Call for Papers - Technological Forecasting and Social Change Feb 15 Deadline

Please find below this interesting call for papers to our global ABC membership for a special issue of Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

Best regards,

Geert Jacobs

ABC Regional Vice-President, Europe, Africa, and Middle East

Crossing borders: Can cultural differences predict the success of socio-technical change

A Call for Papers for a special issue of Technological Forecasting and Social Change

By Jos Pieterse, Fontys University of Applied Sciences (NL), (Managing Guest Editor), Rajesh Kumar (US) and Jan Ulijn, Open University of The Netherlands and emeritus Eindhoven University of Technology.

Cultural differences can trigger social change especially when cross border interactions between people take place. Technological innovations can start new worldwide interactions and as a consequence bring about social change. Probably these “socio-technical” developments are two sides of the same coin. Nowadays it becomes more crucial to hold the same pace in both technological and social changes.  

We are looking for both country and cross border studies based on empirical data within the fields of organization and professional culture related to technological and social change. Authors are invited to focus on macro, meso and micro levels of cultural cross border social and technological changes. We welcome both conceptual and empirical studies (both quantitative and/or qualitative). With respect to culture we prioritize mutual perception and Delphi studies over self-reports, but the latter are welcome as well. Change might be studied not only structurally, but also in an organic and evolutionary way.

Authors are invited to submit original papers, addressing areas such as:

• Cultural aspects as a facilitating factor for social/technological change
• Organizational culture and social/technological change
• Professional culture and social/technological change
• Change in social institutions, behaviors or relations on macro, meso or micro levels
• Case studies of social/technological change related to culture
• Multilevel analysis with regard to the above

They are invited to speculate on the basis of their data or of their conceptualizing literature surveys about any of the following questions:

1. Is social change technologically predictable, irrespective of any cultural level of analysis: why yes, why no?
2. If culture matters, what level might have the most impact: national, organizational or professional, such as between engineers and marketers in the same firm?
3. If culture does not matter, which other factors of a social nature might have forecasting power in socio-technical change?
4. Hindsight bias and backcasting: Do cultural differences between people force us to predict and make forecasts? Why yes, why no? (see Baruch Fischhoff, 1972 and Zimmerman et al. (2012, TFSC, 79,9, 1605-1621)
5. If cultural differences are at stake in fore- or backcasting, what would prevail: Stakeholders value (The European Rhineland approach) or shareholders value? (See for instance Paz-Marin et al. (2012 TFSC, 79,9, 1731-1745.)

The above areas are just indicative and this special issue would welcome papers discussing other topics relevant to technological change as it relates to organizational and professional culture. Prospective authors are encouraged to contact the guest editors for any enquires they may have in relation to the special issue.

Papers should be submitted via the journal’s online submission system: http://ees.elsevier.com/tfs indicating submission to the special issue “Crossing Borders". Please also refer to TFSC's “Guide for Authors” for style and format guidelines. Please direct any questions about the Special Issue to Jos Pieterse PhD.

For more information about the journal and for the submission guidelines please visit:http://www.elsevier.com/locate/techfore.

Important dates (conceptual):

• Abstract submission: 15^th February 2016
• End of review cycle for the abstract: 15^th March 2016
• Last date for submitting the full manuscript: 31^th May 2016
• End of the first review cycle: 30^th June 2016
• Tentative date for completing the revised papers: August 2016
• Tentative date for completing the second review cycle: October 2016
• Submission of the final manuscripts for print: December 2016