The European Journal of Information Systems provides a distinctive European perspective on the theory and practice of information systems for a global audience. We encourage first-rate articles that provide a critical view on information technology – its effects, development, implementation, strategy, management and policy.

Special Issue on Designing our Digital Futures: Challenging Current Assumptions and Envisioning the Future of IS Design and Development
Día de Entrega: 2026-01-30

Information systems (IS) design and development, heretofore a core topic in the IS field, is arguably at a critical juncture as it faces challenges unlike ever before in its short history. On one hand, there have been significant technological advances in areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing that potentially provide and require different ways of designing and developing. Complementing this, the ‘digital native’ consumers of new information systems seek rapid continuous delivery of large-scale information systems, tailored to individual needs while delivering responsibly on all aspects such as privacy, fairness and transparency.

At this critical juncture, the goal of this special issue is to consider the next generation of IS design and development. Looking at the present, we invite researchers to challenge the fundamental prevailing assumptions of the field embracing the ‘contrarian’ and ‘pragmatic’ perspectives that underpin the ethos of the European Journal of Information Systems (Nandakumar, 2010; Ägerfalk, 2010). We welcome papers that question the logic, methods, and tools in contemporary IS design and address topics or take perspectives that some may find uncomfortable. We invite papers that explore alternative approaches and perspectives to the design of digital futures. In addition to examining the immediate future, we encourage researchers that take a ‘Promethean’ perspective (Conboy, 2019), examining radically different ways of designing technology, and taking perspectives that are very different or even unrecognisable in comparison to those envisaged by current research and practice.

We invite papers on any and all aspects of IS design and development, but below are some guiding themes related to the call:

The role of emerging technologies in shaping the future of IS design: Emerging computing paradigms such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and quantum computing are now reshaping design and development processes, automating coding, altering decision-making structures, and challenging established paradigms (Seidel, Frick et al. 2025). AI in particular threatens to replace or at least alter significantly the traditional role of the developer. AI-assisted development automates coding and design yet raises concerns over control, reliability, and creativity, misinformation, biased decision-making, and legal uncertainties (Liu et al 2024). Trace data allows developers to gain an unprecedented and detailed understanding of user behaviours. Indeed, the act of designing and developing also leaves a trail of trace data which can be used to reflect on and fine tune the design process (Ågerfalk et al. 2022; Berente et al. 2021). We welcome submissions that critically evaluate any aspects of the role of these technologies in design and development or discuss what technology may change design and development in the future.

The limits of current design and development methods: As technology rapidly evolves, one would expect that the methods for designing and developing would also advance. While this is happening, there are many concerns. In today’s fast-paced and fluid world methods such as continuous development and DevOps have emerged but have not been evaluated or studied conceptually, theoretically, or practically to the extent that predecessors such as agile have (Wiedemann et al. 2020; Hemon-Hildgen & Rowe 2022). There is a similar issue with emerging citizen development, ‘low code, no code’ techniques where there is huge potential but there are questions regarding the co-ordination, control and productivity of these approaches (Carroll, Holmström & Matook, 2024; Matook et al. 2024) as well as impact on technical debt (Novales & Mancha 2023). Also, the scaling up of methods to large scale environments has proven highly challenging, with few successful cases to date. We welcome papers that examine these methods and question fundamental assumptions (For example, should we even be trying to scale agile or is something different or new needed to solve the large scale development problem?).

Design science beyond the science of the artificial: Design science also provides a methodological foundation for structuring the design, development, and adoption of information systems (Hevner et al. 2004; Peffers et al. 2007). However, as digital technologies increasingly shape society, we must move beyond designing the “artificial” (Simon, 1969) and instead create the digital realities we want to live in. The challenges of today demand more than incremental fixes—they require a fundamental shift in how we envision and build digital futures. Many have proposed new concepts to deal with the emergent nature of contemporary design such as design echelons (Tuunanen et al., 2024) or alternative pathways, starting with visions, emerging technologies, or theoretical constructs (Schoormann, et al., 2024). It remains unexplored whether established evaluation frameworks, guidelines, design principles, and theoretical foundations still retain their applicability. Addressing these questions also hinges on fundamentally rethinking the design science entry point, methods, processes, tools, artifacts, and the way we formulate different artifact typologies, i.e., knowledge, prescriptive, predictive, and generative models.

Design and development in an era of heightened responsibility: We welcome submissions that reflect on or critique the extent to which current design and development approaches consider the nuances and increased expectations of the responsible technology movement. This could include a critique of the concept of ethics or responsibility generally (Mikalef et al. 2022; Hemon-Hildgen & Rowe, 2022) or may hone in on specific aspects of responsibility such as empathy, compassion (Cirello et al.; 2025), fairness or transparency or explainability - as long as these papers address the design implications of these concepts. We also welcome papers that might critique national, international or industry-based principles and laws or policies governing IS design and development. Also, design and development now takes place under ever evolving security challenges, including how to adequately address data privacy issues as software increasingly collects, stores, and analyzes data to enable increasingly sophisticated features. DevSecOps emphasizes prioritizing security into software development processes (Gall & Pigni 2022). Software designers have to take into consideration how to avoid dark patterns and designs that may harm users’ well being as software becomes more complex, personalized, and supports a range of user activities outside of work (e.g., fitness technologies, social media).

Illustrative focus areas

Some of the key topics we are interested in include (but are not limited to):

    The impact of AI on any or all aspects of IS design and development.
    The impact of emerging technology such as quantum computing, blockchain, wearables, etc. on the future of IS design and development.
    The future of traditional software designers and developers and if and how these roles will exist in the medium to long term.
    Contrarian perspectives that challenge assumptions and norms of existing methods such as agile, continuous development and large scale methods.
    Emerging techniques for development e.g. continuous development, citizen development, ‘low code no code’
    New ‘Promethean’ methods that encourage thinking about and designing distant digital futures.
    Challenging the problem-solving paradigm in designing IS solutions.
    Embracing vision-oriented and future-oriented DSR.
    Critique or discussion of existing policies, laws and regulations governing aspects of IS design.
    Exemplars of IS design and development for digital futures.
    New methods for designing digital futures anchored in IS design and development heritage.
    New perspectives on responsible design and the design of responsible IS.
    Design of subtle functionality such as compassion, empathy, and emotion into technologies such as artificial intelligence applications.
    Ethical issues in the design of personalized software, including software designed to adapt to personal characteristics.
    Unique perspectives on the consideration and integration of privacy and security by design, especially into emerging technologies.

Special Issue on The future of creating and distributing value in digital health ecosystems
Día de Entrega: 2026-11-30

Digital health is ‘associated with the use and development of digital technologies to improve health’ (Sunyaev et al., 2024; WHO, 2025). Use, development, and design of the according technologies have in recent years led to a considerable shift. Specifically, practices affecting an individuals’ health have been shifted from inside hospitals into wider digital health ecosystems where providers, patients, their loved ones, and laypersons interact to jointly shape how care is provided (Bardhan et al., 2020, 2025). IS research has greatly advanced in terms of better understanding the technological foundations of this shift such as artificial intelligence (AI) applications, sensor-based technologies, and smartphone apps (Angst et al., 2024; Baird et al., 2025; Bardhan et al., 2020; Sunyaev et al., 2024). However, at least two major trajectories of research arise from this shift and its underlying technologies. With this special issue, we are looking for papers that aim to fill these trajectories with life.

First, creating value in digital health ecosystems demands to take into account diverse kinds of value to be potentially created through these technologies (Günther et al., 2017; Porter, 2010). Financial value is an important kind of value to be created in digital health ecosystems; however, it is by far not the sole kind of value that matters in these settings (Barrett et al., 2016). It is important to understand which kinds of value technology helps to create as well as how, why, and when it does so. Second, creating value is not per se synonymous with distributing it so that an important line of inquiry is about how to distribute value among ecosystem participants and over time (Yan et al., 2021; Yoo et al., 2024).

We are asking for papers speaking to these topics and see two broad ways in which submissions to our special issue could do so. The first is cumulative and much in line with how research in IS and adjacent fields such as computer science, management, and medicine is conventionally done. It resides in furthering our understandings and toolkits for creating value in digital health ecosystems. However, the more data are available the higher is arguably the potential for misuse (Morley et al., 2020; Murdoch, 2021; Siala & Wang, 2022), especially when genomic and bio data are in question (Jarvenpaa & Markus, 2018; Rothe et al., 2019, 2023; Thiebes et al., 2020; Vassilakopoulou et al., 2018). This is why research about creating value from data logically calls for research about how to distribute value among ecosystems participants.

The second way to address the abovementioned research trajectories is consistent with EJIS’s recent developments towards promoting ‘contrarian studies’ (Nandhakumar, 2010). We see much promise of contrarian studies investigating the creation and distribution of value in digital health ecosystems. Research about digital health is replete with assumptions touching on the outcomes that large volumes of data are likely to generate. This stands in stark contrast to the fact that on the ‘ground floor’ where most clinicians work the data are hardly ever available in the format, quality or volume needed to even remotely live up to these expectations (Jones, 2019). It is, therefore, paramount to offer fundamentally new ways of thinking about creating and distributing value in digital health ecosystems.

These considerations lead us to a set of issues which we would like to address through putting together this special issue. These issues include but are not limited to:

    The role of data management and data sharing in digital health ecosystems
    Designing for measuring kinds of value arising from new digital technologies like XR, 5G, web 3.0, and machine or hybrid learning in digital health ecosystems
    The role of digital health ecosystems during pandemics or natural disasters; specifically with an eye toward how data help to distribute value among ecosystem participants
    (Data-driven) change of professional roles, identities, and institutions in digital health ecosystems
    The difference between creating value for intervention vs. for prevention
    Design of inclusive and responsible digital technologies for healthcare and well-being
    Digital tools and use of digital health data to connect different participants of health service networks, to support decision making and to improve organizational processes
    Negative consequences of digital technologies implementation in healthcare, such as health givers burnout and patients’ anxiety
    The role of digital tools like virtual coaching for autonomy of health care providers and patients