Call for Papers, Posters, Round Table Proposals, Practitioner Contributions and Product Demonstrations

The European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation (ECIME) provides a forum for both researchers and practitioners to come together to develop their understanding of both theory and practice in all aspects of IT/IS management and evaluation. The wide scope of ECIME reflects the increased use of technology to manage information in and between organizations of all types and sizes across the globe. ECIME 2011 will provide opportunities for people working and researching in the field to come together both formally and informally to share their knowledge and expertise.

Publication opportunity
Papers presented at the conference will be published in the conference proceedings, subject to author registration and payment. The proceedings are accredited on various academic lists. Click the star on the right for more details. Selected papers will also be considered for publication in a special issue of the Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation. The latest issue is now available on the journal website.

The advisory group for the conference invites submissions of both academic and practitioner papers on a wide range of topics and a wide range of scholarly approaches including theoretical and empirical papers employing qualitative, quantitative and critical methods. Academic research, case studies and work-in-progress/posters are welcomed approaches. PhD Research, proposals for roundtable discussions non-academic contributions and product demonstrations based on the main themes are also invited. You can find full details in the submission types document (.pdf format). Prizes are offered for the best PhD paper discussed at the conference and the poster voted best poster.

In addition to the main conference topics, submissions are welcomed to seven mini tracks: Information Technologies/Information Systems in Dynamic Environments, chaired by Dr Maria Alaranta, Aalto University, Finland; Geography within Information: Added Value for Society, chaired by Dr Jorge Ferreira, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Nova University of Lisbon, Portugal; Preparedness of SMEs through IS Evaluation and Management, chaired by Dr Ciara Heavin, University College Cork, Ireland; Information Systems Security (ISS) and Compliance, co-chaired by Dr Karen Neville, Business Information Systems, and Leona O’Brien, Financial Service Centre, University College Cork, Ireland; Enterprise Architecture, chaired by Ian Owens, Cranfield University, UK; Information System Modelling, chaired by Dr Elena G. Serova, St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance, Russia and Knowledge and Information Management in Product Development, co-chaired by Dr João Manuel R. S. Tavares and Isa Santos, University of Porto, Portugal.

Details of how to submit are given below. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

Read the author guidelines

Download the main call for papers
in .pdf format

Mini Track Call for Papers: Information Technologies/Information Systems in Dynamic Environments
Track Chair: Dr Maria Alaranta, Aalto University, Finland

This mini track focuses on dramatic changes in the life-cycles of organizations that develop or use IT/IS. Such dynamic environments include but are not limited to:  post-merger/acquisition integration; divesting; joint ventures; building or exiting an IT outsourcing relationship, switching IT outsourcing partners, etc. These changes result in a need to modify or re-create technical, social, structural, and managerial systems as well as the information infrastructure of the organizations. However, in practice, carrying out such change is often problematic. And, these problems can lead to a loss of clients, legal issues, or other adverse business impacts or even nullifying the benefits of the change endeavor.

This topic is theoretically and practically interesting, and therefore both researchers and practitioners are invited to contribute. Topics to be discussed in this track include, but are not limited to, the following:

• IT/IS in mergers and acquisitions
• IT/IS in joint ventures
• IT/IS in divesting firms
• Changes in IT/IS outsourcing relationships
• other inter-organizational IT/IS issues in dynamic environments

Maria Alaranta

Mini Track Call for Papers: Geography within Information: Added Value for Society
Track Chair: Dr Jorge Ferreira, Geography and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FCSH), Nova University of Lisbon

Information technologies are necessary to achieve higher levels of Knowledge. But sometimes information is not enough, you have to think about the value of Geography. Only by considering the location of the individual can you characterize his daily habits and activities. Companies, organizations and governments know this and they use all the information they can get to create the new interfaces we use in our daily lives.

This mini track is focused on Geography and the way it can add value to Society. Geographical Information Technologies are essential to develop fully integrated platforms and deal with information. Geographical analysis and models define future decisions for citizens and consumers. These and other aspects are the main topics of this mini track.  Practitioners and academics are invited to contribute to, and discuss, this  research area where information and Geography meet.

Topics to be discussed in this track include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Geographical Information Technologies (Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing) Integration
• Information for Modelling  Geographical Phenomena
• Data and Information Infrastructures for civil and military applications
• Geographical Knowledge for Planning and Decision Support
• Dissemination of Geographical Information for Citizenship

Jorge Ferreira

Mini Track Call for Papers: Preparedness of SMEs through IS Evaluation and Management
Track Chair: Dr Ciara Heavin, University College Cork, Ireland

As the number of Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) continues to grow through challenging economic times, where entrepreneurship is increasingly encouraged, the importance of understanding how smaller organisations leverage IS to manage data/information has become imperative to their survival. SMEs by their very nature differ from multinational enterprises (MNEs) and it is important to realise that the IS issues faced by SMEs are not scaled down versions of large business experiences. Therefore, it has never been more important to explore SMEs’ analytic capabilities specifically focusing on how IS are utilised to strive for a greater impact and enable sustainable future growth and competitive positioning.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

§         Decision Making and DSS in SMEs

§         Business Intelligence in SMEs

§         Managing the IT Artefact for Supply Chain Management in SMEs

§         Managing the IT Artefact for Customer Relationship Management in SMEs

§         Managing the IT Artefact for Knowledge Management in SMEs

§         The use and evaluation of Social Media Platforms in SMEs

§         The evaluation of Business Models in SMEs

§         Managing e-business and e-commerce systems in SMEs

§         Evaluation of SaaS, IaaS, Paas, XaaS in SMEs

Ciara Heavin

Mini Track Call for Papers: Information Systems Security (ISS) and Compliance
Track Co-Chairs: Dr Karen Neville, Business Information Systems, University College Cork, Ireland and Leona O’Brien, Financial Services Centre, University College Cork, Ireland

Multinationals, institutions and small to medium enterprises (SME) rely on IT, global networks (such as intranets, extranets, and the Internet) and cloud computing for business communications, transactions and employee productivity. However, these suffer from an increasing number of ISS breaches suggesting that much needs to be done to secure data, information and knowledge. The majority of the research on ISS to date has been at the technical level (for example, on encryption algorithms and security tools) with far less work focussing on organizational, managerial and social issues. Scant work exists examining the social, managerial and corporate implications of ISS and compliance. In addition, increasing interconnections and intercommunications between organizations regarding products and services crossing international boarders require greater stress on ISS management to secure multinationals and comply with local and international regulatory requirements.

This min-track is issuing this call for papers on ISS and compliance to facilitate the development of rigorous IS research and theory development in the field. It will promote theory building and rigorous empirical research. The primary objective of this mini track is to bridge the gap between the ISS requirements of organizations and the adherence to local and international standards and regulations. 

We welcome papers from both ISS/regulatory industry practitioners and researchers who have investigated the issue of balancing these requirements. The possible topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following domains:

§         The use of ISS standards and Policies by organizations.

§                                 ISS threats and Controls.

§                                 ISS and Compliance Economics.

§                                 ISS Governance.

§                                 Aligning ISS to Assure an Organizational Compliance

§                                 The Business Impact of Compliance. 

Karen Neville


Leona O’Brien

Mini Track Call for Papers: Enterprise Architecture
Track Chair: Ian Owens, Cranfield University, UK

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a model-based approach to support decision makers in their management of complex organisations. For the past two decades organisations have used EAs to help manage and align their Information Technology assets, people, operations, and projects with its operational characteristics.  Without such an approach large, complex organisations were tending to have inconsistent business processes, tightly coupled interfaces and entities, duplication of applications provision, gaps and redundancies, applications or processes that do not comply with current regulations, and a lack of alignment between business strategy (what the business wants to do), business processes (how it does it), and IT (the technical support for business processes).

Despite the widespread acceptance of EA there remain many questions about how best to use EA to inform information management and decision making in organisations.  Since Zackman first coined the term in 1987 many different EA frameworks, EA tools, and EA methodologies have been suggested.  However, there is no widespread consensus on how best to apply EA, when it should be used, who should be doing it and why, and how the resulting models can be best exploited through further analysis. 

This track aims to provide a forum for the discussion these and other questions related to Enterprise Architecture.  Submissions can take the form of case studies, new methods and frameworks or evaluation of existing approaches, analysis techniques, tools and models that can help to understand and succeed in EA initiatives.

Practitioner papers are encouraged. Topics include, but are not limited to:

Ian Owens

Mini Track Call for Papers: Information System Modelling
Track Chair: Dr Elena G Serova, St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance, Russia

Information systems development continues to be an important issue as the organizational structure of modern society becomes more intricate. Changing one characteristic of an information system can lead to changes being required to other parts of the system. In an attempt to improve organisational efficiency, executives can use enterprise modelling to bridge the communication gap between business managers and systems designers. This track calls for original scientific research on the advances and applications of innovative modelling methodologies and approaches in information systems analysis and design. It also focuses on the practices and information technologies required for modelling to solving business problems to continuously improve organizational performance.

Topics to be discussed in this track include, but are not limited to, the following:

§         Enterprise Modelling and Integration

§         Business Process Modelling

§         Knowledge Modelling

§         Model-driven Project management

§         Modelling of Decision Making Processes

§         Agent-oriented Approach and Simulation

§         Conceptual Modelling

§         Modelling Tools and Platforms

Elena Serova

Mini Track Call for Papers: Knowledge and Information Management in Product Development
Track Co-Chairs: Dr João Manuel R. S. Tavares and Isa Santos, University of Porto, Portugal

In today’s fast-paced and globally competitive environment, the development of new products and services has become increasingly important. There can be a myriad of information attached to a project ranging from customer needs to the location of manufacturers. The proper management of such information can dictate the success or failure of a product or service. Thus, it is essential for those involved in the development of new products and services to be equipped with adequate tools. The purpose of this mini track is to present and discuss the existing tools and methodologies to manage information during product development.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

§         Product development methodologies

§         Information management

§         Decision support

§         Quality management

§         Risk management

§         Collaborative development

João Manuel R. S. Tavares


Isa Santos

Submission details

Due to the large number of papers expected for this conference, the committee prefers that an author presents only one paper. However, if multiple papers are accepted for publication and presentation, each paper requires a separate registration fee. Author registration and payment must be completed by 10 August 2012 and there are special discounts available for earlybird registration and group bookings, including a special reduced rate for supervisors and students attending together.

Important information

• The selection panel of the conference committee will consider all abstracts received by the submission deadline to ensure that the proposed paper is relevant to the Conference.
• Abstract selection notifications will then be sent out to relevant authors.
• All full papers will be double-blind reviewed by members of the conference committee to ensure an adequate standard, that the proposed subject of their abstract has been followed, that the paper is of a suitable length, the standard of English is adequate and the paper is appropriately referenced.
• For authors whose first language is not English we request that you have your work proof read prior to submission by a native English speaker (or at least a fluent English speaker). Papers can be rejected due to a poor standard of English. We do offer proof-reading services.
• Papers that are accepted will be published in the conference proceedings providing at least one author registers and presents the work at the Conference (see the registration section of the conference website for more information about registration).
• Due to the large number of papers expected for this conference, the committee prefers that an author presents only one paper. However, if multiple papers are accepted for presentation, each paper requires a separate registration fee.