Sutirtha Chatterjee, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Ravi Patnayakuni, University of Alabama in Huntsville

Yingqin Zheng, University of Essex

Zhongyun (Phil) Zhou, Tongji University

Information Systems Journal, as part of its outreach efforts, will be holding a Paper Development Workshop along with the 2025 Pacific-Asia Conference on Information Systems in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The half-day workshop will be held on Sunday, July 6, 2025, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm as an in-person pre-conference workshop. ISJ welcomes research that spans across the diverse and interdisciplinary IS field.

The paper development workshop aims to nurture scholarship across the broad spectrum of information systems researchers. We welcome work that examines both established and emerging areas within IS. The workshop aims to provide a supportive environment for researchers to develop their ideas and receive constructive feedback on their work from the journal’s editorial board members. We especially encourage submissions from author(s) planning to submit their work to ISJ’s forthcoming special issue on 'Theorising the Impacts of Generative Artificial Intelligence', which has a submission deadline of December 31, 2025, and any other special issues announced before the workshop deadline.

The workshop welcomes papers at various stages of development, from early conceptual work to papers nearing completion. We encourage submissions that show potential for theoretical or practical contribution to the IS field, regardless of their current stage. The workshop particularly aims to support researchers who would benefit from early guidance and feedback on their work.

Interested authors are invited to submit papers for possible inclusion in the workshop. Papers that have been accepted, under review, or under revision at other journals, workshops, or conferences should not be submitted. Please note that not all submissions received may be accepted. Papers that are not accepted will not receive feedback. The selected papers will be mentored by at least two members of the ISJ Editorial Board. Additionally, attending author(s) of accepted papers may be assigned manuscripts as discussants.

Please note that the workshop is not associated with any publication. The goal is to offer feedback to the authors that can help enhance the quality of the paper as it is prepared for submission to a suitable journal. Authors do not have an obligation to submit the paper to ISJ but are encouraged to submit their completed papers for publication consideration to the journal in the future. Also, please note that participation in the workshop does not imply favorable consideration or outcome at ISJ.

Potential topics

• Submissions from PACIS community
• Relationship between technology, business, economy, and society
• Examining established and emerging areas within Information Systems
• Theoretical or practical contribution to the IS field
• Support for early-stage researchers

Timeline

• May 12, 2025: Submission Begin
• May 19, 2025: Submission Deadline
• June 6, 2025: Decisions
• July 6, 2025: ISJ Trending Topics Workshop

Francesco Appio, Paris School of Business

Luca Gastaldi, Politecnico di Milano

Federico Iannacci, University of Sussex

Digital transformation has become a major point of discussion in organizations and broader society, yet its overall desirability and consequences remain open to debate. While many practitioners and scholars see these initiatives as avenues for enhancing efficiency, competitiveness, and customer engagement, there is also growing recognition of the complexities, paradoxes, and unintended effects they may introduce. Indeed, the acceleration of digital projects—especially following the COVID-19 pandemic—can invite various forms of resistance, leading to stalled progress and disruptions.

Importantly, digital transformation is increasingly recognized as an overarching and longitudinal process or strategic goal—rather than a one-time deployment of new technological tools—and requires shifts in both capabilities and institutional frameworks. Because this transformation unfolds over time, people may be resisting not only 'technology,' but also the evolving cultural, structural, and strategic changes that accompany it. More precisely, resistance is not solely a matter of technical or budgetary constraints; it intersects with organizational culture, leadership approaches, and individual behaviors. The emergence of new technologies—such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and digital twins—can exacerbate concerns about data transparency, automation, 'black box' processes, and ethical dilemmas. For some, these technologies prompt anxiety around potential job displacement or fears that advanced automation could undermine trust. In other situations, hurried or incomplete rollouts of new platforms—such as remote work tools—may create friction and lead employees to question their effectiveness.

Studies also highlight the role of deeply held cultural assumptions and legacy mindsets in impeding organizational shifts. In particular, environments that do not support collaboration and experimentation can intensify pushback against change. Generational differences often add another layer of complexity, as digital-native employees may clash with colleagues who have limited exposure to or interest in new technologies. Approaches such as gamification and behavioral nudges show potential to lessen opposition, although their effectiveness remains an active area of inquiry. Additionally, collective pushback or digital boycotts—where groups of employees, consumers, or communities reject new platforms—underscore the importance of trust, data governance, and broader social considerations.

Sustaining digital change over the long run often requires leadership that can manage both the technical and human dimensions of transformation, alongside an organizational culture geared toward continuous learning. Many organizations strive to integrate ongoing upskilling, transparent communication, and stakeholder engagement to reduce uncertainty and foster participation. By examining how and why employees, managers, or external stakeholders resist digital initiatives, researchers can illuminate strategies for balancing innovation with well-founded concerns and ensuring that transformations proceed in a manner consistent with ethical and social expectations.

This special issue invites work that addresses a broad range of questions around resistance to digital transformation. Rather than framing such transformations as inherently beneficial, we encourage submissions that critically examine these processes, questioning when they should (or should not) be pursued and how resistance emerges in diverse contexts. Ultimately, we hope to generate richer insights into how organizations, policymakers, and societies can better navigate the opportunities and risks posed by digital change.

Potential topics

• Cultural inertia and institutional friction
• Generational mismatches and skill gaps
• Augmentation vs. Automation
• Gamification and behavioral nudges
• Digital boycotts and collective pushback
• Organizational learning and adaptation
• Distinguishing digital transformation from general IS/IT resistance

Timeline

• July 31, 2025: Extended abstract submission for early feedback
• October 1, 2025: Full paper submission deadline

Associate editors

• Martin Adam, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Ravi Patnayakuni, University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Andy Du, University of Massachusetts Boston
• Dimitra Petrakaki, University of Sussex
• Sven Laumer, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität
• Luiz Antonio Joia, Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration at FGV
• Shahla Ghobadi, University of Leeds

Robert Davison, City University of Hong Kong

Antonio Díaz Andrade, University of Agder

Manuel Trenz, University of Gottingen

Since 2022, we have witnessed an inexorable flood of information about Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) and its various components and manifestations. As hypes go, this one seems overdue for a cyclical correction; however, the enthusiasm for GAI across a wide range of contexts still rises. The euphoria permeates not just mainstream society and popular culture, but also business, politics, warfare and, of course, academia. The tone of inevitability about GAI and its benefits is fervent and the passion of many (notably academics, tech pundits and businesspeople) is abundant. This is not to say that there are no critical voices: there are, but their concerns risk being submerged by the tide of optimism and it may seem heretical to critique, let alone excoriate, the GAI phenomenon.

For example, at some institutions, even measured critiques of GAI are viewed as misaligned with their forward-looking visions, creating an environment where scholars may feel pressured to conform to a predominantly positive narrative. Almost as soon as GAI was released and became a topic of discussion, we quickly saw a spate of opinions, accompanied by the wisdom of pundits and some speculative analyses of what the impact on a variety of societal and organizational functions might be. These early discussions lacked grounding in robust empirical or theoretical insights, instead reflecting speculative or overly generalized narratives. In many ways, these initial reactions paralleled the reactions to Artificial Intelligence almost forty years earlier (Sheil, 1987).

Some academic publishers quickly outlawed the use of GAI by submitting authors and other notes of caution were expressed regarding the potential negative impacts. However, as the technology evolved, so in parallel did the restrictions on academic use, most of which were just as quickly retracted and replaced with more nuanced advisories. Academic institutions, journal publishers, and universities started to promulgate guidelines, essentially legitimizing GAI application, yet also unleashing peer and institutional pressure to take advantage of this new opportunity.

In parallel to these academic perspectives, business organizations have expressed both enthusiasm for the technology and concerns about such issues as data protection, truth, trust, and errors, as well as how to train people to use GAI correctly. Today we see that AI-themed programmes and research centres are being created in profusion. This proliferation is worrisome not because of the exploration of GAI itself, but because it often lacks critical engagement with the potential harms and adverse consequences.

At the ISJ, we have already seen both submissions and reviews where GAI appears to have played a role not so far from either co-author or some form of assistant. In response, we have published cautionary editorials (Davison et al., 2023, 2024). When it comes to AI-themed research submissions, our sense is that we are at the stage of the trickle before the deluge. Given the normative process of empirical (qualitative or quantitative) research, it is not surprising that few such AI-themed articles (e.g., Susarla et al., 2023; Grover, 2024) have been published. However, in a pre-GAI special issue (Mikalef et al., 2022), a more critical tone was adopted with an explicit focus on the dark side of AI.

At the ISJ, the vast majority of GAI-themed submissions to date tend to emphasise the novelty of application area yet actually have little to do with IS and fail to engage with its broader sociotechnical axis. This reflects an ongoing challenge for IS scholars: how to meaningfully situate GAI research within the discipline’s core concerns. Nevertheless, this also presents an opportunity for IS researchers to engage critically with GAI through theoretical and methodological innovation and empirical rigor. What we also find to be absent from much of the GAI-related work done so far is either a more critical stance or attempts to engage in rigorous and novel theoretical development on the impacts of GAI.

This is troubling because of the risks that GAI poses to individuals, organizations, society more broadly, and the natural environment. In fact, poorly vetted applications of GAI run the risk of such negative outcomes as violating privacy, facilitating research misconduct, insulting customers, and discriminating unfairly against specific groups. Given this backdrop, we argue that the time is now ripe for researchers to critically investigate the diverse impacts of GAI. Analyzing these impacts through a sociotechnical lens is essential to bridge the gap between technological advancements and their broader implications.

We can expect that a wide variety of impacts may be experienced globally, some of which will be legal in one jurisdiction even as they are illegal elsewhere; this heightens concerns about widening digital and AI-related divides. To explain these phenomena and anticipate their future trajectories, researchers must employ appropriate theoretical frameworks and remain open to innovative forms of theorizing. GAI's emergence necessitates both the adaptation of existing theories and the development of new theoretical arguments that reflect its distinctive characteristics, such as its effects on human agency and the contextual nuances of its applications.

We encourage the application of grounded research, given that GAI is still an emerging phenomenon. For example, theories of disruption, given the undeniably disruptive nature of GAI, may offer more fruitful opportunities for theoretical innovation, while critical design approaches rooted in theories of emancipation could illuminate issues of AI oppression. A robust theoretical foundation that explores the ‘dark side’ of GAI is indispensable for advancing sociotechnical research and addressing its complex, often adverse, societal impacts.

In a positive sense, the research that we aim to publish in this special issue should contribute to our understanding of the potential negative impacts of GAI, with the hope that we can also mitigate them. In-depth ethnographic fieldwork, critical case studies, and grounded theory can help reveal and address the otherwise hidden aspects of GAI in practice. Action Researchers may go a step further to propose and even enact those mitigation strategies in particular contexts, thus subjecting their theoretical ideas to empirical tests.

For this special issue, we specifically solicit research that draws on primary data. Primary data allows for a deeper understanding of GAI’s real-world impact and enables researchers to engage directly with stakeholders, such as individuals and organizations affected by GAI. We aim to foster research that is grounded in real-world experiences and produces theoretically innovative, methodologically rigorous work that can truly advance our understanding of GAI's sociotechnical consequences. We expect that authors will make a direct contribution to knowledge by developing a new theory or theorisations that acknowledge the unique characteristics of GAI. We welcome interdisciplinary work. We also welcome action research and design science studies if they empirically demonstrate how the negative impacts of GAI can be mitigated, and in addition develop theory.

For this special issue, we do not accept the submission of stand-alone reviews of the technology, opinion papers and purely conceptual papers. Submissions to this special issue must align closely with the sociotechnical axis central to IS research. Specifically, we seek studies that explore the interplay between human, technological, environmental and organizational dimensions of GAI in real-world contexts. The range of topics and contexts that may be suitable is clearly extensive, and thus we only provide a partial list below. As we indicate above, we are particularly interested in the dark side of GAI.

Potential topics

• Human - GAI Relationships and Collaboration (e.g., Anthropomorphism in AI and human identity; Dehumanized interactions; Relationships with robots or chatbots; Power dynamics in human - AI collaboration and hegemonic interactions)
• Human Agency, Creativity, and Cognition (e.g., Erosion of human agency and GAI dependency; Challenges to human creativity in the era of AI - driven pattern generation; Mediocrity as a new norm, and the struggle for excellence; Cognitive enhancement, deterioration, and dependence in GAI - mediated environments)
• Social Inequalities and Marginalization (e.g., Impacts on marginalized populations and inequality by design; Educational equity and impact on learning; Global and cultural distortions and digital exclusion; Data colonialism and global inequalities)
• Work and Organizational Shifts (e.g., Transformation, decline and disappearance of professions; Deskilling and disempowering of individuals; Disruptions to work, routines, and shifts in organizational dynamics)
• Governance and Policy (e.g., Implications of strong or absent governance frameworks; Regulation and policy development by governments and organizations; National policies and their differences; Environmental and societal trade-offs)
• Disinformation and Trust (Development & dissemination of disinformation, misinformation, and conspiracy theories; Erosion of trust in human and organizational communication)
• Fundamental Risks (e.g., Systemic risk, resilience, and dependencies in AI - enhanced infrastructure; Vulnerabilities and data poisoning; Misuse of intellectual property; Warfare automation)

Timeline

• June 30, 2025: Deadline for extended abstract submissions for early feedback
• December 31, 2025: Full paper submission deadline

Associate editors

• Angsana Techatassanasoontorn, AUT University
• Carla Bonina, University of Surrey
• Christoph Breidbach, University of Queensland
• Dimitra Petrakaki, University of Sussex
• Efpraxia Zamani, Durham University
• Gilbert Fridgen, University of Luxembourg
• Hameed Chughtai, University of Lancaster
• Han-fen Hu, University of Nevada Las Vegas
• Harminder Singh, AUT University
• Johan Sæbo, University of Oslo
• Luiz Joia, Getulio Vargas Foundation
• Marco Marabelli, Bentley University
• Martin Adam, University of Göttingen
• Maximilian Schreieck, University of Innsbruck
• Mike Lee, University of Nevada Las Vegas
• Mira Slavova, Warwick Business School
• Mylene Struijk, University of Sydney
• Nancy Deng, California State University Dominguez Hills
• Petros Chamakiotis, ESCP
• Petter Nielsen, University of Oslo
• Phil Zhou, Tongji University
• Pierre-Emmanuel Arduin, Paris Dauphine University
• Sven Laumer, Friedrich-Alexander University
• Tommy Chan, University of Manchester

Safa’a AbuJarour, An-Najah National University

Hameed Chughtai, Lancaster University Management School

Yingqin Zheng, University of Essex

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that there are approximately 110 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, as of mid-2023, because of persecution, conflict, war, violence, human rights violations, or events seriously disturbing public order. These include 36.4 million refugees and 62.5 million internally displaced people (IDP), asylum seekers, and several other people in need of international protection. There is a strong history of research highlighting the issues faced by refugees, ranging from accounts of violence in the developing world, exploring the gendered experience of refugees, questioning racist thinking about immigration, case studies of asylum seekers, and philosophical inquiry into the fair treatment of refugees. The global refugee and forced migration crisis and the persistent challenges faced by these vulnerable communities call for an urgent need for innovative solutions that foster social inclusion and empower these populations.

In our field, information systems (IS) researchers have been acutely aware of the refugee and migrant crises. Researchers have examined the critical issues related to social inclusion of refugees, social inclusion and activation of refugee agency, information and communication technology (ICT) enabled refugee integration, refugees and pedagogy, digitization and refugee settlement, refugee women and information-precarity, and migrant identity. Nonetheless, recent research in refugee studies has shown that critical areas at the intersection of technology, refugees, and broader migration crises have remained underexamined, for example, social media and device vetting, digitally mediated lived experiences of minority refugees, refugees and a sense of uncertainty in the digital age, refugee aid and digital capitalism, and networked refugees.

We observe that despite some progress in our field, much remains underexplored in addressing these pressing issues, underscoring the need for rigorous research. This special issue aims to explore how IS research could contribute to illuminating the refugee crises and alleviating the deterioration of refugee and migrant social circumstances. These sensitive topics are situated within the broader debate on digital inclusion and empowerment and the discussions related to inequality and demarginalization and decolonization in our field.

Exploring the critical research questions surrounding IS and migrant/refugee populations is essential for developing comprehensive and ‘good’ IS solutions and making the world a better place for all of us. We encourage submissions from diverse researchers with multidisciplinary perspectives, including experts in IS, social sciences, public policy, humanitarian studies, and other relevant fields. Such interdisciplinary collaborations will contribute to a holistic understanding of the problems and foster innovative solutions. We seek submissions that focus on real-world issues at the intersection of refugees and migrant crises and technology.

Potential topics

• Critical analyses of the interrelated themes of identity, refugeeness, and belonging.
• Exploring the ethics of (forced) migration.
• Analysing the politics of responsibility and the integration of refugees and migrants in digital contexts.
• Technology, racial marginalization and refugees experience.
• Digital biopolitics, identities, and datafication of migrants and refugees.
• Online activism and digital social movements in the context of refugees or migrants.
• Agency, resistance and coping mechanisms of migrants and refugees.
• Examining the issues at the intersections of gender, technology, and migrants/refugees (including queering migration and issues of gender-based violence).
• Digitally-entangled lived experiences of minorities among refugee populations.
• Datafication of borders and algorithmic management of migrants and refugees.
• Decolonial justice and /for migrants and refugees.
• Digital justice and human rights issues affecting migrants and refugees.
• Digital and data surveillance and control on migrants and refugees.
• Issues related to power and exploitation of migrants and refugees.
• Critical narratives of displacement.
• Digital accounts and narratives of refugee experience.
• Technology and the political philosophy of migration and refuge.
• Novel theoretical lenses to study migration and refugee issues such as decolonial theory, spatial and temporal perspectives, Indigenous viewpoints, critical race theory, and feminist approaches.
• Novel methodological approaches to examine refugee issues such as visual ethnography, visual research, and digitally mediated bodily experiences.
• Application of novel technologies such as Blockchain and AI.

Timeline

• November 30, 2024: Submission of extended abstract (optional)
• March 30, 2025: Submission of manuscript

Associate editors

• Petros Chamakiotis, ESCP Business School
• Andrea Jimenez, University of Sheffield
• Shirin Madon, London School of Economics
• Marco Marabelli, Bentley University
• Carmen Leong, University of New South Wales
• Shaila Miranda, University of Arkansas
• Priyanka Panday, Kings College London
• Israr Qureshi, Australian National University
• Maximilian Schreieck, University of Innsbruck
• Devinder Thapa, University of Agder
• Ranjan Vaidya, Auckland University of Technology