Thematics, GTAIM & TRACKS > TRACK 2023 : Mobility, digital and decarbonation

 Track 2023 : Mobility, digital and decarbonation

The first edition of this thematic session intends to explore the multiple links between mobility, digital technology and decarbonation, based on research with varied methodologies and open to contributions from different disciplines (from Management Sciences and beyond).

The aim is, on the one hand, to look at the construction of the dynamics of decarbonisation of mobility and to identify the role of digital technology in this process and, on the other hand, to understand what these dynamics of decarbonisation can lead to for digital technology within the mobility sectors.

In the first part of the study, the construction of the dynamics of decarbonisation of mobility and the identification of the role of digital in this process:

Digital technology can be considered from the point of view of technical progress enabling the improvement of mobility in terms of service efficiency and a strengthening of multimodality (combination of several modes of transport such as train and bus), or even enabling the substitution of one technology for another by focusing on electrification.
In addition to its contribution to nomadism, digital technology can also be seen as an alternative to mobility, with a view to demobility (limiting journeys and strengthening local supply) and strengthening remote solutions, for example via teleworking or digital tourism.
In the 2nd part, on what these decarbonisation dynamics can lead to for the digital sector within the mobility sectors:

The mobility sector has several characteristics such as flow management, complex and large infrastructures, massive energy consumption, multiple activities, multimodality, etc. Decarbonisation of this sector implies strategies to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gases through innovation, sobriety but also the circular economy. For example, the duplication of public facilities to produce electricity locally also favours the establishment of server farms.
Finally, the dynamics of decarbonisation could lead to questioning the expansion of digital technology. If mobility pollutes, the environmental footprint of digital technology may also prove to be particularly significant due to the massification of digital solutions but also to the qualitative requirements linked to certain activities in the mobility sectors: acceleration of boarding processes, shopping experience for passengers in stations, flight simulation for air traffic control or training purposes, etc.
Thus, the aim here is not to consider digital technology in a deterministic way, but to shed light on the multiplicity of transformation dynamics surrounding mobility and decarbonation, and to consider the links between these concepts in an iterative and recursive manner, by considering the phenomena of reinvention, diversion, decoupling, etc. within their past, present and future practices and the issues raised by the ecological transition.

This thematic session thus aims to provide a forum for reflection on the burning questions posed by mobility and decarbonisation through the prism of the digital, and vice versa. A multidisciplinary approach will be favoured to allow for an understanding of the different facets of the transformations underway and to encourage exchanges between researchers from various disciplines (IS and other sub-disciplines of management sciences, engineering sciences, sociology, political sciences, ergonomics, psychology or economics, etc.).

The session also intends to federate researchers around a common interest in the theme of "Mobility, Digital and Decarbonation", which could foreshadow the future creation of an AIM thematic group and the launch of collective publication projects.

Themes envisaged

How does decarbonised mobility relate to digital technologies? At the individual level? Collective?
Which stakeholders are at work within these dynamics of digitalisation and decarbonisation of mobility? What are the consequences for the business lines?
How is management dealing with these changes in the digitalization and decarbonization of the mobility and transport sectors? How are these changes supported?
What do the challenges of decarbonisation and digitalisation of mobility represent for society? What could be the role of open science on these issues?

Track leaders 

Sophie Agulhon (sophie.agulhon@univ-paris8.fr)

Florence Jacob (florence.jacob@univ-nantes.fr)

Mohamed Haouari (mhaouari@gip-cei.com)