[AISWorld] CfP Special Issue of MIS Quarterly Executive on Blockchain Applications

[Lacity, Mary C.]

MIS Quarterly Executive announces a CfP for a special issue on "Delivering Business Value through Enterprise Blockchain Applications”.

Submission Deadline: February 18, 2019

A blockchain application is a distributed, peer-to-peer system for validating, time-stamping, and permanently storing transactions and smart contracts on a shared distributed ledger. The initial impetus for Bitcoin—the first live blockchain application—was to use computer algorithms and cryptography instead of trusted third-party institutions to mitigate counter-party risks. For enterprises, blockchain applications promise a significant amount of business value, like transacting directly with trading partners, eliminating the need for reconciliations, instantly tracking assets, providing robust data provenance, settling transactions quickly and cheaply and enabling a security model that is fault tolerant, resilient, and available. However, the technology is immature, standards are yet to be established, and regulatory uncertainty is high. Besides these broader factors, enterprises are also challenged by the internal implications of blockchain applications, such as sharing governance with competitors, allowing others to validate and store the enterprise’s data, and data retirement policies that are incompatible with a blockchain’s immutability of records.
This special issue aims to examine the strategic opportunities, management challenges, and emerging practices to realize the promised value. We encourage submissions based on original in-depth case studies or other field-based research that provide practical frameworks, proven best practices, and rich descriptions of clearly valuable blockchain applications. Our aim is to attract papers that highlight what is real, live, and being used rather than what is merely aspirational.   We also encourage studies of organizations with worthwhile social missions, such as bringing financial services to the 2 billion people who lack access, protecting the property rights of people with low economic status, and protecting the integrity of political elections.  Original case studies of working groups seeking to establish standards or regulatory bodies seeking to clarify rules in a post-blockchain world are also welcome. The managerial implications/lessons from the cases/field studies should be generalizable for Chief Information Officers and for other C-suite executives.
Potential submission could focus on (but are not limited to) the following themes:

  *   How traditional enterprises are using blockchain applications to deliver business value to customers
  *   How traditional competitors are collaborating to define standards and/or share blockchain applications to benefit the entire sector
  *   How CIOs facilitate blockchain applications within their organizations as well as across trading partners, particularly to address issues like interoperability, security, scalability and performance
  *   How trusted third parties are responding to the threats blockchain applications pose to their business models
  *   Breakout startups/spinoffs that have the proven abilities to disrupt traditional business models.
  *   Case studies of organizational uses or regulatory bodies’ views on new funding models like Initial Coin Offerings
  *   Inspiring cases of blockchains being used to uplift underserved populations

Important Dates and Review Process:
In the tradition of the MISQ Executive the path to publication is fast-paced with rapid review turnaround.  We encourage interested authors to contact the editors before submitting in order to receive early guidance and reduce review time.

  *   Special Issue full paper submission deadline: February 18, 2019
  *   First editorial review sent to authors: April 15, 2019
  *   Paper resubmission based on editor feedback deadline: June 15, 2019
  *   Second editorial review, decision and suggestions to authors: August 15, 2019
  *   Final submission of accepted papers deadline: October 1, 2019
  *   MISQE publication: December 2019

You can contact Special Issue Editors:
Mary Lacity, University of Missouri-Saint Louis, mary.lacity at umsl.edu
Rajiv Sabherwal, University of Arkansas, RSabherwal at walton.uark.edu
Carsten Sørensen, London School of Economics, c.sorensen at lse.ac.uk


Dr. Mary C. Lacity
Curators' Distinguished Professor of Information Systems
College of Business
University of Missouri-St. Louis
One University Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63121
Home page: www.umsl.edu/~lacitym<http://www.umsl.edu/~lacitym>
Service Automation Research: http://www.roboticandcognitiveautomation.co.uk<http://www.roboticandcognitiveautomation.co.uk/index.html>
Author of A Manager’s Guide to Blockchains for Business<http://www.umsl.edu/~lacitym/BlockchainSheet.pdf>, SB Publishing, forthcoming