Mini Tracks – Calls for Papers

Assessment of IT based reward systems
ICT, e-business and international business
ICT in SME’s (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)
Psychology of Information Systems Evaluation

Mini track on Assessment of IT based reward systems
Track chair: Professor Birger Rapp, Uppsala University, Sweden

This mini track will accept both theoretical and empirical contributions related to questions about IT reward systems. Reward systems to encourage changed behaviour are not new. However the introduction of ICT makes it possible to handle large amounts of data and separate individual behaviour. This calls for new methods for evaluation and process analysis in order to understand how the systems function. In order to be able to design reward systems you need to understand the performance and you also need to be able to measure performances.

Furthermore, you can reflect on how digitization – through the introduction, diffusion and adoption of administrative and embedded Information Technology can support and develop other models and methods for performance based reward systems. .

Of special interest are reward systems for consumer behaviour. However we also discuss other systems. Today we have seen an increased use of customer loyalty programs. But no general theory seems to exist. One way to regard the reward system is from a principal – agent perspective, but other approaches are possible.

Many difficulties exist when you want to evaluate IT reward systems. One complication can be that the evaluation should include software evaluations. It can be argued that new methods can handle this and we welcome papers on advanced evaluation methods. 

Also today we have a broad variety of different IT based reward systems and we also welcome empirical examples of this.

For mini track submission details, see the call for papers page.

Birger Rapp

Mini track on ICT, e-business and international business
Track chair: Dr Riccardo Spinelli, Universita Di Genova, Italy

International business is a major field of research which is acquiring more and more relevance, due to the main evolutionary trends in the economic environment. Indeed, the ongoing globalisation process makes it essential for firms to broaden their competitive horizon to international markets, and consequently poses new significant problems for managers and academics, who have to face the complexity of international structures, strategies and operations.

At the same time, technological progress, especially for what concerns ICT and e-business, modifies the structure of the economic system, changes the way business is done and offers new instruments to face the challenges of modern global competition.

This track seeks interactive discussion and contribution about how the application of ICT and the advent of the digital economy can influence and change internationalisation paths, strategies and operations. We call for papers investigating the impact of ICT and e-business solutions on (the following list being non-exhaustive):

• entry modes in foreign markets (export, alliances, FDI, etc.);
• localisation choices;
• international strategies;
• international organisational structures;
• international competition;
• international marketing;
• international operations;
• internationalisation of service firms;
• internationalisation of SMEs.

Particular attention should be paid to the methods and frameworks which help evaluate and measure the strength and intensity of the influence of ICT and e-business on international business.

For mini track submission details, see the call for papers page.

Riccardo Spinelli

Mini track on ICT in SME’s (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)
Co-Chairs: David Barnes, G. ‘Hari’ Harindranath and Romano Dyerson (All of the School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London)

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vitally important to the social and economic life of Europe. SMEs, including micro-business (with less than 10 employees) represent 99 % of all enterprises in the EU, provide around 65 million jobs and are significant contributors to entrepreneurship and innovation. Yet, the specific needs of SMEs are often overlooked as researchers, consultants, governments and other policy makers tend to focus on large organizations. SMEs have their own very distinctive concerns and issues. This is particularly so with regard to ICT. Much of the provision of business hardware and software is aimed at large businesses. SMEs often feel themselves disadvantaged as they have limited expertise in selecting, implementing, using, and evaluating ICT solutions. However, the competitiveness of the European industry and the development of a knowledge-based economy depends upon the effective adoption and use of ICT in all sectors, including SMEs.

This mini-track will provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to address ICT issues as they specifically affect SMEs. Topics may include, are not limited to:
ICT investment decisions in SMEs (including appraisals methods, the role of vendors, other sources of advice, etc); ICT implementation in SMEs; SME business clusters and ICT; ICT management practices within SMEs; Benchmarking ICT best practices in SMEs; The effective use of new technologies in SMEs; ICT performance appraisal and evaluation in SMEs; The impact of EU, national and regional policies for ICT on SMEs; Software (ERP, CRM, etc) for SMEs; ICT help and support for SMEs; SME workforce skills for ICT; Use of ICT by SMEs within supply chain networks; Electronically mediated collaboration between SMEs; Use of e-business in SMEs; Website design for SMEs; Business process re-design in SMEs; ICT risk and security for SMEs; ICT use and consolidation in SMEs; SME management strategy and ICT use.

For mini track submission details, see the call for papers page.

You can download printable copies of calls for papers here.

David Barnes


G. ‘Hari’ Harindranath


Romano Dyerson

Mini track on Psychology of Information Systems Evaluation
Track chair: Mr. Tuan Yu, Kent Business School, University of Kent, UK

We would like to invite accounts of research on IS evaluation that use cognitive approaches. Research of this form has appeared under many different guises and in many disciplines for quite a number of years but has not been presented within one conference track.

Topics could include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Thinking and reasoning processes of evaluators
• Discovery of success judgement criteria (individual or group)
• Decision making heuristics and biases
• Automatic and implicit evaluation

Social cognitive processes in evaluation

To appreciate the wider context of this research area, please see the “Social and Behavioral Aspects of Information Systems” track for ICIS 2007 (http://business.queensu.ca/icis/tracks/behaviouralIS.php)

For mini track submission details, see the call for papers page.

Tuan Yu