Strategic AI and Ethical Dimensions in Service industries

Closes:
Journal
Strategy & Leadership
Guest editor(s)
Sanaz Vatankhah, Yanqing Duan, John Edwards, Guangming Cao,

Submit your paper here!

Introduction

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the service industries marks a significant transformation, promising enhancements in operational efficiencies and customer experiences (Vatankhah et al., 2024). This technological leap forward is not without its ethical challenges, including concerns surrounding privacy, equity, transparency, accountability, and the broader societal impacts of AI deployment. Despite the burgeoning adoption of AI technologies across these industries and the initiation of a dialogue around their ethical ramifications (Dwivedi et al., 2023; Hsu et al., 2024), there remains a critical gap in the academic examination of these issues. The discourse to date has tended to emphasize the technological and operational dimensions of AI, often at the expense of a thorough and cautious exploration of the ethical landscape that accompanies these advancements (Du and Xie, 2021). 

Moreover, issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within the context of AI's application represent an area of ethical concern that demands heightened scholarly attention. The potential for AI technologies to perpetuate existing disparities, biases, and injustices within the industry poses significant ethical dilemmas (Martin and Waldman, 2023; da Motta Veiga et al., 2023). There is a pressing need for a more nuanced and rigorous inquiry into how AI may challenge or reinforce these disparities, with a particular focus on ensuring that the strategic development and implementation of AI technologies in service industries are conducted in a manner that is transparent, equitable, and accountable. As such, strategic approaches to the ethical implications of AI in service industries emerge as a critical area of investigation, one that has begun to receive attention but remains largely underexplored within current scholarship (Du and Xie, 2021; Dwivedi et al., 2023).  

This gap in the literature highlights the necessity for ongoing and in-depth discussions around the ethical considerations of AI, ensuring that advancements in AI contribute to the betterment of society and the industries it seeks to transform. In particular, the critical gap lies in the comprehensive understanding of these ethical dimensions (da Motta Veiga et al., 2023; Figueroa-Armijos et al., 2023; Hsu et al., 2024;Tóth et al., 2022).There is a pressing need for research that not only identifies but also critically analyses the ethical challenges posed by AI, proposing forward-thinking solutions that ensure responsible AI integration into service industries (Vatankhah et al., 2024).  

Given the strategic importance of AI in shaping competitive advantage in these industries, this special issue invites contributions that not only address the ethical complexities associated with AI but also provide insights into how organizational leaders and entrepreneurs can responsibly navigate these challenges. This special issue aims to offer actionable strategies that integrate AI while maintaining corporate accountability, transparency, and inclusivity in line with ethical business practices (Martin & Waldman, 2023). We are particularly interested in papers that explore the leadership and entrepreneurial dimensions of AI ethics in service industries, focusing on strategic approaches to managing ethical dilemmas, ensuring EDI, and fostering responsible innovation. 

This special issue seeks to advance the understanding of how AI can be strategically integrated into services while addressing ethical concerns, particularly in a leadership, entrepreneurship, and management context. We welcome submissions that: 

  • Illuminate the ethical challenges of AI and propose strategic solutions for managing these challenges within service organizations.
  • Explore how AI can be leveraged for competitive advantage without compromising ethical standards- by entrepreneurs seeking to innovate in the service industries). 
  • Examine leadership and entrepreneurial frameworks that promote ethical AI adoption, particularly in relation to corporate digital responsibility. 
  • Investigate the role of leadership and entrepreneurship in promoting EDI in AI development and implementation-with a focus on preventing algorithmic bias and fostering inclusivity. 
  • Provide strategic insights into how service organizations and startups can manage the societal and workforce implications of AI, including workforce displacement and skill development. 

List of Topic Areas

Potential topics include, but are not limited to: 

  • Ethical decision-making and leadership in AI-driven service innovation. 
  • The strategic management of algorithmic bias in AI applications within service marketing. 
  • Leadership and entrepreneurial challenges in integrating chatbots and service robots into customer service, while maintaining ethical standards. 
  • Strategic governance of AI's impact on employee well-being in service sector. 
  • Managing the ethical implications of AI-driven societal changes, including employment and skill development. 
  • AI’s role in customer data privacy and leadership strategies for navigating dark patterns in service industries. 
  • Leadership and AI in crisis management within the service industries. 
  • Strategic frameworks for balancing innovation with ethical AI deployment in service industries. 
  • Responsible AI governance in digital transformation efforts within service industries. 
  • Leadership and entrepreneurship in AI ethics in virtual consumer experiences, including the Metaverse. 
  • The role of entrepreneurs in ethically deploying AI innovations for competitive advantage in services. 
  • Ethical implications of AI-driven entrepreneurial ventures in content creation and service delivery. 

While we welcome qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies, papers should aim to bridge the identified knowledge gap, offering new insights, theoretical frameworks, and practical recommendations for strategically integrating AI into the service industries in an ethical manner. 

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here.
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”. 
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Opening date for FULL paper submissions: 5th January 2025 
FULL paper submission deadline: 30th April 2025 

Guest Editors

Dr. Sanaz Vatankhah, Graduate School of Business, University of Bedfordshire Business School, UK, Email: [email protected]
Prof. Yanqing Duan, Graduate School of Business, University of Bedfordshire Business School, UK, Email: [email protected] 
Prof. John Edwards, Aston University, Email: [email protected]
Prof. Guangming Cao, Head of Digital Transformation Research Center (DTRC), College of Business Administration, Ajman University, Email: [email protected] 

References

Hsu, C. H., Tan, G., & Stantic, B. (2024). A fine-tuned tourism-specific generative AI concept. Annals of Tourism Research, 103723. 
Dwivedi, Y. K., Kshetri, N., Hughes, L., Slade, E. L., Jeyaraj, A., Kar, A. K., ... & Wright, R. (2023). “So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy. International Journal of Information Management, 71, 102642. 
da Motta Veiga, S. P., Figueroa-Armijos, M., & Clark, B. B. (2023). Seeming Ethical Makes You Attractive: Unraveling How Ethical Perceptions of AI in Hiring Impacts Organizational Innovativeness and Attractiveness. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-18. 
Figueroa-Armijos, M., Clark, B. B., & da Motta Veiga, S. P. (2023). Ethical perceptions of AI in hiring and organizational trust: The role of performance expectancy and social influence. Journal of Business Ethics, 186(1), 179-197. 
Martin, K., & Waldman, A. (2023). Are algorithmic decisions legitimate? The effect of process and outcomes on perceptions of legitimacy of AI decisions. Journal of Business Ethics, 183(3), 653-670. 
Tóth, Z., Caruana, R., Gruber, T., & Loebbecke, C. (2022). The dawn of the AI robots: Towards a new framework of AI robot accountability. Journal of Business Ethics, 178(4), 895-916. 
Loureiro, S. M. C., Guerreiro, J., & Tussyadiah, I. (2021). Artificial intelligence in business: State of the art and future research agenda. Journal of business research, 129, 911-926. 
Du, S., & Xie, C. (2021). Paradoxes of artificial intelligence in consumer markets: Ethical challenges and opportunities. Journal of Business Research, 129, 961-974.