Call for Papers - HICSS-59 conference Minitrack “Future and KM: The Future of Knowledge Management - Futuring and Design in Knowledge Management”

[akaiser]

I am really happy that our minitrack “Future and KM: The Future of 
Knowledge Management - Futuring and Design in Knowledge Management” has 
been accepted for the HICSS-59 conference.
Our minitrack also welcomes “out of the scope” papers and by now we are 
known at the HICSS conference as the minitrack with sometimes “crazy” 
and unusual papers.
Therefore, we invite you to submit papers that you would not submit 
anywhere else 😀 and encourage you to send us your most profound and 
challenging ideas.

👉 The deadline for submissions is June 15
👉 The HICSS 59 conference takes place on Maui from January 6 to 9, 2026

Here is the Call for Papers:

In an era defined by digital transformation and rapidly evolving 
knowledge landscapes, traditional approaches to Knowledge Management 
(KM) are increasingly challenged by emerging opportunities and new 
requirements. The integration of future-oriented methods such as 
Futuring or Learning from the Future alongside innovative practices like 
Design Thinking offers a unique opportunity to not only adapt KM 
practices to current needs but also to proactively shape the future. 
Technological advancements—such as artificial intelligence, big data 
analytics, and collaborative digital platforms—are reshaping the ways in 
which knowledge is created, shared, and utilized. Traditional KM models 
are reaching their limits in this dynamic environment. By combining 
(new) methods for shaping the future with creative, user-centered design 
approaches, organizations can reinvent their KM systems  and/or rethink 
their understanding of knowledge and knowledge management as such, to 
better meet the demands of the digital era.
This minitrack provides a platform to scientifically ground this 
paradigm shift while delivering actionable insights for practice. To 
achieve this, this minitrack aims to foster interdisciplinary 
discussions, explore innovative concepts, and critically examine methods 
that could define the future trajectory of KM.
We welcome submissions for this minitrack adopting different theoretical 
lenses and worldviews, using a variety of research methods and 
conceptual ideas, and exploring the topic with a visionary mindset. We 
are also very looking for contributions that break with well-trodden 
empirical and conceptual conventions to help academic and practice build 
novel concepts, instruments and designs by focusing on (digital) 
future(s).
 
Topics covered include (but are not limited to):
Futuring as (future) core topic of KM?
•	How can futuring and/or design methodologies be integrated as a 
component of Knowledge Management (systems) to enhance organizational 
strategic innovation and resilience?
•	What role can the different approaches of Learning from the Future 
play in Knowledge Management?
•	What are the critical success factors and barriers for incorporating 
futuring and/or design techniques within traditional Knowledge 
Management frameworks?
•	In what ways do futuring and/or design practices enable organizations 
to effectively respond to disruptive trends impacting 
knowledge-intensive environments?
•	How can the synergy between futuring and Knowledge Management drive 
innovation, and which metrics can best capture its impact on 
organizational performance?
•	What cultural and structural capabilities are necessary to embed 
futuring as a core element in Knowledge Management systems?
•	In what ways does integrating futuring into Knowledge Management 
reshape strategic decision-making and risk assessment processes at 
various organizational levels?
•	What synergies can be achieved by combining qualitative and 
quantitative and “non-state-of-the-art” futuring methodologies within 
KM, and how do these synergies enhance long-term organizational learning 
and adaptability?
The future role of KM in Artificial Intelligence
•	KM as the foundation for Artificial Intelligence – or Artificial 
Intelligence as enabler for KM, or both directions?
•	How should we integrate AI-based systems into KM initiatives as they 
possess increasing processing capabilities and degrees of agency?
•	How much knowledge is in digital representations of knowledge, such as 
knowledge graphs?
•	What is the role of human knowledge, competence and expertise in 
hybrid work systems including AI?
•	What is the role of wisdom in AI?
•	How does AI enable new forms of learning processes between humans?
•	How do training data sets for AI-based systems imply organizational 
biases and thus influence future learning processes?
The further development of new approaches and ideas currently emerging 
in KM
•	How can new approaches to KM, such as Responsible KM, be realized by 
means of concrete tools, techniques, and methods?
•	KM and Spirituality – what is their link? What role could Spiritual KM 
play in the future of KM?
•	What are epistemological alternatives to the prevailing paradigm of 
instrumental-calculative rationality, i.e., to the reliance on rational 
knowledge and thinking?
•	How to enable the knowledge flow of non-rational knowledge for 
individuals and/or in organizations?
•	What is the role of practical wisdom (i.e., phronesis) in managing 
organizations?
•	How can the realization of an organization's purpose and KM be 
connected?
•	How can KM support topics such as Organizational Becoming or 
Organizational Self-Enactment?
•	What is the role of tacit knowledge and how can the use of tacit 
knowledge be further improved in organizations and at the individual 
level?
•	What is the role of unlearning in envisioning as well as adopting new 
KM practices?

The future role of KM in society
•	What role does/will KM play in future organizations? And (why) should 
organizations still invest in KM issues?
•	In what ways do new digital technologies change how people and 
organizations communicate and collaborate, and how does this change KM?
•	How and to what extent should we expand established KM frameworks to 
account for new digital technologies?
•	How can insights from KM research and practice enable remote work?
•	What role should KM play in an increasingly connected world and how to 
ensure that role is realized?
•	How can KM research tackle and contribute to solving the grand 
challenges of our times?
•	What role does KM play in the transformation towards sustainable 
business?
•	Business Ethics and KM – what can KM contribute to doing well by doing 
good?
This minitrack welcomes all types of contributions, both conceptual and 
empirical, using a variety of methods to provide new insights for the 
future of KM as well as futuring as an important part of KM. Therefore, 
papers in this minitrack can and should explicitly provide the basis for 
more speculative future-leaning conceptualizations of phenomena within 
the discipline of KM.

Important Dates for Paper Submission
•	June 15, 2025 | 11:59 pm HST:       Submission Deadline
•	August 17, 2025 | 11:59 pm HST:   Notification of Acceptance/Rejection
https://hicss.hawaii.edu/
https://hicss-submissions.org/

Minitrack Chair:
Alexander Kaiser 	Vienna University of Economics and Business –
Email: alexander.kaiser at wu.ac.at
Minitrack Co- Chairs:
Ernst Wageneder    Vienna University of Economics and Business and 
Archdiocese
Salzburg
Email: Ernst.wageneder at eds.at
Florian Kragulj  	Vienna University of Economics and Business
Email: florian.kragulj at wu.ac.at