CFP: Open Innovation in IT diffusion

Today I got an e-mail advertising an academic conference next fall in Spain. Normally I round file these (or whatever the electronic equivalent is), but this one caught my eye.

The solicitation is for IFIP 8.6, and the call for papers proclaims:

Open IT-based innovation
Moving towards cooperative IT transfer
and knowledge diffusion

The program committee has some big names in IT diffusion research, with names like Richard Baskerville, Rob Fichman, Kalle Lyytinen and Burt Swanson. IFIP 8.6 is the main international conference on IT diffusion.

Is it about open innovation? The themes overlap many topics that have been central to open innovation research, including

• Open innovation models for public and private organizations.
• Open business models in non-IT sectors.
  
• Products, services and new ventures based on IT open innovation.
  
• Innovating with customers [of course, more of a "user innovation" theme]

While the whole audience won't be preaching open innovation, it seems like an opportunity for European researchers studying the IT industry to present their work and also raise the awareness of open innovation among a mainstream MIS audience.

Papers are due March 1, 2008. I'm sorry won't be able to attend, but the conference is in Madrid (Oct. 22-24) and traveling to Europe during the school year is really not practical.