The 29th Bled eConference Theme: Digital Economy

Bled’s highlights:

• Conference theme on Digital Economy
• Strong relationships and cooperation with journals
• Coaching of PhD-students and postgraduates
• New: The Bled Forum for interactive poster presentations
• New special interest tracks:
  1. Education in the Digital Economy,
  2. Factory of the Future / Smart Factories

Digital Economy

The Bled eConference 2016 is about the Digital Economy. We are engaged in the fourth industrial and economical revolution made possible by paradigm-shifting digitization. Preceeded by major innovative steps like EDI, eBusiness, mBusiness, self-servicing, big data, Internet of Things and more we are now in the middle of a digital transformation. This transformation is visible in all sectors, from Education (through MOOCs) and Finance (FinTech) to Electronics and Automotive.

We will focus on many aspects pertaining to the dawn of the Digital Economy as well as how to seize the numerous new opportunities it brings through research and business papers, panels, workshops and more. Further we will examine issues such as how organizations can benefit from the Digital Economy, how new businesses are created, but also from the perspective of the individual, including: the empowered (ageing) citizen, the entrepreneur, the patient, the consumer, the student, the lecturer and the employee. Leveraging again the successful partnership with journals, through which excellent submissions were selected for extended versions, we look for innovative and unique research contributions.

CALL FOR FULL PAPERS 

We invite submissions in all areas of research, teaching, and business related to the Digitial Economy. We encourage submissions related to the conference theme, and also from the parts that build the Digital Economy, including:

eInnnovations I Future of work I Big data I eAnalytics I Open data I Digital Services I Novel business and organizational models I eCollaboration I Social Media I eCommerce I eBusiness I Interorganizational Systems I eMarketplaces & Communities I Mobile Value Services I Cloud Computing I eHealth I Digital wellness I eSociety I eParticipation I eLearning 2.0 & eEducation I eSMEs I eLiving Labs I eCollaboration I eRegions I eDependency I eTrust I ePrivacy I Research Supervision Dilemmas I any other aspect of “e”.

In 2014 we first joined forces with the “Living Bits and Things” conference on the Internet of Things resulting in an interesting blend of themes and researchers from different fields interacting in lovely Bled. Given its success we will continue to join forces in 2016.

Next to a generic track on the Digital Economy, we offer the following special interest tracks for Bled 2016:

Social media and Big Data (Hans-Dieter Zimmermann, FHS St. Gallen, Switzerland and Jari Salo, University of Cape Town, South Africa and Oulu Business School, Finland):
The Social Media track has also been present at the conference in the past years and is continuing to be a very relevant topic for the upcoming edition. Therefor we look forward to papers that look at how Social Media and Big Data can make life easier or more convenient for consumers as well as businesses and what are the options for both. In addition, we also would like to address which risks are associated with the wide-scale use of Social Media as well, for instance eBullying, reputation attacks and fraud with customer reviews, but also the risks associated with the Big Data movement. How can we find a balance between the anonymity of the Internet and the Freedom of Speech on the one hand, while not opening ourselves up for gratuitous and uninhibited attacks on individual persons as well as companies? Another aspect that we would like to welcome papers on is the fit and alignment of the ad-hoc trend of App-ification into a well-balanced extended enterprise architecture and application portfolio.

eHealth (Track Co-Chairs: Nilmini Wickramasinghe, Epworth HealthCare and Deakin University, Australia and Juergen Seitz, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University, Germany):
In 2016 we want to emphasize the role that e- and m- technologies can play in finding the balance between societal costs on the one hand and the empowerment and wellbeing of citizens/patients on the other. Can we find ways to organize healthcare closer to patients’ need which is also of a high quality, less intrusive and at lower costs? How is digitization changing healthcare processes? Can Domotics, the Internet of Things, and the quantified self-help in this effort? And how do we safeguard that the data are not abused?

Digital Wellness (Track Chair: Christer Carlsson, Åbo Akademi University, Finland):
In this track we invite papers that address the specific needs and opportunities for the “young elderly”, understanding that the age group of 60-75 have quite different needs and requirements, and experience Internet and Mobile solutions in quite a different way than younger generations. We have also found out, in a series of studies with consumers, that there are no digital/mobile services developed for the “young elderly” as both mobile technology developers and mobile network operators have found this market “not interesting”; the “young elderly” represent 18-23% of the consumer markets in the EU, which makes the disinterest in potentially significant revenue rather surprising. Also other topics in the areas of independent living, explorations of new business models and opportunities for using Internet of Things in this age group are warmly welcomed.

Factory of the Future / Smart Factories (Track Co-Chairs: Christian Kittl, evolaris next level Research Centre, Graz, Austria and Wilfried Sihn, Fraunhofer Austria Research GmbH & Institute of Management Science, Vienna University of Technology, Austria):
Massive digitization effects both traditional and innovative industries. Increasing robotization, new business models, and smart processes change the factory floor. Industry 4.0 is increasingly materializing. Yet, what exactly comprises industry 4.0; what is the role of the government, what is the influence of smart analytics and big data? How can concepts of industry 4.0 be best introduced in a given factory context? This track welcomes contributions on these types of questions.

Education in the Digital Economy (Track Co-Chair: Mirjana Kljajić Borštnar, University of Maribor, Slovenia and Matt Glowatz, University College Dublin):
Education is changing as IT allows for many new possibilities. New students enter educational institutions with highly developed digital skills. Part-time learning, continuous learning, and immediate-on-the-spot knowledge acquisition change the educational playing field. Electronic learning platforms bring together practice, teachers, scholars and students in one environment. How does this change education, what are good practices, how can research and education come together in leveraging e- and mLearning? We encourage research contributions on this particular domain.

CALL FOR RESEARCH IN PROGRESS /  FORUM PAPERS

Please see also other options for participation at the conference:

• Professor Rene W. Wagenaar ePrototype Bazaar
• Graduate Students Consortium
• Business Panels Workshops and Meetings

Publications

All accepted papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings (CD with ISBN and CIP number and online).

In 2016 we have secured the partnership of the following journals:

• Electronic Markets – The International Journal on Networked Business,
• Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research
• International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology
• International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations
• International Journal of Organisation Design and Engineering
• Organizacija – Journal of Management, Informatics and Human Resources
• Journal of International Technology and Information Management

that may facilitate the publication of enhanced versions of further selected papers. Several “Special Issues” have resulted from Bled eConferences, giving the authors of selected papers ample opportunity to get rated publications as a direct and immediate result from being at Bled.

Instructions for Authors for Full Research Papers and Research-in-Progress Papers are available under the Submission section.

More information: bledconference@fov.uni-mb.si

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THE BLED eCONFERENCE: A LONG TRADITION

Since its very beginning it has been a conference that focuses on relevance with rigor as the underpinning foundation for contributions. This has always made the conference an excellent podium for testing out new ideas and research in progress, for senior and junior researchers alike. Not mentioning the number of partnerships between researchers that have originated at Bled and leading to fruitful cooperation.

Bled also has a long tradition of coaching young researchers and students. The Graduate Symposium has been on the program since the early 1990s with the ambition to help young PhD candidates to sharpen their research proposals and to help them find international colleagues working on similar themes.

Finally, another important reason for coming to Bled is the excellent location and facilities at and near the venue. Many professional and personal friendships originate from Bled, during one of the many social events or the morning run around the lake. We are eager to meet you in 2016 to participate in the truly unique experience that makes the Bled eConference.