Scientific Misinformation in the Light of the Smart World and Smart Organizations. Imperatives and Challenges
Scientific Misinformation in the Light of the Smart World and Smart Organizations. Imperatives and Challenges

Summary/Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of the article is to focus on the topic of scientific misinformation, addressing keyconcepts and related issues covered over the last decade in publications in the following databases: Emerald, Ebsco, and Springer. The authors attempt to answer the question on the causes of theemergence of fake science and draw attention to the consequences of pseudoscience in the smartworld shaped by technological advances in the fourth industrial revolution. As a practical premise, thearticle discusses the methods of combating pseudoscience and refers to the measures undertaken in thismatter. Design/methodology/approach: The method of desk research; the frequency analysis of misinformationrelatedterms, especially in the context of the smart world and smart organizations. Findings: The analyses of the theoretical aspect of fake science lead to the conclusion that dueto the complexity of the phenomenon and significant negative social impact, the issue of scientificmisinformation requires further empirical exploration as it remains a challenge for all stakeholders insociety, organizations themselves included. The need to challenge false science is especially essentialin the context of internetworked and knowledge-driven, smart organizations, which are becoming popularin the smart world. As information can be distorted, exaggerated, or fabricated to mislead recipients onpurpose, organizations need to get involved in the prevention of misinformation as well. Research limitations/implications: It should be emphasized that this article is a theoretical introductionto the problem of scientific misinformation which requires further research on the reliability of scientificstudies, especially in the field of institutional structures that enable the publication of works and dataof low scientific quality. Originality/value: The article touches upon an essential and current issue for the field of both managementscience and organizations, although it should be treated as just an introduction to the problemconcerned.

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