CFP: EJIS Special Issue – Embracing Contrarian Thinking: Value-Reflexive Research for a Digital World

Digital technologies and our world are deeply enmeshed shaping our lives into a digital world.

These technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, blockchain, social media platforms) relate to values in overt and covert ways. They bolster or challenge values that frequently remain unquestioned and hidden but do surface when examining the intended and unintended technology effects.

For research to co-enact a better digital world, we need to reflect on and problematize the values inscribed in technology. In this call, we ask researchers to embrace contrarian thinking seeking alternative viewpoints that may contradict prevailing attitudes or trends to understand phenomena.

Specifically, we ask scholars, “Which values do we value?” and encourage them to collectively engage in reflection and action on how values underpin, inform, and perform the digital world in which we live. We seek studies that exemplify how we as a community can engage with the values in digital technologies, their design, development, and use.

Some of the key topics we are interested in include (but are not limited to):

• Value-reflexive research into digital transformation, artificial intelligence, privacy, cybersecurity, digital infrastructures, blockchain, social media and other digital technologies
• Value-driven digital transformation of society, organisations and the individual
• Values in digital innovation, business model design, business process design, data analytics, digital entrepreneurship, etc.
• Values in designing, implementing and adopting digital technologies and policies for enacting cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection, etc.
• Value positions in the design and development of digital technology
• Values in the governance of digital technology (e.g., artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital infrastructures)
• The role of values in user experience design and human computer interaction (e.g., nudging, persuasive design, universal design, value-sensitive design)
• Societal, economical, institutional value structures and digital ecosystems, platforms, or infrastructures
• Competing values in digital technologies at the societal, organisational or individual level
• Contrarian thinking on digital disparities, e.g., digital divide, digital dignity and digital equality or in-equality
• Value-washing (e.g., green-washing) in corporate digital responsibility, privacy, cybersecurity, business models, digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship
• Manifestation of values in digital technology
• Materialisation of values in digital technology
• Theorising around values in digital phenomena
• The socio-technical nature of values

The initial paper submission deadline is on February 2, 2024.

You can find the call for papers including the full timeline and list of AEs here: https://www.callforpapers.co.uk/ejis-contrarian-thinking

In case of questions, feel free to reach out to any of the special issue guest editors.

Markus P. Zimmer
markus.zimmer@leuphana.de

Xenia Vasilakopoulou
polyxeni.vasilakopoulou@uia.no

Miria Grisot
miriag@ifi.uio.no

Marko Niemimaa
marko.niemimaa@uia.no