The Journal for Information ProfessionalsThe International Journal of Information Management (IJIM) is an international, peer-reviewed journal which aims to bring its readers the very best analysis and discussion in the developing field of information management.

The journal:
• Keeps the reader briefed with major papers, reports and reviews
• Is topical: Viewpoint articles and other regular features including Research Notes, Case Studies and a Reviews section help keep the reader up to date with current issues.
• Focusses on high quality papers that address contemporary issues for all those involved in information management and which make a contribution to advancing information management theory and practice.

Information is critical for the survival and growth of organisations and people. The challenge for Information management is now less about managing activities that collect, store and disseminate information. Rather, there is greater focus on managing activities that make changes in patterns of behaviour of customers, people, and organizations, and information that leads to changes in the way people use information to engage in knowledge focussed activities.

Information management covers a wide field and we encourage submissions from diverse areas of practice and settings including business, health, education and government.

Topics covered include:

Aspects of information management in learning organisations, health care (patients as well health workers and managers), business intelligence, security in organizations, social interactions and community development, knowledge management, information design and delivery, information for health care, Information for knowledge creation, legal and regulatory issues, IS-enabled innovations in information, content and knowledge management, philosophical and methodological approaches to information management research, new and emerging agendas for information research and reflective accounts of professional practice.

International Journal of Information Management is the companion title to the open access journal International Journal of Information Management Data Insights.

In 2002, Elsevier launched Library Connect, a new initiative bringing together many of Elsevier's library-focused efforts. For more information about this initiative and to read or subscribe to the complimentary Library Connect Newsletter, please visit Library Connect

Special Issue on Transforming the Metaverse and Spatial Computing: Overcoming Challenges and Building a Brighter Future
Submission Date: 2024-08-15

Over the past few decades, the Internet has evolved from static websites to an interactive and accessible medium that can be used on stationary and mobile devices at any time and from almost anywhere in the world in real time or asynchronously.

The concept of the metaverse describes a new, yet futuristic, stage of the Internet ecosystem where content could be presented in a three-dimensional representation. In the metaverse, consumers are present as avatars that can own and trade items (e.g. digital goods, real estate, etc.) and engage in almost all activities known from the real world. Social activities such as dancing in virtual clubs, meeting new people, and learning in virtual or hybrid classrooms may be commonplace in the near future. Cities could have digital twins in the metaverse, and consumers can access these cities virtually through VR or augment them in the real world with persistent AR content. Metaverse twin managers, a futuristic job, could be responsible for ensuring that the physical world and its representation in the metaverse match.

Guest editors:

    Prof. Arpan Kumar Kar, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
    Prof. Timothy Jung, Manchester Metropolitan University
    Prof. Philipp A. Rauschnabel, Universität der Bundeswehr München
    Prof. Carolyn A. Lin, University of Connecticut
    Prof. Mark Billinghurst, University of South Australia 
    Mr. Jeremy Dalton, Price Waterhouse Coopers

Special issue information:

Today, the "true" metaverse is still a vision. However, platforms such as Horizon Worlds or Spatial.io – the so-called proto-metaverses – have shown the potential of tomorrow's 3D Internet and provide researchers with fascinating research environments. In order for the metaverse to go mainstream in the marketplace, key challenges still remain. For example, AR headsets are still immature, and the diffusion rates of VR devices are still low. Reported cases in proto-metaverse platforms indicate the potential to create value for businesses. Other cases, however, also raise ethical questions – such as the true value of virtual products for vulnerable audiences (e.g. children), the potential for exploitation and cyber bullying – and the potential for privacy violations.

The purpose of this special issue is to tackle these challenges with solution-oriented research. 

    Value creation and destruction in the metaverse for individuals, businesses, and societies at large
    User behavior and adoption of Metaverse technologies, such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Blockchain, NFTs, etc.
    Problematic and abnormal user behavior in the metaverse, such as addiction behavior or deviant behavior from the “veil of anonymity”, including strategies to identify and reduce such behaviors.
    Agency problems arising out of differences in bargaining power in metaverse ecosystems among stakeholders.
    Adverse outcome of technological failures which may have physical impacts to users onboarded in these ecosystems.
    Political behavior, polarization of user preferences and echo chamber effects in metaverse ecosystems.
    Cyber security vulnerabilities of crypto-assets in metaverse ecosystems.
    Challenges in interoperability of virtual assets and their value in metaverse ecosystems for users and business stakeholders.
    Legal issues, such as the disruption of property law in metaverse ecosystems for digital artifacts, or the misuse of rights and privileges of users and organizations in the metaverse.
    Adverse impacts of accountability, traceability and governance of metaverse ecosystems.
    Adverse impacts on well being and self esteem of users from physical, legal, psychological and ethical perspectives.

Methodologies

We welcome a variety of research approaches and strategies from various disciplines, including the following topics but not limited to:

    Quantitative (surveys, experiments)
    Qualitative (expert interviews, delphi-studies, netnography, case studies)
    Design Science Research, including user research on artifacts
    Research with psychophysiological data (e.g., EEG, eye tracking etc.)
    Theoretical model validation may combine primary and secondary data. For example, secondary data analysis could be based on mining big data from different online platforms for addressing greater external validity and primary data analysis which may bring in greater internal reliability to findings.

We welcome papers that combine several different methodologies (mixed methods) and interdisciplinary research teams. Theory validation with mixed methods and multi-study setting become useful for moving towards causal inferences. We welcome submissions that clearly focus on both theoretical model building and validation. It should be noted that a single cross-sectional survey based submissions will not be considered.

We call for a cautious use of the term “metaverse”. However, if you are studying “traditional” VR (e.g., Social VR applications), make sure that you discuss your findings in a metaverse context (while separating them elsewhere).

Manuscript submission information:

Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://www.editorialmanager.com/jjim/default2.aspx

Submissions may follow the author guidelines of International Journal of Information Management: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/international-journal- of-information-management/0268-4012/guide-for-authors 

Please select “VSI: Transforming the Metaverse” when submitting your manuscript to this special issue and indicate the actual article type in the cover letter.

Final Manuscript Submission Deadline: 15 August 2024

Keywords:

(Metaverse) OR (Virtual Reality) OR (Blockchain) OR (NFT) AND (Technology use) OR (Technology impacts)

Special Issue on Human-Centered Generative AI
Submission Date: 2024-10-30

The rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has opened up a plethora of possibilities for how we live, work and learn (Brynjolfsson et al., 2023; Dwivedi et al., 2023a; Nah et al., 2023). GAI are a class of algorithms capable of generating new content. Based on questions and prompts GAI tools can generate text, code (e.g. ChatGPT) or images (e.g., MidJourney). Other GAIs specialize in producing audio and video (e.g., Synthesia). The quality of the output, and the widespread availability of these tools, was unimaginable only a few years ago.

On the one hand, these developments have spurred a range of innovations, business opportunities and efficiencies (Gartner, 2023), drawing researchers to study its role and impact on business, society, and individuals (Budhwar et al., 2023; Dwivedi et al., 2023b; Richey et al., 2023; Susarla et al., 2023; Van Dis et al., 2023; Wamba et al., 2023). On the other hand, their accelerated pace of development has made it difficult for business and society to adapt, leading to uncertainty and unanticipated dilemmas. These include concerns around the misuse of GAI, issues with data privacy, overreliance on GAI content as fact and the challenges associated with verifying GAI content, as well as the inherent biases and “hallucinations” of such systems (Ji et al., 2023; Mukherjee and Chang, 2023). More broadly, there are significant concerns about the impact of GAI on job displacement and the potential for exacerbating divides between people who can make use of the technology and those who cannot.

Theorizing these technology-related opportunities and tensions is at the very core of Information Systems scholarship. It comes as no surprise then that there are calls for more research on challenges and opportunities and understanding how it creates new forms of value.

The goal of this special issue to emphasize Human-Centered AI (HCAI) approaches that prioritize human values, needs, and abilities throughout the design, development, deployment and situated use of GAI. HCAI refers to the prospect in which the digital technologies that tremendously amplify human abilities, also empower people in remarkable ways while ensuring human control (Shneiderman, 2020). HCAI can be seen as a two-dimensional framework of automation and control. It has evolved into an approach that combines AI-based algorithms with human-centered design thinking, and influences methods, processes, and outcomes. Capel and Brereton (2023) provide a mapping of the literature in HCAI, highlighting among others, Shneiderman’s work, which, has been the foundation for many studies that take an HCAI perspective. Based on their review, they define HCAI as:

Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence utilizes data to empower and enable its human users, while revealing its underlying values, biases, limitations, and the ethics of its data gathering and algorithms to foster ethical, interactive, and contestable use (Capel and Brereton 2023).

This special issues recognizes that a human centred mindset is crucial for the responsible design, development, and deployment of AI (Vassilakopoulou et al., 2022). GAI can have a dual role, sometimes being part of the problem or facilitating solutions to existing problems (Veit and Thatcher, 2023; Pappas et al., 2023). As HCAI puts humans at the center, it emphasizes that the next frontier of AI is not just technological but also humanistic and ethical (Stahl & Eke, 2024). This ensures that the GAI models developed and deployed are designed with human values, ethics, and user experience in mind, and that they are used in ways that are socially beneficial and responsible. This involves considering the implications of the technology from multiple perspectives, including the user, the developer, and society as a whole. Placing humans at the center allows the creation of AI systems that are more inclusive, trustworthy, and aligned with human values and goals (Schoenherr et al., 2023; Shneiderman, 2020). For research, studying or advancing human-centred GAI ensures that IS research has societal impact, is relevant and meaningful (Burton-Jones et al., 2023; Karanasios, 2022; Majchrzak et al., 2014). Given the nascent stage of GAI in practice, promoting a human-centered approach to GAI allows for IS research to go beyond postliminary institutionalization of technology. Rather it encourages a proactive exploration of the theoretical understanding how to ‘do’ human-centered GAI and its practical applications and benefits.

We invite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to submit their articles for a special issue dedicated to exploring the opportunities, challenges, and implications of human-centered GAI. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, human-centered GAI situated in use as well as GAI under design, ethical considerations, data protection and privacy, content moderation, and the development of policies and frameworks for human-centered GAI.

    Designing GAI systems for a positive user experience: What are the principles and best practices for creating generative models that are user-friendly, accessible, and beneficial?
    The role of human-centered design in preventing misuse of GAI: How can a human-centered approach help to prevent the creation and propagation of harmful or misleading content?
    Ensuring inclusivity in human-centered GAI: How can we ensure that these systems are designed to be inclusive and equitable for users from diverse backgrounds and abilities?
    The impact of human-centered GAI on content creation and consumption: How will these systems transform the way we create and consume content, and what are the implications for industries such as media, entertainment, and marketing?
    The role of user feedback and control in human-centered GAI systems: How can we give users more control over the content generated by AI, and how can user feedback be used to improve these systems?
    Regulatory considerations for human-centered GAI: Regulatory challenges associated with the development and deployment of these systems, and how can they be addressed?
    The future of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with GAI: How can human-centered GAI transform the way we interact with computers and other digital devices?
    Ethical considerations in the development and deployment of human-centered AI systems: How can we ensure that these systems respect human values, privacy, and autonomy?
    Developing new theories or enhancing existing theoretical frameworks: How humans interact with Generative Artificial Intelligence.

Guest editors:

    Ilias Pappas, University of Agder and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
    Stan Karanasios, University of Queensland, Australia
    Bonnie Nardi, University of California Irvine, USA
    Lionel Robert, University of Michigan, USA

Manuscript submission information:

Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://www.editorialmanager.com/jjim/default2.aspx

Submissions may follow the author guidelines of International Journal of Information Management: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/international-journal- of-information-management/0268-4012/guide-for-authors 

Please select “VSI: Human-Centered GAI” when submitting your manuscript to this special issue and indicate the actual article type in the cover letter.

    Initial paper submission deadline: October 30th, 2024
    First round authors notification: December 2024
    Invited revisions deadline: March 2025
    Second round authors notification: May 2025
    Final revision deadline: July 2025
    Final authors notification: September 2025

Keywords:

    Artificial Intelligence
    Generative AI
    human-centered AI

Special Issue on Lights and shadows of generative AI for individuals, organizations, and society
Submission Date: 2024-11-30

Lights and shadows of generative AI for individuals, organizations, and society" explores the multifaceted impacts of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and related technologies on various domains. This special issue delves into both the advantages and potential pitfalls of GenAI, touching upon its profound influence on individuals, businesses, and society at large. It examines the integration of AI in business strategies across different sectors, highlighting how AI's increasing sophistication is transforming marketplaces and decision-making processes. The issue also addresses the ethical implications and challenges arising from AI adoption, underscoring the need for a balanced approach to harness GenAI's full potential while mitigating its risks.

Guest editors:

    Dr. Carlos Flavián
    University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    Dr. Luis V. Casaló
    University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    Dr. Russell Belk
    York University, Toronto, Canada

    Dr. Ulrike Gretzel
    University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America

    Dr. Jochen Wirtz
    National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.

Special issue information:

This special issue aims to address not only the key benefits but also the major potential drawbacks for individuals, organizations, and societies of recent advances in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and other advanced AI-powered technologies (e.g., autonomous robots, predictive analytics) across varied service and consumption contexts.

Motivation

The recent rapid development of GenAI and its application in various industries has been unstoppable and is expected to have dramatic impact on individuals, organizations, and societies (Dwivedi et al., 2023a). AI has been incorporated into digital business strategies, including applications such as expert systems, machine learning, robotics, natural language processing, machine vision, or speech recognition (Bornet et al., 2021; Collins et al., 2021). Implementation of AI-powered technologies such as service robots, chatbots, smart speakers, and other intelligent assistants already deliver new services (Borges et al., 2021) and increasingly interact with customers in the frontline (Gursoy et al., 2019; Wirtz et al., 2018) in various sectors such as banking (e.g., Flavián et al., 2022), hospitality and tourism (e.g., Schepers et al., 2022; Dwivedi et al. 2023b), or healthcare (e.g., Wirtz et al., 2021). AI is becoming increasingly more sophisticated, according to the levels proposed by Huang and Rust (2018), includes not only mechanical but also analytical, intuitive, and empathetic skills. As a result, the implementation of AI in business is transforming the marketplace (Bock et al., 2020) and affecting decision-making (Akdim et al., 2023; Duan et al., 2019). GenAI is expected to accelerate these developments.

From a company perspective, AI implementation can generate value via process automation, improved decision-making, and customer engagement (Borges et al., 2021; Wirtz et al., 2023a). Therefore, the success of AI initiatives is based on their expected benefits, for example, customer experience, service quality, and productivity (Wirtz et al., 2021). However, previous studies have also noted that users can experience not only benefits, but also costs derived from the interaction with AI applications (Puntoni et al., 2021; Wirtz et al., 2023b). Similarly, the use of AI in business strategy still holds several open questions (Borges et al., 2021). Therefore, it is not surprising that previous studies have suggested that the development of new AI applications presents many challenges (Dwivedi et al., 2021; Belk, et al. 2023; Mariani et al., 2023).

Similarly, recent advances in the field of AI (e.g., generative AI) offer not only new opportunities but have also raised several concerns (e.g., Mustak et al. 2023). GenAI produces new content in the form of human-like discourse (Wong et al., 2023), and the use of GenAI models and systems is becoming widespread. ChatGPT, which is probably the most well-known GenAI tool, generates personalized responses to users’ messages or questions based on the user input (Dwivedi et al., 2023a). GenAI may have great implications for business practice (Peres et al., 2023) in several sectors, such as banking (Dwivedi et al., 2023), travel and tourism (Wong et al., 2023), or health care (The Lancet Regional Health-Europe, 2023), as well as in activities such as marketing and management (Dwivedi et al., 2023a; Kshetri et al., 2023). Therefore, there is a need to understand GenAI applications and their positive and negative consequences for consumers, companies, and the society.

In addition, previous literature has identified several ethical implications (e.g., related to fairness, privacy, security, etc.) in the context of AI use (Ashok et al., 2022; Wirtz et al., 2023b) that still require further analysis from several perspectives.

In summary, the widespread use of GenAI across domains offers opportunities and challenges that need to be effectively understood to take full advantage of its benefits. It also requires implementing measures to mitigate the possible negative effects associated with its potential risks and threats. This dual approach will ensure that the adoption of GenAI remains aligned with ethical, practical and sustainable standards, thereby enabling greater innovation, efficiency, and positive change.

Potential illustrative research questions

This special issue invites proposals focused not only on the challenges and opportunities, but also on the risks and threats associated with the widespread use of GenAI.

Opportunities and challenges

    What is the effect of using GenAI and other new AI applications in business practices? Are there differences across industries and sectors (e.g., banking, hospitality and tourism, healthcare)?
    What are the main challenges and long-term benefits of using GenAI and other new AI applications in the contexts of teaching, academic research, and business practice?
    How can GenAI and other new AI applications be used to address global challenges (e.g., Sustainable Development Goals)?
    What are the main determinants and barriers to consumers’ and managers’ adoption of GenAI and other new AI applications? How does the use of GenAI and other new AI applications affect customer and manager decision making?
    How can GenAI contribute to personalization and efficiency in the communication and advertising processes?
    How does the use of GenAI and other new AI applications affect the different stages of the customer journey (e.g., pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase)? How can GenAI and other forms of AI improve the customer or user experience?
    How might reliance on GenAI enhance or limit human creativity and critical thinking in different fields?
    How can specific individuals (e.g., people with disabilities) benefit from the use of GenAI and other new AI applications?

Risks and threats

    What are the key digital ethical issues (e.g., fairness, biases, privacy, security) caused by the use of GenAI and its algorithms? How could these ethical issues be mitigated?
    How can the use of GenAI applications for manipulation of the public opinion and consumer decision making be reduced or even avoided?
    How is GenAI and other new AI applications affecting the labor market? Will employees be replaced by GenAI and how?
    How might differences in access to and use of GenAI exacerbate social and economic inequalities?
    What are potential contextual conditions (e.g., country and organizational cultures) that shape how individuals and organizations use GenAI and other new AI applications?
    What challenges do GenAI applications pose for existing legal and regulatory frameworks, and how might legal frameworks be developed to address GenAI-related risks?

Expected types of analysis and context of study

We welcome submissions focused on varied sectors and environments (e.g., healthcare, education, banking, hospitality, and tourism). We especially welcome papers that include multiple studies (combining at least two studies to overcome the limitations of a quantitative cross-sectional analysis), longitudinal studies, and studies that employ mixed methods (combining qualitative and quantitative). Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers).

Keywords

Generative AI, GenAI, benefits, dark side, consumer-AI interaction, AI in business strategy, AI in information systems, responsible AI.

Manuscript submission information:

Submit your manuscript via International Journal of Information Management submission portal system and select the appropriate Special Issue “VSI: Lights and shadows of Gen AI”. Manuscript submissions will be handled as per the editorial policy and author guidelines specified by the International Journal of Information Management. Any queries can be directed to the corresponding executive guest editor: cflavian@unizar.es

Submission window: 1 September 2024 - 30 November 2024

Keywords:

Generative AI, GenAI, benefits, dark side, consumer-AI interaction, AI in business strategy, AI in information systems, responsible AI