Call for Papers

Deadline extension - CfP special issue on "Smart energy: Building business models, best practices, and theories"

Guest Editors

• Johann Kranz, University of Goettingen, Germany
• Lutz M. Kolbe, University of Goettingen, Germany
• Chulmo Koo, Kyung Hee University, South Korea
• Marie-Claude Boudreau, University of Georgia, USA

Theme

Electronic Markets calls for submissions for a special issue on smart energy focusing on the use, infusion, and impact of Information Systems (IS) and Information Technologies (IT) for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of energy production and consumption. Papers may address one or more of the different aspects of IS & IT on the environment:

• Positive and negative environmental impacts of IS & IT itself (direct effect)
• Positive and negative environmental impacts of other political, ethical, economic sectors by means of IS (enabling effect)
• Developing innovative IS-enhanced products and processes which profoundly change ways of living and result in a reorganization of production and consumption towards more sustainability (systemic effect)

Owing to the substantial impact of energy on society and the economy, this field is attracting great attention from policy makers, practitioners, and researchers alike. In this endeavor IS & IT and in particular electronic markets play a decisive role in enabling triple bottom line compliance, comprising environmental, economic, and societal sustainability. IS research is increasingly addressing issues related to Green-IS, energy informatics, eco-friendly behavioral usage, and environmental sustainability. Given the size of the energy markets and its important benefits and costs for modern societies, the impact and potential of this research stream are enormous.

As the generation of electricity is particularly carbon-intensive and hence responsible for a large portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, the smart grid concept is of particular interest. The basic idea is to enhance environmental sustainability, efficiency, and security of supply by integrating IS with the existing power grid to enable a bi-directional flow of both electricity and information. Through better coordination and communication across the entire value chain, the way electricity is generated, delivered, and consumed can be improved and optimized. This is prerequisite for an effective integration of decentralized and renewable energy sources whose feed-in is often intermittent, hence needs to be matched with the actual demand instantaneously. Furthermore, IS & IT can help improving the energy efficiency of business processes and practices in focal firms as well as in interfirm collaborations as well as diverse other areas such as industry, households, or agriculture.

Topic

The special issue’s particular interest lies on papers that focus on (1) “hands-on” experiences with the employment of IS & IT in smart energy contexts, (2) IS-enabled business models and market places, (3) the role of IS & IT in sustainable product, devices, and process innovations, and (4) the extension of our knowledge about the adequacy of research methods and IS theories for future studies in this emerging field.

We are especially interested in papers that focus on the engagement of individual and organizational customers (including B2C, B2B and C2C) and the use of IS-enabled smart energy solutions in industrial and service sectors. The field of smart energy adoption, development, and implementation is associated with many traditional topics in IS research, including privacy and security issues, interoperability, technology adoption/acceptance, innovation diffusion, design and system integration, reference modeling, IT architectures,  business model design, business process modeling, complexity and modularity, and organizational dynamics.
We invite researchers to submit original papers that include empirical, analytical, design-oriented, or conceptual approaches that are relevant for this important topic and provide new insights for theory and practice.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• IT architectures and reference models for smart energy markets like e-mobility or smart metering services
• Designing, simulating, and modeling of electronic energy marketplaces
• The role of IS in business model design
• Developments and barriers regarding interoperability and standards
• Acceptance, adoption, diffusion of smart energy technologies, products, or devices
• Ensuring privacy and security in smart energy infrastructures and business models
• Solution approaches regarding complexity, modularity, and systems integration
• Impact of smart energy technologies on organizational dynamics
• Green business process management
• Approaches to quality of service, role definition, and directory service for the integration of market participants
• Increasing sustainability in supply chains and logistics
• Planning, operation and control decentralized power plants and electricity storage facilities
• Business intelligence for smart energy technologies and services
• IS theories for sustainability-related issues
• Research methods for the analysis of smart energy related phenomena

Methodological and theoretical pluralism is part of the journals policy. We welcome submissions using qualitative or quantitative methods. We also would like to encourage submissions of interdisciplinary work by authors from different areas. If authors have any questions regarding suitability of their work for this special issue, whether topical or methodological, they should not hesitate to contact (one of) the co-editors.

Submission

Prospective authors should prepare and submit manuscripts according to the guidelines (please see  Authors). All manuscripts that meet the scope of this special issue will be peer reviewed and should conform to Electronic Markets' publication standards. Methodological and theoretical pluralism (empirical or theoretical work, qualitative research, design science, prototypes, etc.) is welcome by the journal. All submissions should be original, not published nor under review elsewhere. If you would like to discuss any aspect of the special theme, please contact the guest editors for the special issue. Submission must be in English and should consist of approximately 5,000 - at least 3,500 and at most of 6,500 - words. Articles must be submitted via the electronic submission system at elma.edmgr.com.

Contact addresses

Johann.Kranz(at)wiwi.uni-goettingen.de
Lutz.Kolbe(at)wiwi.uni-goettingen.de
helmetgu(at)khu.ac.kr
mcboudre(at)gmail.com
or editors(at)electronicmarkets.org

Important deadlines

Submission title and abstract directly sent to the Guest Ediors via email (optional): January 15, 2013 
Submission Deadline: March 1, 2013

New: Deadline Extension: March 15, 2013

 

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