NINETEENTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS HELSINKI, FINLAND December 13-16, 1998

Crossing Boundaries: Managing Virtual Enterprises

Submissions    Submission Dates    Doctoral consortium    Related events

Call For Papers

The ICIS'98 submission deadline was May 1, 1998. The conference will be held December 13-16, 1998 at the Marina Congress Center Helsinki, Finland. Before that there are several related events. For more information, visit the ICIS'98 web site: http://icis98.jyu.fi

Conference Theme and Tracks

The theme for ICIS '98 is "Crossing Boundaries: Managing Virtual Enterprises". The conference will focus on the changing patterns of organization and management in environments where the borders are non-rigid and the boundaries crossed. The theme for the conference is on emerging technologies that create the possibility for the virtual organization of the 21st century. We will examine new, IT mediated patterns of communication and organizing, and make predictions for the future IT-borderless world. Additionally, we will focus on some of the counter forces which exist to maintain the status quo. In keeping with this theme, the conference will be organized into four major tracks: a research track; a theme track, i.e. crossing boundaries track; a case research track; and a teaching case track. Persons considering submissions to these tracks are strongly encouraged to write to the respective track chairperson(s) to obtain feedback, advice, and guidance in developing submissions to the conference. For any general questions about the program please contact either of the two Program Co-Chairs:

Research Track

The structure of this track will be similar to the traditional ICIS conferences and will include research papers, research-in-progress, and panels. Submissions from all aspects of information systems research areas and research methodologies are invited. Given that the focus is on 'crossing boundaries', a diversity of research paradigms, research areas, and research methods are desirable and will be encouraged in the program.

Track Co-Chairs: Joey George, Florida State University
email: jgeorge@garnet.acns.fsu.edu

Poppy McLeod, Case Western Reserve University
email: plm2@po.cwru.edu

Panels: Rajiv Sabherwal, Florida International University
email: sabherwa@fiu.edu

Research-in-Progress: Matthias Jarke, RWTH-Aachen
email: jarke@informatik.rwth-aachen.de

Crossing Boundaries Track

The Crossing Boundaries Track is the conference theme track. The focus of this track is on examining new technologies and practices that facilitate the creation of the virtual organization of the 21st century. It will explore the role of the ICIS community in this creation particularly as the community spans across global time and space. The thematic objective is to define the current state of knowledge on the virtual organization and to explore ways to further develop it. The track will include research papers, panels, workshops, and invited presentations. This track will consist of three sub-tracks. Prospective authors, panel chairs, and speakers are strongly encouraged to discuss their ideas with the respective sub-track chairs before submission.

1. Wide open boundaries. This sub-track will include opportunities and issues for enterprises on the World Wide Web and the governmental, commercial, social and management questions which arise. In addition, authors are encouraged to submit papers on borderless technologies and innovative solutions for virtual communities. There are many types of boundaries. Submissions could focus on security, privacy, multimedia/mobile technologies, building relationships and trust in virtual organizations, cultural differences, and national information infrastructure differentials.

Sub-track chair Rick Watson, University of Georgia
email: rwatson@blaze.cba.uga.edu

2. Boundary spanning - IT challenges to the traditional boundaries in existing organizations (e.g. BPR issues, mergers and acquisitions, etc.). IT's role in challenging traditional organizational norms and the counterforces which exist to maintain the status quo.

Sub-track chair Phil Yetton, University of New South Wales
email: P.Yetton@unsw.edu.au

3. Millennium boundary spanning - IT challenges to be faced as we approach the 21st century. This sub-track will place major emphasis on the IT issues in the run up to the year 2000 especially the so-called Millennium time-bomb. The sub-track will also consider the impact on businesses of the impending European Monetary Union (EMU) and single currency scheduled for 1999. While the year 2000 (or century date change) problem is well publicized, the latter is less researched and could be of greater consequence to industry and commerce.

Sub-track chair Kate Kaiser, Marquette University
email: kaiserk@vms.csd.mu.edu

Case Research Track

This track welcomes all forms of case studies, which include, but are not limited to, critical case studies, interpretive case studies, positivist case studies, historical case studies, longitudinal case studies, case studies using multiple research methods, and case studies of a single information system or information technology in a single company. The study must use a theory in analyzing and interpreting the events in the case and must have lessons for both theory and practice. A case study may test a new theory, or may illustrate a theory which is known and accepted. In the latter case the study should make it clear its additional contributions to theory and practice. Prospective authors are strongly encouraged to discuss their ideas with the track co-chairs before submission.

Track Co-Chairs: Marius Janson, University of Missouri
email: mjanson@umslvma.umsl.edu

Ojelanki Ngwenyama, Virginia Commonwealth University
email: ojelanki@isy.vcu.edu

Teaching Case Track

This is a new theme for ICIS which we hope to continue in future ICISs. It is our belief that there is a continuing need for new teaching cases to maintain variety of content (organizations, cultures, technologies, etc.) and currency, and to avoid loss of impact and educational value over time. To meet this need this track welcomes teaching cases. Acceptance will be determined by criteria such as educational value, quality of learning experience, quality of case description, usefulness of teaching notes, and the novelty/importance of the topic. Prospective authors are strongly encouraged to discuss their ideas with the track co-chairs before submission.

Track Co-Chairs: Chris Sauer, University of New South Wales
email: C.Sauer@unsw.edu.au

Leslie Willcocks, University of Oxford
email: leslie.willcocks@templeton.ox.ac.uk

Submissions

Types of Submissions

• Research Papers Submitted research papers must be original, not presented at other conferences, published, or under consideration for publication elsewhere. Accepted full-length papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings. Research papers for the research track and crossing boundaries track, exclusive of references, must not exceed 5,000 words (approximately 25 double-spaced pages). Case research papers must not exceed 6,000 words exclusive of references (approximately 15 single-spaced pages).
• Research-in-Progress The program committee also seeks submissions of short papers describing research-in-progress. These submissions do not require complete analysis of results. The submission should include a one-page abstract and at most a ten-page paper that covers the following topics: the research objectives and questions, the theoretical foundations of the study, the research methodology being used, current status of the project, and a description of what the authors propose to present at the conference. A one-page abstract of the research-in-progress papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings. A research-in-progress paper, exclusive of references, must not exceed 2,500 words.
• Panels The program committee encourages proposals for panels that examine innovative, controversial, or otherwise provocative issues of interest to the field. In addition to the traditional panel format, innovative formats such as debates, cross-fire discussions, and presentations involving audience participation are especially encouraged. Prospective panel chairs are strongly encouraged to discuss panel ideas with the panel chairperson when developing a panel proposal. The program committee reserves the right to modify panel proposals in order to complement other parts of the conference program. A one-page description of the accepted panels will be published in the Conference Proceedings.
• Research Exchanges Research exchanges will provide conference participants with an opportunity to come together and build on common interests around research topics, research methods, or career and professional concerns. The program committee will attempt to provide open meeting space (a table and chairs) for these meetings. While exchanges may be organized as late as the day of the exchange meeting, an early indication of space requirement would provide a higher priority for space allocation. Requests for exchange tables should be sent to Joey George (co-chair of the research track) by November 2, 1998. The request should include a title and a short (4-5 lines) description of the research topic, the name and e-mail address of the exchange coordinator, and an estimate of the number of people attending the research exchange. You may also want to include the names of any persons who have agreed to attend the research exchange. The research exchanges will not be published in the Conference Proceedings.
• Teaching Cases Submissions to this track must be original. They must include teaching aims, learning objectives, case background, case description, and teaching notes. Submissions should be a maximum of 5,000 words. They will be reviewed in the normal ICIS fashion. Accepted cases will be made available on the Web so that they can be read in advance by conference participants. Presentation will involve a 20 minute discussion of key points and a 20 minutes constructive audience feedback session (including preselected discussant). A one page summary will appear in the Proceedings. In view of the need for the cases to be easily available to both university teachers and their students, the Track Chairs will compile revised versions of the cases for full publication either on the Web or in print.

Submission Dates

Submissions deadline: May 1, 1998

Acceptance Notification: August 17, 1998

Final/Revised Version due date: September 11, 1998

Submission Policies

All submissions received by the submission deadline will be considered for presentation at the conference. Submissions will be refereed by the program committee and outside reviewers with the results of these reviews communicated to the authors. The program may also include invited presentations and panels. In cases where revisions to the submissions are required, the authors are responsible for making the required revisions and submitting the final or revised version of the paper in the specified format by the due date for the final version. Papers not meeting the revision requirements or submission formats will not be included in the Proceedings.

The body of a research paper (and teaching case), exclusive of references, must not exceed 5,000 words. Case research papers, exclusive of references, must not exceed 6,000 words. Research-in-progress papers should not exceed 2,500 words. Authors are required to indicate the exact word count of their submission on the title page. Submissions exceeding these stated limits will be rejected without review.

Submission Format and Instructions to the Authors

The language of the conference is English. Research papers, research-in-progress papers, research and teaching cases, and panel proposals must be submitted in electronic form. No paper submissions will be allowed unless cleared with Matti Rossi, the Technical Coordinator Chair well in advance of the May 1, 1998 deadline. Submissions may be in common document exchange formats, i.e. either PDF, HTML, Word 7.0, or PostScript files. The detailed instructions on how to electronically submit papers using FTP or email attachments to the ICIS web server or sending diskettes.

The papers should be formatted in the following manner. A separate file should contain the title, author name(s), affiliations(s), complete mailing address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, word count, and a set of keywords. A second file should contain the title and abstract only in the first (abstract) page, and should not identify the author(s) in any manner. And the main body of the paper would then follow.

More specifically, papers and panel proposals should be formatted in the following manner.

1. The first page or file must contain
   • the title
   • author name(s), complete mailing address, phone number, and fax number
   • e-mail address for contact author
   • word count (excluding references and title page)
   • a set of keywords from "A Keyword Classification Scheme for IS Research Literature", MIS Quarterly, June 1993, pp. 210-220, see www.misq.org/roadmap/codes.html
     The keywords will be used in assigning referees for the paper reviews.
   • the type of submission (research paper, research-in-progress, panel proposal, teaching case)
   • the track for which the submission should be considered (Research, Case Research, Teaching Case, Crossing Boundaries (Wide open boundaries; Boundary spanning; Millennium boundary spanning)
   • the audio-visual, computer, and network requirements for your presentation if the submission is accepted (e.g., overhead projector, 35mm slides, computer video projection system, Internet connection, telephone line)
2. The second page or file must contain the title and abstract only, and should not identify the author(s) in any manner.
3. The remainder of the submission is the body of the paper (or panel proposal), references, tables, figures, etc.

Guidelines for Accepted Papers

Following the ICIS Program Committee's decision to publish (or reject) a paper, it may be submitted without prejudice to any journal. Many IS journals will consider for publication a paper already published in the Proceedings if it meets their standards. This preserves the right of ICIS for the first presentation and the journal's right for archival presentation. The research papers will be published in full in the Proceedings, but authors retain copyright ownership of their papers.

To encourage broad participation, ICIS limits individual appearances on the ICIS program to only one role (i.e., as paper or tutorial presenter, panel member, session chair, discussant, or other contributor). The only exception to this policy is for authors who have more than one paper accepted and for whom no co-authors are able to present the additional paper(s). All authors must register for the conference and be prepared to present their papers in person.

Authors of accepted papers and panels must provide the Proceedings' Editors with an electronic copy of their submission by the deadline listed above. Papers not received by the deadline will be considered withdrawn and not included in the Proceedings. The format of accepted submissions is determined by the Proceedings' Editors. Accepted papers must follow the same guidelines as the original submission, but can be produced using any standard Windows or Macintosh word processor (e.g., Word, WordPerfect). Graphics should be produced using any standard Windows or Macintosh graphics package such as Powerpoint, Freelance, or Harvard Graphics. For additional details see the ICIS'98 web site (exact URL will be defined later).

ICIS DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM

In the two days prior to ICIS'98 (December 11-13), forty doctoral students will attend the Ernst and Young Foundation/ICIS doctoral consortium in Helsinki. Participation is by nomination only. For more information, consult the ICIS'98 doctoral consortium web site or contact either co-chair of the ICIS Doctoral Consortium.

RELATED EVENTS

Ancillary meetings

International Academy for Information Management (IAIM), December 11-13, 1998

Contact person: Diane M. Fischer, Dowling College, U.S.A
e-mail: fischerd@dowling.edu

IFIP 8.2 / 8.6 Working Conference on "Information Systems: Current Issues and Future Changes", December 10-13, 1998

Contact person: Pasi Kuvaja, University of Oulu, Finland
e-mail: kuvaja@rieska.oulu.fi
http://www.bi.no/dep2/infomgt/wg82-86/

IFIP WG 8.7, 'Informatics in Multinational Enterprises', Working Conference "MIS - shaped or misshaped; Emerging IS Issues in the New Global Arena ", December 13, 1998

Contact person: Kalle Kangas, Turku School of Economics and BA, Institute of Information Systems Science, Finland
e-mail: kalle.kangas@tukkk.fi
http://www.tukkk.fi/ifip87hki

Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS), December 12-13, 1998

Contact person: Sal March, University of Minnesota, U.S.A
e-mail: smarch@csom.umn.edu
http://webfoot.csom.umn.edu/faculty/march/cfp98.htm
WITS only registration is also available

The Seventh International Workshop on Hypertext Functionality (HTF7): Organizational Memory Systems & HTF, December 12-13, 1998

Contact person: Harri Oinas-Kukkonen, University of Oulu
e-mail: Harri.Oinas-Kukkonen@oulu.fi
http://rieska.oulu.fi/~hok/htf7/cfp.htm

Fourth Annual SIM Academic Workshop: Knowledge Management in Practice, December 12, 1998

Contact person: V. Sambamurthy, Florida State University
e-mail: smurthy@cob.fsu.edu
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~smurthy/sim

Sixth Annual Cross-Cultural Research Meeting- December 13, 1998

Contact person: Roberto Evaristo, University of Denver
e-mail: evaristo@du.edu
http://www.du.edu/~evaristo/sixthcall.html

Scheduling Meetings

For scheduling meetings at the conference venue, please submit the request for meeting space to Marina Congress Center, by September 15.

For more information see the ICIS'98 web site http://icis98.jyu.fi

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This website was updated August 24, 1998. For questions concerning the program, Doctoral Consortium, exhibition, registration etc. please see contact information. Observations concerning these web pages should be addressed to Jouni Huotari