Information Systems in E-business: Digital Transformation and Sustainable Management

Dear Colleagues,

Digital transformation and sustainability are two popular topics attracting the investment of enormous amounts of money and time. They are, in some ways, very different topics, yet there is significant overlap. Digital transformation is not merely an opportunity for financial enrichment, it also opens up prospects for building a better and more sustainable world. The aim of this Special Issue is to further explore how the technologies and processes inherent in digital transformation can support sustainability. Digital transformation can support sustainability in various contexts, from that of a single organisation, to broader contexts such as those of entire cities and countries.

While developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have come to dominate the attention for many, other specific technologies, such as blockchain, advanced virtual reality, 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), can also support sustainability. In addition to the specific technologies that must be considered, the manner in which whole sectors of the economy are undergoing processes of digital transformation also impacts sustainability. For example, finance is being transformed by fintech, with exciting developments in cryptoassets and decentralised finance (DeFi) (Proskalovich et al, 2023; Yuan et al., 2023).

These is, however, a dark side to the role digital transformation plays in sustainability (Cheng et al., 2022). For every opportunity a new technology offers, there is also a new vulnerability, accompanied by possible unintended consequences. For example, the continuous stream of ransomware attacks certainly causes technical challenges but can also challenge the trust and privacy of consumers (Zarifis etl al. 2022).

This Special Issue welcomes papers related to the issues highlighted here, or similar questions pertaining to the role technology plays in sustainability.

References

Cheng X., Lin X., Shen X., Zarifis A. & Mou J. (2022). ‘The dark sides of AI’, Electronic Markets, pp.1-5. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-022-00531-5.

Proskalovich R., Jack C., Zarifis A., Serralde D.M., Vershinina P., Naidoo S., Njoki D., Pernice I., Herrera D. & Sarmiento J. (2023). ‘Cryptoasset ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean’, University of Cambridge - Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF). Available from: https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/publications/crypotasset-ecosystem-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/.

Yuan H., Cen W. & Du T. (2023). ‘Digital Finance and County Ecological Performance—New Evidence from China Counties’, Sustainability,  vol.15, 16691. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416691.

Zarifis A., Cheng X., Jayawickrama U. & Corsi S. (2022). ‘Can global, extended and repeated ransomware attacks overcome the user’s status quo bias and cause a switch of system?’, International Journal of Information Systems in the Service Sector (IJISSS), vol.14, iss.1, pp.1-16. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4018/IJISSS.289219.

Dr. Alex Zarifis
Guest Editor

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• digital transformation
• sustainability
• information systems
• e-business
• artificial intelligence
• fintech
• trust
• privacy