A Global Perspective of Rural Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Digital Era: A Panel Report

Rural communities play a significant role in terms of agriculture, climate change, ecological balance, tourism, and indigenous cultures. However, traditionally, rural communities underperform in innovations and entrepreneurship, largely due to the lack of resources, infrastructure and various inhibiting cultural and political factors. With the advent of digital technologies, rural communities have received unique opportunities to engage in innovation and entrepreneurial activities that are affordable, easy-to-use, easy-to-learn, and easy-to-implement – bypassing some of the inherent challenges indigenous to rural areas. Considering the importance of this timely topic, a panel was conducted at the Pacific Asian Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) in Dubai in 2021. The objective of this panel was to initiate a much-needed conversation regarding rural innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital era and motivate academics, particularly information systems researchers, to conduct research to understand the role of digital technology in rural innovation and entrepreneurship. The panel report provides an overarching framework, that is based on socio-materialism, to guide future research in this emerging area of studies.