RTM – Call for Papers – Special Issue: How Digital Transformation is Reshaping Innovation and R&D

Call for Papers PDF

CALL FOR PAPERS: Special Issue: How Digital Transformation is Reshaping Innovation and R&D

Submission Due Date: February 15, 2022

Review Process: On a rolling basis from November 2021 to April 2022

Possible Publication: July or September 2022

Guest Editors:

––Paul Mugge, Innovation Professor (Emeritus), Poole College of Management, NC State University

––Haroon Abbu, VP Digital, Data & Analytics, Bell and Howell

The digital transformation of organizations continues at a frenetic pace. While some companies are achieving trailblazer status, others are finding it difficult to change. Advances in digital technologies such as cloud computing, internet of things (IOT), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and big data architectures have disrupted the routines and work practices underlying R&D. Companies are taking steps to digitize their innovation management and product development processes, and some are using digital tools to transform from a product-centric to a service-centric business model (i.e., servitization).

No person, or even an organization, can expect to have all the resources needed to develop new, compelling digital solutions; particularly at the pace being set by the leaders. Much knowledge can be gleaned from the R&D teams that have adapted their innovation processes―and maybe their R&D structures―to lead digital transformation.

RTM is actively seeking papers on the following topics:

• Digital tools are shaping the future of open innovation. How are organizations using these tools to develop collaborative and more nimble development environments?
• R&D teams are engaging external partners to develop digital ecosystems. What effect has this had on product/service offerings?
• Have the goals of R&D been changed to address emerging macroeconomic themes, like sustainable development goals and achieving net zero targets? What are the implications of these changes on firm-level capabilities—i.e., business model, routines, and processes? How have digital tools powered this change?
• How has digital changed the way companies develop new products? How are firms rethinking and reinventing their idea to launch gating systems? How has Agile process and cloud-based product lifecycle management (PLM) enhanced product development and new product introduction?
• Has the organization developed a new set of leading R&D indicators to guide and measure its digital progress?
• How is digital transformation impacting the innovation processes of small- and medium-sized companies? Are they benefitting from the availability of digital tools and open innovation? Has digital leveled the playing field?
• How do development teams use big data technologies (ML, AI, digital twins, etc.) to enhance product design, quality, and serviceability?
• What role do leaders of digital transformation play in carrying out successful digital transformation in R&D and innovation management? What are the success factors?
• How has digital changed the agenda of the research organization? What analytics tools do they use to give the organization better headlights?

Submissions are by no means limited to these topics. The special issue is also open to submissions that provide further insights into R&D innovation process in the context of digital transformation process.

View the Call for Papers PDF for more details.

For more information about this call or to join our email list to receive notification when calls for papers are released, please email RTM’s managing editor, Tammy McCausland, at mccausland@iriweb.org.