology Management
Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
P.O. Box 742  |  Milwaukee, WI  53201
( 414/229-6865    |  * nambisan at uwm.edu
 http://www.satishnambisan.org