The convergence of the so-called SMAC technologies – social, mobile, analytics, and cloud computing – has led to an unprecedented wave of digitalization that is currently fueling innovation in business and society. This wave of digitalization is creating opportunities for the BISE community to engage in innovative research activities and to increase the discipline’s visibility. However, since BISE researchers have investigated the increasing exploitation and integration of digital technologies over several decades, they also naturally react with ambivalence when others claim that going digital is a new phenomenon.
In this discussion section, BISE researchers convey their perspectives on the current wave of digitalization. They shed light on the following questions:
- What are the characteristics of the current wave of digitalization? How does it differ from the previous ones?
- What challenges and opportunities does digitalization bring to the BISE community?
- What novel approaches and research designs do BISE researchers engage into leverage the research opportunities of increasing digitalization?