CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Issue of Journal of Global Information Technology Management (JGITM)
Theme: Information Systems in the Visegrád Group of countries (Czech Rep., Hungary, Poland and Slovakia)

Tentative Publication Date: July 01, 2014
Full paper submission deadline: September 30, 2013

Theme

This special issue aims to capture the current state and development of Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) in the Visegrád Group of countries. The Visegrád Group (V4) is composed of four countries located in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). All the countries have a shared past, including political transformation following the collapse of communism. More than 20 years have passed since system transformation began in Europe in 1989. During that time centrally-managed countries have become market-driven economies. Further development impulse came almost a decade ago in May 2004, when the Visegrád countries, together with the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), joined the European Union. Open borders, together with competitive factors such as lower wages, a skilled work force, geographical proximity, relative political stability, and access new markets, all attracted foreign companies. Initially Eastern and Central Europe (CEE) was perceived as a market for products and a new location to which to move manufacturing while searching for cost reductions. Foreign companies acquired former state-owned enterprises or opened new factories. In trade, foreign retailers from Western Europe have opened stores and distribution centres, as well as using CEE counties to source products. Later the global and European IT and Hi-Tech companies have opened R&D and software development offices, in addition to outsourcing centres. In the public sector, the European Regional Development Fund is co-financing creation of ICT infrastructure, e-government services, and stimulating development of the Information Society, closing the digital divide. Individuals have been given access to free media and fast developing communication technologies. These factors have resulted in closer integration between local, European, and global business partners; development of IT infrastructure; changes in IT/IS education; and transformation of governments and societies. However, such developments are underrepresented in the academic literature, particularly given the scale and speed of change. The content of academic journals, including IS journals, does not reflect this IT/IS local revolution.

Aims and Scope

This special issue aims to: advance understanding of the IT/IS impact and use in the Visegrád Group of countries; understand the role of IT/IS in the transformation process, as well as identify issues specific to post-communist countries. It is intended to provide a forum for academic researchers, policy makers and practitioners. Papers of all theoretical and methodological approaches are welcome. Submissions that cross multiple disciplines to develop theory and provide information that could move theory and practice towards cyber security forward are especially encouraged. Such areas could include: computing; business studies; information systems; project management; operations and strategic management; supply chain; economics; education; sociology and policy planning. Consistent with the focus of JGITM, all submitted papers must explicitly address key global issues associated with IT/IS use in the Visegrád Group of countries. Papers could also be written from the perspective of foreign organizations which have integrated their IT operations or invested in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Contributions may include, but are not limited to, the following IT/IS topics:

• Development of IS over the past decade
• Role of IT/IS in the transformation process
• Economic impact of IT on the economy and sectors
• Trans-national and trans-regional IT-enabled cooperation
• Society, social change and IS-related education
• IS planning, evaluation, implementation and adoption
• Barriers and challenges in IT/IS development
• IT/ICT policies at national and regional levels
• IS in the supply chain, retail, transport and manufacturing
• IT/IS services and IT and Business Processes Outsourcing (BPO)
• IS in the public sector (i.e. e-government, e-health, digital libraries)
• Overview and results of EU co-financed projects
• E-commerce, online trade and e-procurement
• Online banking and payment systems
• Online media and communications
• ICT infrastructure
• Green IT and sustainability
• Mobile applications and solutions
• IT project management
• IT and innovation
• Knowledge management and transfer
• Cloud computing
• IT in SMEs and NGOs

All papers will go through a blind-review process. Each paper will be reviewed by at least three reviewers and the guest editor. The guest editor will make acceptance recommendations to the Editor in Chief, Dr. Prashant Palvia, who will make the final decision. If there are more qualified papers than can be included in the special issue, they will be published in future issues of JGITM.

The special issue will include the following:

 Editorial preface (to be written by the guest editor)
 3 or 4 referred papers
 Interview with a CIO or similar senior company executive
 Book review relevant to the theme of the special issue

Important Dates
Deadline for submission: October 30, 2013
Initial decision and revisions sent to authors: December 15, 2013
Deadline for revised papers: January 31, 2014
Notification of final acceptances: March 15, 2014
Deadline for final versions: April 30, 2014
Tentative publication date: July 1, 2014

Submissions:
Papers should be submitted in Word format and should not exceed more than 25 double-spaced pages (not including references, tables and figures). Please e-mail manuscripts to the guest editor: Wojciech.Piotrowicz@sbs.ox.ac.uk.

Background of special issue editor
Wojciech Piotrowicz, PhD, MA is Research Fellow and Tutor in Technology and Operations Management at the Saïd Business School and a member of Wolfson College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. Wojciech received a Master’s degree in Economics, Information Technology and Logistics from the University of Gdańsk in Poland, a doctorate in Management Studies (Information Systems) from Brunel University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education from the University of Oxford. Prior to joining Oxford he spent two years at the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK as a researcher working on an e-procurement project.

Before moving to the UK, Wojciech was employed as researcher and project manager at the research institute of the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure (Maritime Institute in Gdańsk). He also taught at the University of Gdańsk in Poland. During his career he has been involved in research projects with organisations such as the European Commission, Intel and BAE Systems. Prior to joining academia, he was department manager at an IT company.

In addition to his research work, Wojciech serves as a member of a panel of experts advising governments and the European Commission in the areas of Information Society, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the public sector, logistics and transportation. He is author of more than a dozen articles, book chapters and reports, and received the Emerald Literati Network Award for Excellence in 2010 and 2012. He has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2011.