The 23rd IFIP Conference e-Business, e-Services, and e-Society I3E2024

Disruptive innovation in a digitally connected healthy world

11th – 13th September 2024 Open University, Heerlen, the Netherlands

The advent of generative AI has significantly impacted businesses, societies, and countries globally. This technology, along with other disruptive innovations like big data analytics, blockchain, robotics, IoT, online healthcare, and remote work solutions, has fundamentally transformed how organizations and societies address the evolving demands of customers and citizens in an increasingly intricate business landscape. Both scholarly research and practical observations indicate that integrating these digital advancements has witnessed a substantial leap forward at multiple tiers—from organizational to societal and national levels. The challenges of implementing these technologies are anticipated to persist in the long term, underscoring the enduring impact of generative AI and its counterparts on post-COVID economies and societies.

The rapid adoption of disruptive technologies presents substantial challenges and reshapes the world, businesses, and societies. It also offers opportunities to foster prosperity, human well-being, and sustainability of business ecosystems. Therefore, digital connectivity and skills will become even more critical as foundations to enable the adoption of broader disruptive technologies and maintain the viability, adaptiveness, and competitiveness of industries in this new ecosystem and economic environment. One particular industry that has seen increased investment in digital infrastructure and digital skills is healthcare. Globally, many healthcare systems struggled in the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, in the post–COVID–19 era, healthcare organizations and systems are addressing key challenges of providing high-quality, efficient, and accessible care while facilitating the (tele)monitoring and management of exponentially increasing chronic diseases such as obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes using digital technologies.

While the disruptive innovations reshaped individual work behavior, organizational structures, and collaborations, many theoretical perspectives fall short of understanding the new reality. Moreover, rapid expansion and adoption of digital innovation provide many opportunities to discuss and rethink the theoretical and methodological underpinnings to understand how these innovations are used in practice. Digital innovation can be crucial in creating a sustainable, inclusive, and interconnected world. Therefore, this conference elucidates the opportunities for digital-driven disruptive innovations and reflects on how the research community can address the challenges of innovations.

Therefore, the 23rd IFIP Conference on e-Business, e-Services, and e-Society will bring together contributions from various perspectives, disciplines, and communities to advance knowledge regarding disruptive innovation in a digitally connected, healthy world.