Track description n°18

Twin Transition

Track Chairs

Jonny Holmström

Umeå University, Sweden

Prof. Jonny Holmström is a Professor of Information Systems and director of the Swedish Center for Digital Innovation, Umeå University, Sweden. His research interests include digital innovation, digital transformation, and sustainable digital development. He has published in leading journals such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, and Journal of the Association for Information Systems. Prof. Holmström has extensive experience organizing tracks at international conferences including ICIS and ECIS, and he has served on the editorial boards of several leading IS journals. He has been actively involved in research on Twin transition through his work with the Swedish Center for Digital Innovation.

Margunn Annestad

University of Oslo, Norway

margunn@ifi.uio.no

Prof. Margunn Annestad is a Professor of Digital Innovation at the University of Oslo, Norway, specializing in digital innovation and sustainability transitions. Her research focuses on the societal implications of digital technologies and how they can be harnessed for sustainable development. She has published extensively in top-tier journals and has served on program committees for major IS conferences. Prof. Annestad brings valuable expertise in interdisciplinary research approaches that bridge technology studies with sustainability science.

Johan Magnusson

University of Gothenburg, Sweden

johan.magnusson@ait.gu.se

Prof. Johan Magnusson is professor of information systems and director of the Swedish Center for Digital Innovation at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His research covers governance related issues of digital transformation and innovation in large organizations, primarily in the public sector. He has published extensively and is currently research lead for Sweden’s largest research initiative on twin transition, Urban Twin Transition Center. Prof. Magnusson brings valuable expertise related to how organizations work with changing their current governance practices to afford twin transition.

The concept of “Twin Transition” has emerged as a powerful concept for framing and making sense of the complex challenges facing contemporary organizations and societies. Twin Transition represent the ideal of a synergistic integration of digital and green transitions to more effectively address the climate crisis and achieve sustainable development. This track seeks to establish Twin transition as a frontier research area within the information systems (IS) discipline, one that is concerned with the nexus between digitalization, sustainability, and societal change.

The track addresses the urgent need to re-imagine how digital technologies can be leveraged not merely as tools for efficiency but as enablers of transformative change across multiple domains. Twin transition can and should be studied from and across multiple levels (individual, group, organizational, societal), domains (management, ecology, technology, psychology), and stakeholder groups (academia, business, civil society, government), with the ideal of making this multiplicity of perspectives mutually responsive and fruitful for each other.

The Twin Transition concept emerged from and is highly visible in EU policy circles through the European Green Deal (European Commission, 2019) and subsequent policy frameworks (European Commission, 2022). The EU’s commitment to twin transition means that all member states will need to engage with this concept in their strategic planning, creating both opportunities and challenges for organizations and societies. Beyond the EU, the need to consider the interplay between digital technologies and sustainability is also becoming increasingly recognized as a global imperative.

This track builds on and extends related discourses in IS research such as Digital Sustainability (Kotlarsky et al., 2023), Green IS (Brendel et al., 2022; vom Brocke et al., 2013), Digital Resilience (Boh et al., 2023; Tim & Leidner, 2023), Digital Responsibility (Mueller, 2022), and Digital Innovation (Hund et al., 2021; Mäkitie et al., 2023). While these research streams have made significant contributions, the twin transition concept offers a unique integrative lens that can help overcome disciplinary silos and foster more holistic approaches to complex socio-technical challenges.

We invite contributions that explore theoretical foundations, methodological approaches, practical implementations, and policy implications of twin transition. The track welcomes diverse perspectives and encourages interdisciplinary dialogue to advance our understanding of how digital technologies can be harnessed to drive sustainable transformations across business, management, and society.

Track topics

Conceptual Foundations and Theoretical Perspectives

Conceptualizing Twin transition: Frameworks, models, and theories
Integration of socio-technical systems theory with sustainability transitions
Paradoxes and tensions in pursuing simultaneous digital and green transitions
Critical perspectives on Twin transition discourse and implementation

Strategic Management and Organizational Change

Business models that leverage Twin transition for competitive advantage
Organizational capabilities required for successful Twin transition
Leadership approaches for navigating complex transition processes
Resistance to change and overcoming barriers to Twin transition

Technological Enablers and Infrastructure

Digital technologies as enablers of sustainable practices (AI, IoT, blockchain)
Green IT infrastructures and sustainable digital architectures
Data governance for sustainable digital ecosystems
Digital platforms for circular economy initiatives4. Measurement, Assessment, and Impacts
Metrics and indicators for evaluating twin transition progress
Impact assessment methodologies for digital sustainability initiatives
Rebound effects and unintended consequences of digital-green interventions
Long-term societal impacts of Twin transition

Policy, Governance, and Regulatory Frameworks

Multi-level governance of Twin transition
Policy instruments to incentivize and accelerate Twin transition
Regulatory challenges and opportunities in different geopolitical contexts
Public-private partnerships for twin transition implementation

Sectoral Applications and Case Studies

Twin transition in manufacturing and industry
Smart cities and sustainable urban development
Digital-green transformations in energy systems
Sustainable digital innovation in healthcare, education, and public services

Digital-Sustainable Innovation Processes

Design approaches for twin transition solutions
Citizen and user involvement in twin transition innovation
Open innovation models for addressing sustainability challenges
Scaling and diffusion of digital sustainability innovations

Ethical Dimensions and Social Justice

Digital divide and inclusion concerns in Twin transition
Ethical frameworks for responsible innovation in Twin transition
Just transition perspectives on digital-green transformations
Indigenous and diverse knowledge systems in twin transition discourse

Implementation Challenges and Solutions

Balancing short-term costs with long-term benefits
Managing complex stakeholder networks in twin transition initiatives
Overcoming technical and organizational barriers to implementation
Skills and capability development for Twin transition

Future Research Directions

Methodological innovations for studying complex transition processes
Transdisciplinary research approaches to Twin transition
Emerging challenges and opportunities at the digital-sustainability nexuso Next-generation twin transition frameworks and theories

Information Systems Design for Sustainability

Green by IT: Using information systems to enable sustainable practices
Green in IT: Designing sustainable information systems
Information systems for circular economy and resource efficiency
Sustainability-oriented design science research

Digital Technologies for Climate Action

Information systems for carbon footprint tracking and reduction
Digital tools for climate adaptation and resilience
AI applications for environmental monitoring and protection
Digital platforms for coordinating climate action

Behavioral Change and User Perspectives

Digital nudging for sustainable behaviors
User acceptance of sustainable digital solutions
Designing for sustainable consumption through digital means
Community engagement in digital sustainability initiatives

Resilient Information Infrastructures

Designing resilient digital systems for uncertain futures
Crisis-responsive information systems
Digital technologies for supply chain resilience
Information systems for disaster management and recovery

Cross-Cultural and Geographic Perspectives

Twin transition in developing economies
Cultural dimensions of digital sustainability practices
Geographical variations in twin transition implementation
Global coordination challenges in digital-green transformations

Contemporary coverage in conferences and publications

The discourse on twin transition has gained significant momentum in recent years, particularly in policy circles and increasingly in academic research. The European Union’s Strategic Foresight Report (European Commission, 2022) positioned twin transition as a central concept for future development, emphasizing the need for integrated approaches to digital and green transformations. This policy emphasis has sparked growing academic interest, as evidenced by recent publications (Müller et al., 2024; Muench et al., 2022).

In the Information Systems discipline, while the specific term “twin transition” is relatively new, related concepts have been gaining traction. The AIS Special Interest Group on Green Information Systems (SIGGreen) has been fostering research at the intersection of IS and sustainability for over a decade. Recent ICIS, ECIS, and AMCIS conferences have featured tracks on sustainability, digital innovation, and responsible IS, though none have explicitly focused on the integrative concept of twin transition.

The Journal of the Association for Information Systems recently published special issues on Digital Sustainability (Kotlarsky et al., 2023) and Digital Resilience (Tim & Leidner, 2023), indicating growing interest in these interconnected domains. Similarly, journals such as Business & Information Systems Engineering have published work on Corporate Digital Responsibility (Mueller, 2022), while Technology in Society has explored digital innovation’s contribution to sustainability transitions (Mäkitie et al., 2023). The AOM Meeting 2025 in Copenhagen will also include a PDW on Twin Transition, organized by the track chairs and AEs.

However, these discussions often occur in separate tracks or special issues, missing the opportunity for integrative dialogue that the twin transition concept offers. ECIS 2026 provides a timely and appropriate forum to bring these conversations together under the Twin transition framework, in line with the conference theme of “Re-imagining Digital Technology for Business, Management, and Society.” This track will fill an important gap by creating a dedicated space for exploring the synergies between digital and sustainability transitions through a more holistic lens.

References

Boh, W., Constantinides, P., Padmanabhan, B., & Viswanathan, S. (2023). Building Digital Resilience against Major Shocks. Management Information Systems Quarterly, 47(1), 343–360.
Brendel, A. B., Chasin, F., Mirbabaie, M., Riehle, D. M., & Harnischmacher, C. (2022). Review of Design-Oriented Green Information Systems Research. Sustainability, 14(8), 4650.
European Commission. (2019). The European Green Deal [Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions].
European Commission. (2022). 2022 Strategic Foresight Report: Twinning the green and digital transitions in the new geopolitical context [Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council].
Hund, A., Wagner, H.-T., Beimborn, D., & Weitzel, T. (2021). Digital innovation: Review and novel perspective. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 30(4), 101695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2021.101695
Kotlarsky, J., Oshri, I., & Sekulic, N. (2023). Digital Sustainability in Information Systems Research: Conceptual Foundations and Future Directions. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 24(4), 936–952. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00825
Muench, S., Jensen, K., Asikainen, T., Salvi, M., & Scapolo, F. (2022). Towards a green & digital future: Key requirements for successful Twin transition in the European Union. Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/977331
Müller, M., Lang, S., & Stöber, L. F. (2024). Twin Transition — Hidden Links between the Green and Digital Transition. Journal of Innovation Economics & Management, I165-XXXVIII.
https://doi.org/10.3917/jie.pr1.0165
Tim, Y., & Leidner, D. (2023). Digital Resilience: A Conceptual Framework for Information Systems Research. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 24(5), 1184–1198.
https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00842
Vom Brocke, J., Watson, R. T., Dwyer, C., Elliot, S., & Melville, N. (2013). Green Information Systems: Directives for the IS Discipline. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 33. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.03330