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The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the issues of social and digital exclusion and inclusion arising from the development of a digitalised society. It aims to highlight the significance of this for the study of information systems by describing the context for this special issue, outlining a number of previously under‐researched areas, giving an overview of the papers chosen for this special issue and describing future directions for research that recognise non‐users and marginal users as important actors in designing and evaluating systems in use.

The paper sets the scene by discussing the impact of mass involvement in digital culture on the field of information systems and analyses each paper, suggesting ways in which they relate to the chosen themes and drawing conclusions from this discussion.

The papers chosen address thematic issues, theoretical foundations, methodological issues, empirical studies and reflections on inclusion and exclusion from the digital society.

The paper highlights the growing interest in engagement with the digital culture in the information systems discipline and enables reflection on barriers and opportunities for developing research across boundaries of disciplines, cultures, organizations and accepted topics. It indicates that information systems researchers have an ethical responsibility to consider the impacts of innovations on the least powerful in society as well as the more privileged.

The purpose of this paper is to critique the discourse of the digital divide and to propose ways of responding to digital inequalities.

Illustrations of arguments are based on reviews of academic literature, projects reports, policy documents and research findings from the Penceil project, and are informed by critical theory. The research consisted of 47 semi‐structured interviews and action research involving designing an e‐literacy curriculum and running a course based on it.

A discourse of missed opportunities and “being left behind”, present in policy statements and popular media, leads to objectifying non‐users of information and communication technologies (ICT) as “others”. This discourse is often internalised by non‐users, but it does not necessarily lead to positive actions, leaving some feeling inadequate. So far initiatives seeking to address the digital divide have had moderate success. To respond to digital exclusion we need to oppose the unchecked spread of e‐services, and help non‐users of ICT to become users or (if they choose to) informed “refusniks”. Initiatives aiming to facilitate people's sustainable and meaningful use of ICT ought to draw on individual and community resources. A curriculum should be determined by learners' experiences and their expressions of needs, and go beyond IT skills.

The paper does not offer a comprehensive review of digital exclusion, concentrating instead on chosen problems and arguments. It is based on the UK experience, and thus more relevant to developed rather than developing countries.

The paper raises awareness of different issues related to digital exclusion and ways of addressing them.

The paper calls to question current discourse and initiatives addressing the digital divide, highlighting their limitations. It presents alternative ways of responding to digital exclusion.

This paper seeks to highlight a poorly‐understood dimension of digital exclusion that is not related to access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), but rather to the reduction in flexibility for providing and administering public services following the implementation of an integrated e‐government system.

A case study of a project focused on reducing barriers to the delivery of driver licensing services to a remote indigenous community in Australia was undertaken and the data were analysed using Kling et al.'s socio‐technical interaction network (STIN) modelling approach.

The paper makes four recommendations to improve the licensing situation for the community that are induced from the findings. In particular the paper draws attention to the need to carefully analyse possible negative impacts of any e‐government initiative for those at the margins of society.

The paper aims to analyse the current situation as the foundation for recommending future actions. These can form the basis for subsequent interventions in the licensing situation.

This research provides an outsiders' overview of the licensing situation and recommendations for change that take account of a diversity of viewpoints and interests.

The paper contributes to our understanding of the relationship between ICTs and social exclusion in three ways. It provides a rich narrative describing the secondary impacts of integrated e‐government systems, a theoretically grounded analysis of the situation and some recommendations for addressing some of the implications at both the community level as well as calling for more careful evaluation of possible negative consequences about shifting service provision to integrated systems.

This paper seeks to describe a deep investigation of the phenomenon of internet engagement amongst older people. The likelihood of internet engagement has been shown in previous work to rapidly decrease with age, and patterns of disengagement are most pronounced amongst older people.

The study comprises a qualitative investigation consisting of observation and interviews conducted within a programme of internet literacy workshops funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The reflection of previous research with data collected has led to the development of a model of older people's internet engagement. This model helps us better understand the context for patterns of engagement and disengagement with the internet.

The model of internet engagement is used to highlight a number of strategies that should be considered in future policy intervention in the area of digital inclusion.

The model described offers a more sophisticated instrument for understanding the issue of the digital divide amongst this excluded group and potentially may be applied more generally in understanding the complex nature of this issue.

The purpose of this paper is to engage with the debate on social exclusion in the e‐society from the human development perspective, which goes beyond inequality in distribution of technological goods and services to emphasise the options, choice and opportunities related to accessing and using information.

This is an interpretivist study. It draws on Sen's capability approach (CA) to conceptualise social exclusion in the e‐society as capability deprivation, both in well‐being and agency freedom. A framework of the core aspects of the CA is used to analyse two empirical studies in South Africa and China which serve to illustrate social exclusion manifested as capability deprivation in different “spaces”.

The paper demonstrates the relational features of social exclusion and different types of capability deprivation in e‐society; highlights “unfavourable inclusion” which can be masked by technological diffusion.

This paper is an early attempt to apply the capability approach to social studies of information communication technologies in developing countries.

The paper provides implications for government policies to go beyond technological provision and pay attention to socio‐political, cultural and institutional aspects in ensuring effective utilisation of information and channels of communication, which should serve to enhance people's opportunity to better participate in economic, social and political activities.

The paper is a novel attempt to apply concepts of the CA in information systems, which provides a conceptual lens to address the complexity and multiplicity of social exclusion in the e‐society.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate information communications technologies (ICT)‐mediated inclusion and exclusion in terms of sexuality through a study of a commercial social networking web site for gay men.

The paper uses an approach based on technological inscription and the commodification of difference to study Gaydar, a commercial social networking site.

Through the activities, events and interactions offered by Gaydar, the study identifies a series of contrasting identity constructions and market segmentations that are constructed through the cyclic commodification of difference. These are fuelled by a particular series of meanings attached to gay male sexualities which serve to keep gay men positioned as a niche market.

The research centres on the study of one, albeit widely used, web site with a very specific set of purposes. The study offers a model for future research on sexuality and ICTs.

This study places sexuality centre stage in an ICT‐mediated environment and provides insights into the contemporary phenomenon of social networking. As a sexualised object, Gaydar presents a semiosis of politicised messages that question heteronormativity while simultaneously contributing to the definition of an increasingly globalised, commercialised and monolithic form of gay male sexuality defined against ICT.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether users’ perceived moral affect explains the effect of perceived intensity of emotional distress on responsibility judgment of a perpetrator and company, respectively, in an ill and good intention breach.

Participants completed a questionnaire containing items measuring their perceived intensity of emotional distress, perceived moral affect and responsibility judgment of a perpetrator and company, respectively.

The results support the mediating hypothesis on responsibility judgment of a perpetrator regardless of intention. The mediating hypothesis is also supported in an ill intention breach in responsibility judgment of a company. However, the mediating effect is not observed in a good intention breach when users assess a company’s responsibility.

The findings support the notion that users use the consequentialism approach when assessing a perpetrator’s responsibility because they focus on the victims’ emotional distress and discount a perpetrator’s intent, resulting in similar mediating effect of perceived moral affect in an ill and good intention breach. The results also indicate that perceived moral affect increases the negative effect of perceived intensity of emotional distress on responsibility judgment of a company, suggesting that users may exhibit empathetic feelings toward a company and perceive it as a victim of an ill intention breach. The lack of mediating effect in responsibility judgment of a company in a good intention breach may be attributed to the diminished effect of a perpetrator’s feelings of regret, sorrow, guilt and shame for causing emotional distress to the victims.

COVID-19 accelerated change within the UK retail market. It encouraged the growth of online shopping, providing the necessary demand for grocers to invest in their operations, and transformed the economics of their businesses. As innovative new business models emerged, some existing retailers collapsed leading to significant changes on the high street. Landlords were also affected. As some retail tenants struggled to pay their rents, other parts of the sector prospered and sought additional warehouse capacity to cope with rising demand. Not only does this illustrate how different parts of the retail sector faired during COVID-19, but it also demonstrates how the move online has resulted in the emergence of new opportunities.

Serviced offices are popular, offering many services and facilities to attract tenants. As research showed that most business centres occupy similar buildings, services are important to differentiate. All kinds of people use them (from freelancers to employees of large corporates) and their characteristics are likely to influence how they value different services. This study aims to identify which services/facilities are perceived as most important and whether end-user characteristics explain differences between users regarding these preferences. Serviced office owners and operators can use the insights obtained from this study to differentiate their product offer from competitors and aim for specific tenant market segments.

Data were collected through a questionnaire among 137 end-users in 13 serviced offices in The Netherlands. With principal component analysis, 31 services and facilities could be reduced to six independent factors and four additional services. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine effects of user characteristics (employee demographics, job characteristics and reasons for using serviced offices) on perceived importance of each service/facility (factor).

Results showed that organisational characteristics had little effect on perceived importance of services and facilities. Especially the time spent at the office and the reasons for using it showed effects on importance of different services and facilities. Amenities like a gym and childcare were not deemed important by most of the respondents.

So far, research on office users focused largely on single-tenant offices and large corporates. Serviced offices have only been studied from the supply side until now.