Call for Chapters
Proposal Submission: 30th October 2020
Proposal Acceptance/Rejection: 15th November 2020
Full Chapter Submission: ` 15th January 2021

Pandemic, Lockdown and Digital Transformation: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Administration, NGOs and Businesses
A Book edited by Dr. Saqib Saeed (Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, KSA), Prof. Manuel Pedro Rodríguez Bolívar (University of Granada, Granada, Spain) & Prof. T. Ramayah (University Sains Malaysia)

To be published by Springer Public Administration and Information Technology (PAIT) Series http://www.springer.com/series/10796

1. Introduction:
Pandemics not only bring health concerns for any society, but it also affects government and business operations significantly. Recently, the widespread Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) has significantly hampered the conventional businesses and organizations. COVID-19 started from Wuhan and transformed into pandemic and affected millions of human lives. Due to absence of any vaccination and its widespread many countries opted for lockdown policies to prevent the rapid flow of the disease. There have been varied opinions on the effectiveness of such lockdown in disease prevention, however, this has badly affected the business, NGOs and public organizations resulting in disruptions and/or increase of their operations.
In order to gain business continuity and help in solving challenges risen in pandemic situations, digital technologies are hyped as enablers. However, digital transformation is inherently a complex process and short adoption time pressure may result further complexities for organizations in fostering digital technologies.

2. Objectives
The aim of this book is to publish high quality original research contributions on theoretical foundations and empirical studies of digital transformations in the pandemic era. It seeks to strengthen the body of knowledge by providing insights of digital transformation processes in NGOs, governmental and business organizations combating to achieve continuity in their operations under pandemic affected economy.

3. Intended audience
This book will be useful for technology professionals, business, policy makers, NGOs managers and governments to optimize their digital transformation processes to better prepare their organizations in the presence of pandemic situations.

4. Recommended Topics and Themes
This book will include theoretical chapters and case studies from leading scholars and practitioners on the technology adoption practices of NGOs, governmental and business sector. Topics to be discussed in this book include (but are not limited to) the following:
•The Identification of Digital Transformation Challenges and Opportunities in solving pandemic situations
•Psychological and Technical Implications of pandemic situations
•Role of Technology in Business and Organization Continuity
•Strategic Management of Digital Infrastructure and Adoption in Pandemic Situations
•Economic, Organizational, Social and Legal Implications of Digital Adoption
•Supply Chain Management Implications with Digital Adoption
•Procurement and Marketing Challenges of Digital Adoption
•Customer Relation Management and Digital Technologies
•Citizens’ Relationship with Governments and NGOs through Digital Technologies in Pandemic Situations
•Implementation of emerging technologies for public information disclosure in pandemic situations.
•Impact of digital technologies on the Human Resource Management induced by pandemic situations
•Smart governance models in pandemic situations.
•Knowledge Management and Change Management in Digital Environment
•User and Citizen Experience with Digital Services in Pandemic Situations
•Digital Transformation Case Studies in Public Administrations, Health, Businesses, Education, Tourism, and NGOs

5. Submission Procedure
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before October 30, 2020, a 2-page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter and how it fits within the edited book. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by November 15, 2020 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by January 31st, 2021. All submitted chapters will be subject to peer review.

6. Paper Requirements
Papers accepted must be copyedited by an English copy-editor to make sure that an author's raw text, or copy, is correct in terms of spelling and grammar and is easy to read so that readers can grasp his or her ideas. In addition, papers must follow APA style for writing and reference citations. This book is scheduled to be published by Springer Nature, publisher of the Public Administration and Information Technology (http://www.springer.com/series/10796) book series. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2021.

7. Important Dates and Deadlines
October 30, 2020: Proposal Submission Deadline
November 15, 2020: Notification of Proposal Acceptance
January 31, 2021: Full Chapter Submission
March 15, 2021: Reviewer Comments
April 15, 2021: Revised Chapter Submission along with Response to
Reviewer Comments
May 15, 2021: Notification of Chapter Acceptance
May 31, 2021: Final Chapter Submission along with signed Copyright
Agreement
June 15, 2021: Final Deadline


Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) to:
Dr. Saqib Saeed
e-mail: saqib.saeed@gmail.com