[Air-L] CALL FOR PAPERS: Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Special Issue on Virtual Worlds

[Guido Lang]

Please note the following Call for Papers for a special issue on  
virtual worlds of the Journal of Electronic Commerce Research.

Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this message.

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JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH: SPECIAL ISSUE ON VIRTUAL WORLDS

CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Issue on Virtual Worlds
Submissions due: November 1, 2007
Scheduled Publication date: August 2008

Overview:
The emergence of virtual worlds and Web 3.D change the way of doing  
business. Web 3.D is the synonym for Internet-based virtual worlds,  
where people can create own 3-D ‘virtual’ personalities. Virtual  
Worlds such as Second Life and others are undergoing an evolution  
similar to that of the Internet in the mid nineties and might impact  
profoundly the way people cooperate, communicate, collaborate, and  
conduct business. The recent entering of companies such as Toyota,  
American Apparel, Nissan, or Adidas indicate the upcoming role of  
this platform for the next generation of conducting electronic  
business. This call for papers is intended to cover a wide range of  
business and research topics that fall within the broad description  
of activities, challenges, opportunities, applications, innovations  
and implications associated with Virtual Worlds as the emerging new  
online business landscape.

Purpose of the Special Issue:
The purpose of this special issue is to encourage discussion and  
communication of important research issues that underpin Virtual  
Worlds as an important aspect of e-commerce and to showcase  
interesting and significant research work in this critical area.  
Specifically this issues is focusing on business and legal issues of  
doing business in Virtual Worlds. Of particular relevance to the  
described focus are papers about business models, marketing,  
promotion, pricing, customer integration,  consumer behavior, legal,  
cultural and cross-cultural research. The issue, however, will not be  
restricted to these topics; rather, it welcomes reports of  
theoretical or empirical research that examines pertinent business  
issues related to Virtual Worlds e-commerce. This special issue will  
be of interest to researchers, governments, small and large  
businesses, marketing and PR companies among others.

List of possible topics are:
• Product Development and Testing in Virtual Worlds
• Image, Branding, Advertising in Virtual Worlds
• Marketing in Virtual World
• Avatar-based Marketing
• Promotion of Virtual Goods in Virtual Worlds
• Pricing of Virtual Goods in Virtual Worlds
• Selling, Cross-Selling Real and Virtual Worlds
• Business Planning for Non-profits in Virtual Worlds
• Fundraising and Virtual Worlds
• Convergence of Real and Virtual Worlds
• Customer Integration and Virtual Worlds
• Technology, Business, Strategy in Virtual Worlds
• Financial Systems, Investments, Currency Exchange Real and Virtual  
Worlds
• Emerging Media Presence in Virtual Worlds
• Consumer Behavior, Consumer Acceptance and Virtual Worlds
• Trust, Cross-Cultural Studies and Virtual Worlds
• Intellectual Property, Copyright, Trademarks and Virtual Worlds

Submission of Manustcript:
JECR publishes original empirical research, theoretical and  
methodological articles, evaluative and integrative reviews, field  
research, business surveys, and application papers of interest to a  
general readership. A submission based on a paper appearing elsewhere  
(such as conference proceedings or newsletters) must have major value- 
added extensions to the earlier version. For conference papers, it  
should have at least 30% new material. The submitted manuscripts  
should follow the format as suggested in the Submission Guideline  
found in the journal website: http://www.csulb.edu/journals/jecr/ 
s_guide.htm. Of particular note is that the manuscript should be  
prepared in Microsoft Word format. The names, affiliations, and  
contact information (i.e., phone, fax, email addresses) of all  
authors should be provided only on the cover page. The submitted  
paper will undergo a double-blind review. Contributing authors may be  
asked to serve as reviewers for the special issue. Authors may submit  
completed manuscripts electronically at any time prior to November  
1st 2007 deadline. Manuscripts and questions send to  
mfetscherin at rollins.edu.

Guest Editor
Marc Fetscherin, Ph.D.
Rollins College
International Business Department
Winter Park, 32789, FL, USA
e-mail: mfetscherin at rollins.edu
Tel: +1 407 691 1759
Fax: +1 407 646 1566

Important Dates:
Deadline for Submission: November 1, 2007
Paper acceptance/rejection: January 15, 2008
Revised paper submission: March 15, 2008
Final acceptance following revisions: May 15, 2008
Publication Date: August 2008