Blockchain technology promises to disrupt information-based markets through decentralized governance, challenging the dominance of centralized digital platforms. Information Systems (IS) scholars have examined blockchain’s key affordances – distributed value capture, transparency, smart contracts, and token-driven growth – across diverse domains such as supply chains, social media, and digital identity. Yet, empirical evidence reveals persistent centralization in practice, raising concerns about the viability and desirability of blockchain-enabled decentralization. Challenges include governance token concentration, centralized system layers, and trade-offs in the “blockchain trilemma” of scalability, security, and decentralization. Building on the evidence, this panel aims to foster critical discussion around the feasibility, relevance, and research implications of blockchain decentralization.

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Panelists:

• • Mariia Petryk, George Mason University, Moderator
  • Christoph Mueller-Bloch, ESSEC Business School
  • Jungpil Hahn, National University of Singapore
  • Hanna Halaburda, New York University
  • Ola Henfridsson, University of Miami
  • Daniel Obermeier, Nova School of Business and Economics
  • Youngjin Yoo, London School of Economics and Political Science

Disinformation and misinformation threaten democratic institutions, public discourse, and social cohesion. With predictive algorithms and GenAI enabling easy generation of deep fakes, these threats are amplified at unprecedented scale and present an urgent need to understand and counter them. This panel brings together IS scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds who investigate the causes, mechanisms, and consequences of disinformation and propose effective interventions. Despite valuable contributions from IS scholars, disciplines like Political Science and Media Studies often dominate the conversation. This panel argues that IS should take center stage in the public and academic discourse on this topic by leveraging its unique, multidisciplinary lenses. Drawing on theoretical, empirical, and design-based approaches, panelists will debate specific dilemmas associated with this phenomenon and engage the audience in provocative discussions. The goal is to mobilize the IS community to lead this critical area of research and amplify its insights across academia, industry, and policymaking.

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Panelists:

• • Natalia Levina, New York University, Moderator
  • Alan Dennis, Indiana University – Bloomington
  • Ofir Turel, University of Melbourne
  • Nicholas Berente, University of Notre Dame
  • Shama Patel, New York University Stern
  • Marshall Van Alstyne, Boston University and MIT
  • Raghava Mukkamala, Copenhagen Business School

This panel aims to debate and discuss two important aspects related to synthetic data creation, use and impact in healthcare. On the one hand, synthetic data presents significant opportunities to transform healthcare. On the other hand, it is critical that synthetic data reflect patient conditions accurately and protect patient privacy. The panel assembles five experienced healthcare researchers and thought leaders from all three AIS
regions to discuss three specific issues: how can synthetic data represent actual patient conditions; how can synthetic data be validated to enhance trustworthiness, and when it should not be used; and how can privacy risks and potential harms to individuals be curtailed. We call on the information systems community to advance methods and develop frameworks to assess the creation, use and impact of synthetic data in healthcare. We also urge this community to engage with practitioners and policymakers to inform synthetic data use policies and practices.

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Panelists:

• • Abhay Mishra, Iowa State University, Moderator
  • Ali Sunyaev, Technical University of Munich
  • Jennifer Claggett, Wake Forest University
  • Monica Tremblay, The College of William and Mary
  • Xitong Guo, Harbin Institute of Technology

Our panel explores bribery, corruption, and deceit within emerging economies. The panel seeks to explain the nature of corruption as it relates to information technology (IT), primarily how bribery and deceit operate within and are influenced by burgeoning digital infrastructures. Diverse information systems (IS) perspectives will analyze the underlying corruption, clarifying its direct impact on economic development, innovation, and firm performance in emerging markets. This panel will emphasize the complexities of corruption, examining its systemic and residual forms in the face of rapid digitalization. By focusing on the elusive definitions of corruption and the specific mechanisms of bribery, the panel aims to unpack the intricate relationship between corruption and the strategic responses of businesses within challenging regulatory environments. The panel will also address how these deceptive practices can be combated within legal and institutional frameworks to foster environments where emerging economies can thrive and improve through digital advances.

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Panelists:

• • Michael A. Erskine, Middle Tennessee State University, Moderator
  • Mariana G. Andrade-Rojas, University of Georgia
  • Guillermo Rodríguez Abitia, The College of William & Mary
  • Robert E. Crossler, Washington State University
  • Isam Faik, Western University

A Discussion with the AIS Presidents

Tuesday, December 16 | 10:30 – 12:00

Join us for an engaging session! This is an opportunity to connect directly with our President, Immediate Past President and President-Elect in an open and interactive conversation. Come and join a meaningful dialogue about the strategic initiatives shaping our association’s future and the topics that matter most to our community.

To make the most of the session, we encourage you to submit topics to discuss in advance. ICIS 2025 conference registrants will receive an email by December 8.

Panelists:

• • AIS President: Dorothy Leidner, University of Virginia
  • AIS President-Elect: Jan Vom Brocke, University of Münster – ERCIS
  • AIS Immediate Past President: Andrew Burton-Jones, The University of Queensland Business School

In light of the rapid pace of digital transformation and the subtle yet profound institutional shifts it entails, this panel aims to stimulate an action-oriented communitylevel dialogue that critically examines the trends and challenges in the scientific knowledge production system, as well as their possible implications for our collective identity as a community. In particular, we will focus on the evolving power dynamics among key stakeholders, including authors, reviewers, editors, universities, and publishers. We will also reflect on the espoused values and norms that should guide and shape the evolution of institutional logics and the future of scientific knowledge production. The discussion will explore alternative models such as Open Science and the Diamond Publishing Model to increase accessibility, decentralized peer review to promote equity, AI for multilingual science to foster inclusivity, and Slow Science to emphasize quality and creativity over quantity.

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Panelists:

• • Frantz Rowe, Nantes University and Institut Universitaire de France, Moderator
  • Michel Avital, Copenhagen Business School
  • Tilo Böhmann, University of Hamburg
  • Andrew Burton-Jones, University of Queensland
  • M. Lynne Markus, Bentley University
  • Sunil Mithas, University of South Florida
  • Ojelanki Ngwenyama, Toronto Metropolitan University and
    University of Cape Town, Toronto, ON
  • Monideepa Tarafdar, University of Massachusetts, Amherst