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Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems

Editorial

Welcome to the winter issue of the 34th volume of the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS).

After two years of IRIS/SCIS in a digital format, we were finally able to meet in person. In August, Copenhagen Business School, Roskilde University, and IT-University of Copenhagen hosted the conference at Bymose Hegn in Helsinge, Denmark. We were offered great food, new forms of IRIS games, interesting keynotes, and discussions about the discipline’s identity and future. In smaller groups, ongoing articles were discussed with the aim of helping the authors develop them further. These meetings and discussions are at the heart of IRIS and we look forward to welcoming you again next year in Finland.

This volume includes two regular papers and four special issue papers on “Responsible Artificial Intelligence—Critical Perspectives on AI-infused Digitalization”.

The first regular paper is “Synthesizing a Solution Space for Prescriptive Design Knowledge Codification”, written by Frederik Möller, Magnus Hansen, and Thorsten Schoormann. The paper explores the issue of codification in design science research (DSR). Codification in DSR is done by providing clear chunks of prescriptive knowledge that guide the design of future solutions, including instructions on how to design (parts of) artifacts. Although various codification mechanisms have emerged over the last years, design principles are among the most prominent mechanisms. In this paper, the authors seek to bridge the challenge of selecting from the fuzzy array of codification mechanisms by proposing an inductively generated solution space. They provide a taxonomy to organize essential elements of prescriptive knowledge based on an analysis of design-oriented literature in four meta-dimensions (i.e., communication, application, development, and justification). Overall, the taxonomy guides designers in reflecting on and selecting from the set of suitable elements. The second regular paper “Designing Local Energy Market Applications” by Bent Richter, Philipp Staudt, and Christof Weinhardt, explores information system usage in local energy markets. The study focuses on the generation of design knowledge for market user applications in general and specifically to ensure long-term user engagement, which is a crucial success factor to maintain long-term effects. The authors identify seven design principles based on a field implementation with user interaction. The design principles and their instantiations are evaluated based on semi-structured interviews with the participants and an online experiment. The design principles provide fundamental knowledge for the setup of local energy market user applications and are therefore of value for researchers and practitioners alike.

The special issue includes an introduction on critical perspectives, concepts, and a research agenda on Responsible Artificial Intelligence by the special issue guest editors (Polyxeni Vassilakopoulou, Elena Parmiggiani, Arisa Shollo, and Miria Grisot) and four research papers that address responsibility from a broad range of angles including business models, design practice, and human autonomy in welfare services. These papers demonstrate that a critical approach to Responsible AI involves an understanding of the actual processes and practices of including and translating the skills, interests, and experiences of heterogeneous stakeholders such as developers, clerical workers, managers, policy makers, citizens, into the design and deployment of AI to promote human-centred values for present and future generations.

Finally, we would like to thank all the authors, reviewers, and readers of the journal. We also thank Jacob Nørbjerg who has been the production editor and has taken care of several tasks related to the publication process. Hopefully, we also meet at IRIS/SCIS in Finland next year!

Katrin Jonsson, Sune Dueholm Müller, Henri Pirkkalainen and Elena Parmiggiani