Call for papers: How Unlearning and Relearning Processes Can Help to Implement Information Communication Technologies for Developing Innovations

Call for papers: How Unlearning and Relearning Processes Can Help to Implement Information Communication Technologies for Developing Innovations

A joint special issue of International Journal of Technology Management and International Journal of Information Technology and Management
(Accepted papers will be eligible for publication in either of these.)

Innovation implies the introduction of something new. In the current environment, the introduction of new products and services or the developing of new processes is critical for the survival of the companies. Knowledge from customers and suppliers is required for developing innovations. In this situation, both unlearning and relearning are knowledge management systems (KMS), which allow companies to acquire this new knowledge, and eliminate the obsolete. For example, the implementation information communication technologies (ICT) has to be re-designed around an organisational context to attain any benefit from the knowledge provided by customers or other employees.

In this context, companies with a high degree of organisational memory require what Schumpeter refers to as ‘creative destruction’, destroying, or at least setting aside, the institutional order to enact variations that allow intuitive insights and actions to surface and be pursued (e.g., e-services will be not used unless employees don’t use traditional services as a prior step). Therefore, before new routines can be implemented (e.g., pay corporate tax through e-government websites), the old routines must be challenged and this requires a willingness to unlearn or relearn.

This special issue is devoted to uncovering emerging connections between unlearning, relearning and new theoretical developments, such as e-business, e-government and e-commerce. The aim is to bring together new ideas and directions for technology and knowledge management research and practice. To this end, we welcome theoretical and empirical papers as well as qualitative and quantitative studies from a broad mix of contributors, including management scholars and practitioners, economists, sociologists, psychologists, business and science historians, innovation and technology researchers.

Although the possible set of paper topics is large and we encourage submission on any area within the scope of technology, unlearning and relearning in organisations and its study from recent theoretical approaches, topics which are particularly suitable include (but are not limited to):

• Relearning and unlearning requirements for successful technology implementation
• Foundations and critique of unlearning and relearning
• Linking unlearning and relearning through ICT and/or knowledge management systems (KMS)
• Effect of unlearning and relearning for innovating
• Evaluations of unlearning and relearning initiatives and results
• Knowledge management practices fostering unlearning and relearning
• Time, relearning and unlearning
• Antecedents and consequences of organisational memory impacting the level of relearning and unlearning
• Impact on learning effectiveness of unlearning and relearning
• Human resource management practices for unlearning and relearning

Important Dates
Deadline for submissions: 14 February, 2008
Contributions distributed to reviewers: 17 February, 2008
Reviews received and distributed to authors: 15 May, 2008
Papers amended and received in light of reviewers' comments: 17 July, 2008