Digital Transformation? Handle with Care
Digital transformation (DT) refers to “a fundamental change process, enabled by the innovative use of digital technologies accompanied by the strategic leverage of key resources and capabilities, aiming to radically improve an entity and redefine its value proposition for its stakeholders” (Gong and Riebere, p. 12, 2021). An entity could refer to various subjects, such as an organisation, a business network, an industry, or society.
This phenomenon is generating unprecedented disruptions in society, industry, and organisations, stimulated by a variety of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse, big data analytics, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The use of digital technologies is considered a great enabler of various strategic approaches, such as digital servitization, that support value co-creation and product personalisation in many industrial sectors and service industries.
A growing number of articles in informative press and technical reports show that DT and its technologies form a complex phenomenon which, of course, can generate positive outcomes but also negative effects for its end-users. Thus, despite the great potential of DT, it is a double-edged sword, implying risks and ethical challenges. Indeed, digital technologies’ criticality includes: the spread of biases, privacy abuses, job losses, lower human faculties engagement and a significant environmental impact.
As an instance, Forbes outlined several technological, organisational, ethical, social, and practical challenges and other risks that companies adopting AI systems to make decisions may experience. Additionally, a recent MIT study about large language models and cognitive decline found that frequent users of ChatGPT over a few months have lower brain engagement and consistently underperform at neural, linguistic, and behavioural levels.
These and other evidence that emerged over the last few years show digital transformation is something that people, companies, and governments need to handle with care. Although this statement might be quite clear to managers and practitioners, academic researchers still have to build a substantial body of knowledge about what we could call “the dark side of digital transformation”.
Starting from this assumption, the main goal of the DTS2026 conference is to highlight and identify a variety of key instructions, models, and guidelines for individuals, organisations, and societies in the effective adoption and implementation of digital transformation technologies.
For DTS2026, we encourage the submission of conceptual and empirical papers using a diverse range of methods (either quantitative or qualitative) and taking into account this so-far underexplored perspective. Research papers bridging the gap between theoretical conceptions and practical insights are highly welcome. As such, this conference calls for, but is not limited to, contributions in the following areas of interest:
• The “Dark Side” of digital transformation and AI.
• AI-driven transformation in communities, firms, and societies.
• The influence of digital transformation on inter-organisational relationships.
• Digital servitization and value co-creation.
• Smart mobility and logistics.
• Opportunities and risks of digital transformation in finance.
• Digital transformation, sustainability, ESG, and circular economy.
• Digital transformation in SMEs and family firms.
• Ethics and Responsible AI.
• Digital transformation across industries (e.g., healthcare, agrifood, tourism…).
• Genders and cross-cultural cultures and biases in digital transformation.
• Organisational and industrial response to cyber-criminality.
• Digital transformation for marketing, consumer behaviour, social media, and branding.
• Accounting perspectives in the digital area.
The conference is promoted by DISAQ at the University of Naples Parthenope and the Paris School of Business. The conference is also supported by the DISAQ “Progetto di Eccellenza 2023-2028”.