Thomas Hess, University of Munich (LMU)

Ioanna Constantiou, Copenhagen Business School

Niki Panteli, Lancaster University

Generative AI (GenAI) has rapidly become a general-purpose technology that reshapes how information is created, curated, and consumed. GenAI broadly refers to a class of AI models that generate seemingly new content in the form of text, images, audio, or video. In the media context, where value is built around the provision and use of content, GenAI has attracted particular attention. For instance, it enables the near-instant creation of journalistic articles, marketing texts, or audiovisual material, and it supports personalization by dynamically adapting media offerings to individual user preferences. The advent of the Internet had already marked a profound transformation in the delivery and consumption of content. It made user-generated content possible, catalyzed multi-sided platforms, and enabled unprecedented personalization. This transformation brought new players into the media sector, as technology companies entered the market and traditional media firms were forced to develop significant digital competencies for the first time.

GenAI is expected to have an equally profound impact on the media industry by expanding complementary innovation, lowering barriers for content creation, and altering the economics of matching and recommendation at scale. Despite recent advances, our knowledge is still limited. Existing research has begun to shed light on the impact of GenAI on textual news app users’ willingness to pay, yet it is unknown whether similar effects extend to audiovisual content. Moreover, there are initial indications of how journalists’ productivity may change with the use of GenAI. At the same time, the potential for entirely new GenAI-based products remains largely unexplored. In particular, little is known about the extent to which audience discussions can be moderated and managed, or about the new forms of public media provision that GenAI might enable. These questions are especially pressing given the central role of media in shaping public opinion and broader societal developments, including political attitudes.

The aim of this special issue is to advance IS research on this emerging field. We invite contributions that examine the role of GenAI in the provision and use of media offerings. Analyses may focus on individuals, organizations, or industries. Studies may address GenAI on the level of systems, their effects, or their management. Submissions should be firmly grounded in the technology itself and its implications for media ecosystems. This special issue aims to stimulate innovative investigations of the transformative role of GenAI in the provisioning and use of public media. In contrast to closed settings, such as private messaging services, the recipients of public communication cannot be predetermined or exhaustively specified in advance. Accordingly, the domain of interest spans both online media, including digital platforms and social media, and traditional media such as print and television. We welcome qualitative and quantitative empirical studies as well as design-oriented research. Submissions should provide a clear academic contribution by advancing theory and knowledge in the Information Systems discipline. While practical relevance and managerial implications are highly valued, they are not sufficient on their own; academic advancement is essential.

Potential topics

• Provision of Content for the Media
• Use of Content provided by the Media
• Embedding of the Media in Society

Timeline

• December 1, 2025: Full paper submission opens
• April 30, 2026: Full paper submission closes
• June 30, 2026: Desk check
• September 30, 2026: Feedback on the first version
• January 31, 2027: Submission revision 1
• April 30, 2027: Feedback on revision 1
• June 30, 2027: Submission revision 2
• July 31, 2027: Final decision

Timothy Hannigan, Telfer School of Business

P. Devereaux Jennings, Alberta School of Business

Shaila Miranda, Information Systems Sam M. Walton College of Business

Samer Faraj, Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University

This Special Issue is devoted to interpretive approaches to studying algorithmic assemblages constitutive of and by fields, ecosystems, and platforms and combining research from an organizational and information systems view about such organizing features and their dynamics. Information technologies have progressively enabled a shift in the locus of value creation, capture, and resource orchestration and the processes they entail from within organizations to more loosely coupled and emergently structured sociotechnical systems. The interpretive approach stems from the relational turn in organization theory and considers assemblages and algorithmic organizing as views of key constructs and their associated processes.

To date, there has been less theory-building and empirical research connecting macro constructs with the micro-dynamics of these systems. It is particularly unclear how algorithmic technologies enable the interconnections of organizational ecosystems and facilitate legitimacy dynamics of institutional fields. Furthermore, it is not clear how algorithmic technologies circumscribe meanings across global fields and societies. The call for theory and research relies on relational approaches coming from both organization theory and information systems.

Potential topics

• Interpretive approaches to algorithmic assemblages
• Relational approaches from organization theory
• The dynamics of algorithmic technologies in organizational ecosystems
• Legitimacy dynamics of institutional fields
• Impact of AI and blockchain on organizational structures and meanings
• Methodological frameworks for studying technology-mediated organizing

Timeline

• May 15, 2026: Submission deadline for full papers
• September 15, 2026: First round reviews due
• October 31, 2026: First round decision letters sent out
• February 28, 2027: First round paper resubmissions
• May 31, 2027: Second round reviews due
• July 15, 2027: Second round decision letters sent out
• October 15, 2027: Second round paper resubmissions
• March 15, 2028: Final papers selected, introductory editorial paper written

Julia Kotlarsky, University of Auckland

Jacqueline Corbett, Université Laval

Juliana Sutanto, Monash University

Thomas Kude, University of Bamberg

Yenni Tim, University of New South Wales

Sustainability is a moral and existential imperative of our time. As Information Systems (IS) scholars, we are aware of the immense impact of digital technologies on efforts and initiatives towards sustainable practice happening locally and globally. Furthermore, because digital phenomena lie at the heart of our discipline, IS researchers are well positioned to join these efforts. This Special Issue aims to champion new digital sustainability research programs targeting the planet’s most pressing sustainability challenges from the past decade. We hope it will contribute towards building novel collective knowledge and help shape digital sustainability research in IS.

Human society is approaching the edge of a dangerous precipice. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report unequivocally confirms that human activities have caused global warming, predicting that even with current commitments and mitigation efforts, it will be difficult to limit warming below the critical threshold of 2 o C. The planet’s air, land, and water continue to be threatened on several fronts, with research suggesting that the safe operating zone for six of the nine planetary boundaries has already been breached. Over the past decade, extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, fires and heatwaves have not only increased in frequency but also in magnitude. In addition to causing environmental impacts, these events have a significant impact on society, further complicating the pursuit of social and economic sustainability.

In 2020, about 724 million people were living in conditions of extreme poverty, with almost 30% of the world’s population suffering from some level of food insecurity. Equality for women and other marginalized groups continues to lag. The World Bank reports that 2.4 billion women globally do not have the same economic rights as men, and despite the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, Indigenous Peoples around the world continue to suffer the intergenerational trauma of colonization. The trend towards urbanization endures, with cities struggling to ensure inclusive, resilient, and sustainable living environments for all residents. On top of all these challenges, violent conflicts have led to the forced migration of millions of people and the deaths of thousands of civilians. These alarming circumstances highlight the lack of progress towards the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

As argued in a recent JAIS editorial on digital sustainability, the IS research community has a strong foundation to draw upon, ranging from research into Green IS to studies addressing significant societal challenges. The poor cannot eat technology, but the mindful design and use of technology can contribute to innovative solutions and positive impacts. In particular, we consider that the recent shift in the way IS research approaches digital phenomena offers new perspectives on the relationship between digital technologies and sustainability. Building on a contention that the classical view of an information system as representing and reflecting physical reality has become obsolete, there exists an opportunity for the IS community to drive a more inclusive agenda on digital sustainability, one that encompasses phenomena in which the impact of digital technologies and macro-level environmental, social, and economic objectives converge.

Accordingly, this Special Issue seeks contributions that delve into digital sustainability and encompass the development, deployment, and utilization of digital resources and artifacts toward improving the environment, society, and economic welfare.

Potential topics

• Design and development considerations
• Research that investigates the processes, principles, resources or capabilities required for the design and development of digital sustainability artefacts
• Intervention-based research that engages directly in enhancing sustainability practices within organizations or communities through effective leveraging of digital technologies
• Studies examining how the different inter- and intra-organizational actors involved in digital sustainability projects engage and interact as they develop, deploy, and govern digital solutions for macro-level sustainability agenda
• Explorations of the relationships between digital objects and the physical reality they shape/create in the context of social and environmental sustainability
• Use considerations
• Research examining how digital technologies support key organizational activities in the management of macro-level sustainability challenges
• Theoretical and/or empirical investigations of the interplay between sustainability initiatives and other digital agendas
• Studies of ‘computed human experiences’ with respect to sustainability
• Research on the challenges and opportunities for reclaiming and rejuvenating Indigenous cultures and knowledge through decolonized digital artefacts
• Management and governance considerations
• Studies exploring the governance of digital sustainability
• Research on the role of different actors in the digital sustainability ecosystem
• Studies on the sustainability agenda at the community and societal levels
• Policy implications related to digital sustainability
• Outcomes and consequences
• Studies that incorporate multiple aspects of digital sustainability performance
• Case studies of real-world impacts of digital sustainability on vulnerable or marginalized communities
• Research investigating alternative ways of measuring progress toward long-term sustainability objectives

Timeline

• February 20, 2024: Online information session (we invite potential authors to send us specific questions to address during this session)
• October 1, 2024: Deadline for paper submission
• February 1, 2025: First-round decisions
• June 1, 2025: Deadline to submit revised papers
• September 15, 2025: Second-round decisions
• February 1, 2026: Deadline to submit revised papers
• June 1, 2026: Provisional/Final decisions
• July 1, 2026: Deadline to submit final paper (if minor revision is required)

Aaron Baird, Georgia State University

Yusen Xia, Georgia State University

Rajiv Kohli, William & Mary

The objective of this special issue is to showcase how health analytics can be used to enhance theorizing in the field of IS. In addition to its contribution to deep analysis, the power of health analytics research lies in theory development that leverages the unique context of health care. Specifically, the special issue aims to foster research that addresses the question: How can the application and design of analytics methods identify insights from health data and extend IS theory?

This special issue places analytics at the forefront of IS research so that health care researchers can make a theoretical contribution to IS research. Through this special issue, we hope to provide an opportunity for emerging and innovative health analytics research to be published that will showcase how new forms and combinations of theoretical reasoning, methods, and data can contribute to theory building. Our hope is that this special issue will contribute to deeper descriptions, explanations, and predictions of emerging health phenomena relevant to IS scholars as well as demonstrate to clinicians and patients opportunities that will enrich health care management and delivery. We welcome research at the intersection of traditional and emerging approaches, exploratory research, phenomenon-based research, novel methods, and data from any relevant source (with IRB approval, as needed). While we are open to discoveries of all kinds, we expect application of rigorous methods, presentation of persuasive reasoning, and inclusion of strong evidence.

Health analytics can be generally described as generating insights from health data through analysis. Significant and impactful work in health analytics is emerging in the IS literature, but there are also significant opportunities to leverage health analytics research to contribute to theorizing in IS. For instance, while interesting findings within IS have been presented in the context of health analytics use in hospitals and clinical diagnostics or care, many health analytics research contexts have yet to be exploited in IS research. The diversity of data and contexts within which to conduct health analytics research is substantial and such diversity is currently underrepresented in IS journals. We propose that health analytics research can advance beyond presentation of context specific models and methods. We see considerable promise in applying such innovative approaches to the enhancement of IS theory, particularly in explaining IS-enabled mechanisms, through research conducted in the health analytics context.

Potential topics

• Heterogenous treatment effects in areas such as health care performance, social determinants of health, use of patient generated health data, and offering or pricing of health care, pharmaceutical, medical device, or insurance products.
• AI/ML based tools that can reduce information asymmetry, improve decision-making, or optimize information flows.
• Unstructured data analysis, such as of digital trace data, images, or user-generated content, that yields insights about topical or trend dynamics.
• Impact of, or disparities in, health analytic capabilities or investments by hospitals, clinics, or less frequently considered entities such as laboratories, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers, public health agencies, or charitable organizations.
• Integration of personal device data to analyze trends, identify public health issues, and efficacy of treatments.
• Any interesting or creative area we have yet to research in-depth in IS, such as topics in genomics, signal processing/telemetry, clinical trials, or epidemiology.

Timeline

• February 1, 2023: Extended abstract submission deadline
• March 1, 2023: Extended abstract decision
• August 1, 2023: 1st round full paper submission deadline
• October 1, 2023: 1st round full paper decision
• January 15, 2024: 2nd round full paper submission deadline
• March 1, 2024: 2nd round full paper decision

Associate editors

• Corey Angst, University of Notre Dame
• Hilal Atasoy, Rutgers University
• Sezgin Ayabakan, Temple University
• Ofir Ben Assuli, Tel Aviv University
• Sangeeta Shah Bharadwaj, Management Development Institute
• Langtao Chen, Missouri University of Science and Technology
• Yichen Cheng, Georgia State University
• Anton Ivanov, University of Illinois
• Juhee Kwon, City University of Hong Kong
• Nakyung Kyung, National University of Singapore
• Shaila Miranda, University of Oklahoma
• Abhay Mishra, Iowa State University
• Sunil Mithas, University of South Florida
• Min-Seok Pang, Temple University
• Sujeet Sharma, Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli
• Sriram Somanchi, University of Notre Dame
• Junbo Son, University of Delaware
• Ankita Srivastava, Bentley University
• Monica Tremblay, William & Mary
• Hongyi Zhu, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Jan Recker, Universität Hamburg

Sutirtha Chatterjee, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Janina Sundermeier, Freie Universität Berlin

Monideepa Tarafdar, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Pervasive digitalization has influenced practically all aspects of the human experience and our institutions in business, society, and government. Diverse areas such as organizational management and strategy, urban affairs and city planning, healthcare, entertainment, safety, politics, and transportation have all been inexorably shaped by digital technologies. Such technologies have created non-trivial and non-reversible changes to our individual and collective behaviors, our institutions and organizations, as well as to human society and our planet at large. But with great power also comes great responsibility. The transformational changes from digitalization are neither unequivocally positive nor negative; more often than not, they are laden with ethical tensions between the contrasting outcomes they engender. For example, personal data digitalization can help individuals live longer and heal their lives, but it also challenges individual rights, obligations, and our sense of dignity. Social media allows us greater connectivity and access, upholding the democratic principle of collective voice, but also becomes a vehicle for manipulating public opinion and spreading fake news and falsehood. Emerging technologies such as shared electric vehicles are coining a revolution in the mobility and energy sector, but also increase fears of labor substitution. The datafication of everyday behaviors has led to new healthcare opportunities but also increased surveillance. The wide embracement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) propels new opportunities for automation and decision-making, but also raises thorny ethical issues in terms of accountability, privacy, fairness, discrimination, and further biases. These observations surface the fact that digital technologies invoke competing narratives: the transformational and innovative powers of digital technologies often contrast dysfunctional outcomes of digitalization, such as social endangerment or loss of human voice and autonomy. While digital technologies promise an exciting future, we have been cautioned that “the journey to the fully pervasive digitized world is also likely to be perilous” and “as much as the potential benefits of digital technology are real, so too are the risks and complexity that ride with them.” Therefore, the key question that we must ask is: how can we positively leverage the transformational powers of digital technologies without falling prey to their possible dysfunctional outcomes? We believe that the answer to this complex question partly lies in the consideration of an important construct: responsibility. Responsibility allows us to evaluate transformational digital technologies in a balanced manner, by factoring in both harmful and positive outcomes from the engagement with such artifacts. Responsibility has become a salient term in this digital age, inspiring new streams of research such as corporate digital responsibility and responsible innovation. Forcing us to engage in meta-ethical reflection, responsibility is crucial to addressing some of the dysfunctional outcomes associated with the rapid proliferation of digital technologies – thus allowing for normative action consistent with human values and ethical defensibility. As information systems researchers, it must be on us to better understand the concept of responsibility as it pertains to the enablement of positive outcomes of the ongoing digitalization of our everyday lives while safeguarding the human experience against possible negative consequences of the same. We term this concept “digital responsibility”, which we believe can serve as an organizing construct of research that aims to inform the balancing of ethical and humanistic tensions pertaining to the rapid proliferation of digital technologies. Notably, focusing on digital responsibility allows us to challenge the often-embraced utopic narrative of digitalization – thus problematizing our vision for this special issue. Digital responsibility is antithetical to “mindlessness” in designing and implementing digital technologies, which is often associated with the inability “to cope gracefully with changing, complex situations characteristic of high-risk domains.” The lens of digital responsibility necessitates that we embark upon rigorously analyzing, explaining, predicting, as well as influencing, the potential costs, duties, and obligations of decisions that relate to the development, implementation, and use of digital information and communication technologies. Following such observations, unpacking the phenomenon of “digital responsibility” should be of utmost concern to IS researchers – and this is the central theme of this special issue.

Potential topics

• Designing and using digital technologies for and with responsibility
• Considerations of accountability, liability, fairness, and/or responsibility for digital technology design, implementation, and use
• Theoretical perspectives and/or empirical insights on the (un)intended social, ethical, and ecological consequences of digital technologies
• Theoretical underpinnings of the concept of digital responsibility, such as from an ethical theory perspective
• Design of digital technology to address social, ethical, and/or ecological challenges
• Individual, organizational, institutional, or societal strategies for leveraging IS for social, ethical, and/or ecological challenges and innovations
• The role of digital technology in promoting social, ethical, and ecological advancements
• Applications of emerging digital technologies (e.g., AI) to social, ethical, and/or ecological realms
• Societal, ethical, and ecological consequences of emerging digital technologies
• (Un-)ethical issues of IS and the data they generate
• Dignity, respect, and moral behavior in a digital world
• Social support and inclusion enabled by or embodied in digital technologies
• The balance of contradicting implications of IS (e.g., IS as a means for social change vs. IS for manipulating public opinion)
• The affordances of existing and emerging digital technologies for enacting digital responsibility

Timeline

• November 3, 2023: Deadline for paper submissions
• March 1, 2024: First-round review decisions
• May 1, 2024: Hybrid Paper development workshop
• July 11, 2024: Deadline for submission of revised papers
• October 1, 2024: Second-round review decisions
• December 8, 2024: Deadline for submission of revised papers
• February 1, 2025: Provisional decision and final round of comments
• February 27, 2025: Deadline for submission of revised papers
• March 1, 2025: Notification of final decisions

Associate editors

• Jose Benitez, EDHEC Business School
• Alexander Benlian, TU Darmstadt
• Roberta Bernardi, University of Bristol
• Michelle Carter, Washington State University
• Dubravka Cecez-Kecmanovic, University of New South Wales
• John D'Arcy, University of Delaware
• James Gaskin, Brigham Young University
• Julia Kotlarsky, University of Auckland
• Oliver Laasch, ESCP Business School
• Shan Pan, University of New South Wales
• Hannes Rothe, University of Duisburg-Essen
• Saonee Sarker, Lund University
• Olgerta Tona, University of Gothenburg
• John Tripp, Clemson University
• Tuure Tuunanen, University Jyväskylä