emma 2018

Call for Papers

Big data, computer networks and machine-mediated communication are influencing how media are produced, marketed and consumed. The growing use of computer-assistance in the management of media products/services, media organisations, and the everyday life of audiences calls for critical examination by media management scholars and practitioners. Whether machines are framed as being dystopian or utopian, they are affecting the way we work and play. For Floridi (2014), the ‘Infosphere’ is reshaping human reality; for Tapscott and Tapscott (2016), the technology of Blockchain will produce an economic and value-exchange ledger that could become “the foundation of trust” (2016), and for Brynjolffson and Saunders (2010), the strategic value of technology to businesses is still increasing. We don’t yet know what is to come, but we do know that the media and associated creative industries are being challenged and disrupted.

Since 2015, Professor Stephen Hawking has been issuing warnings that machines will eventually become cleverer than their creators.  Many traditional media companies are struggling to adapt to the high technologies, the new amount of data and the new machine-related practices, both from cultural and organisational perspectives. Others, such as Google, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, see Artificial Intelligence simply as a means to offer new ways to access media services in the right place, at the right time, and on the right platform. The so-called Generation Z expects media portability and instant access, and grows up with augmented or virtual reality technologies and applications. The question is not whether to adapt to high technologies, big data and machine-related practices, but how?

2018 Annual Conference of the European Media Management Association (emma) in Warsaw, Poland, will seek to answer to the question of whether and how media enterprises are adapting to the age of machines. This may include the following sub-questions:

• How to conceptualize media enterprises and media management in order to take advantage of ‘high technologies’?
• In what ways have computer networks changed the organisational structures and business economics of media firms?
• Can live streaming, podcasting, eSports, and media players offer a solution for legacy media?
• What are the cultural changes taking place in the ‘information age’, or the ‘age of high technologies and robots ‘?
• Will quality journalism be replaced by automated flows of data, filter bubbles, and fake news?
• Are participatory and spreadable media and prosumerism an opportunity or a threat to media managers and producers?
• How are power structures changing in the age of big data, high technology and machine-related practices?
• Is national and international media policy fit for the high technologies?
• What do we know about Generation Z and their media habits and why should we care?

In terms of topics, we welcome both paper proposals that address the specific conference theme as well as paper proposals that address more general issues with regard to the management of the media. Topics of relevance include (but are not limited to):

• Machine intelligence and machine learning,
• Big Data and Internet of Things,
• Media platforms and ICT,
• Predictive analytics, behavioral targeting, data-driven personalisation,
• IP management and data management planning,
• Media funding and venture capital,
• Impact of digital technologies and machines on media consumption,
• Cultural and production studies,
• Smart city and social innovation,
• Innovation management,
• Organisational structures and cultures,
• Strategic media management (emma Special Interest Group),
• Media entrepreneurship (emma Special Interest Group),
• Information technology in media companies (emma Special Interest Group),
• Media policy & regulations (emma Special Interest Group),
• Emerging media markets (emma Special Interest Group).

Call for papers

Submissions for the emma Conference are invited as paper proposals in the form of abstracts (500 – 750 words) followed by a full paper (6000 words maximum), if the abstract is accepted. The abstract should address the following evaluation criteria:

• Relevance to the academic field of media management,
• Theoretical background and rationale for selection,
• Research methodology and description of empirical data used,
• Clear summary of main results,
• Originality and contribution to the field’s knowledge,
• Practical implications (for business and/or policy).

All submissions will go through the process of double peer review by experts nominated to the conference’s Scientific Committee.

Please note: If you are not a member of emma or a new contributor to the annual conference you will need to create a user account. 

Full papers can only be considered for the Best Paper Award (€300), if they are submitted by April 30, 2018.

Call for posters

Similar to the Call for Papers, we welcome poster proposals that address the specific conference theme or other topics relevant for the field of media management. Different from the papers (that participants will present orally), the posters introduce on-going and future research projects. The focus is less on the results of such projects rather than the research question(s) and methodology. Ideally, participants look for cooperation partners through such posters. The posters will be exhibited at a prominent place at the conference venue throughout the conference. Whoever is interested in presenting a poster, should submit an abstract (500 – 750 words) which addresses the following evaluation criteria:

• Goals of the ongoing or intended research project,
• Research questions and hypotheses,
• Research methodology and description of empirical data used,
• Description of project team and collaboration partners,
• Intention: why do I want to present my project at the emma conference?
• Expected outcomes: What do I want to gain from this presentation at the emma conference?
• Possibly assign the project to an emma Special Interest Group (where applicable).

All submissions should be made by January 15, 2018 via conference website.