Towards the improved treatment of generalization of knowledge claims in IS research: drawing general conclusions from samples

This paper presents a framework for justifying generalization in information systems (IS) research. First, using evidence from an analysis of two leading IS journals, we show that the treatment of generalization in many empirical papers in leading IS research journals is unsatisfactory. Many quantitative studies need clearer definition of populations and more discussion of the extent to which ‘significant’ statistics and use of non-probability sampling affect support for their knowledge claims. Many qualitative studies need more discussion of boundary conditions for their sample-based general knowledge claims. Second, the proposed new framework is presented. It defines eight alternative logical pathways for justifying generalizations in IS research. Three key concepts underpinning the framework are the need for researcher judgment when making any claim about the likely truth of sample-based knowledge claims in other settings; the importance of sample representativeness and its assessment in terms of the knowledge claim of interest; and the desirability of integrating a study's general knowledge claims with those from prior research. Finally, we show how the framework may be applied by researchers and reviewers. Observing the pathways in the framework has potential to improve both research rigour and practical relevance for IS research.     

Is information systems a discipline? Foucauldian and Toulminian insights

Following the Kleinian spirit, this study takes a critical view of the existing orthodoxy within information systems (IS) and reframes the ongoing discussion concerning the intellectual core, identity and disciplinary status of IS using the disciplinary analysis of Michel Foucault and Stephen Toulmin. Instead of limiting the discussion to specific paradigms, topics, subjects or content, it focuses on the characteristics, rules and goals of IS as an academic field. A disciplinary lens is used to frame what it means to be a field, discipline and science, and in the process the study uncovers four doxas that have shaped the development of the IS field: (1) the IS research community sees no difference between fields, disciplines or sciences; (2) IT changes so rapidly, and thus the IS field needs to change to remain relevant; (3) disciplines are by definition rigid, inflexible and uni-theoretical and (4) because IS is pluralistic, IS should not become a discipline. This study's analyses of the IS field's discursive formation and intellectual ideals offer novel perspectives that allow for the integration of the IS field's plurality and diversity. To transform the IS field from its multimodal existence into a vibrant, diverse, academically and socially relevant and influential discipline, the study proposes actionable strategies that include (1) agreeing on the intellectual ideals for IS, (2) focusing on conceptual formation, (3) focusing on theory construction, (4) erecting genealogical boundaries and (5) fostering the development of professional bodies.     

Using the theory of the professions to understand the IS identity crisis

Academic information systems (IS) is struggling with an identity crisis that is grounded in limited consensus about the discipline's core concepts, its important research questions and its boundaries. The result is a pluralistic discipline that has triggered an ongoing debate about whether the ‘liquidity’ characteristic of IS is a natural consequence of rapidly changing technologies or if it is indicative of a chaotic state that is unsustainable. This paper looks at IS through a new and different lens by using the theory of the professions to gain insight into current and heretofore unidentified problems facing the discipline. Casting IS as a profession presents an integrated view of academic IS, IS practice and IS education grounded in a framework that explores connections among these three elements. The paper concludes with a discussion of the processes by which professions evolve and likely consequences for IS research, practice and education.     

When Colossus and Xactimate are not exact: how computerized claims adjusting software has not changed the landscape of insurance litigation

The insurance claim adjusting process – the process by which an insurance company decides how much it will pay on a claim – is moving from a pen-and-paper task to a computer automated system. Computerized claims adjusting software is very efficient, but is not very transparent, and this mystifying process has created new legal concerns among plaintiffs' lawyers and claims adjusters. This article demonstrates how traditional legal claims can be strengthened by this move to a computerized regime. Rather than trying to find inventive new claims or procedures for bringing their claims, potential plaintiffs should look to the ways in which an automated system can improve their claims for bad faith insurance adjusting or unfair trade practices. Although many insurance companies have begun using the same adjusting software, plaintiffs' claims are not appropriate for an antitrust action and cannot be brought as a class action. Although technology has made this seem like a modern problem, this article finds that established law is well suited to handle plaintiffs' complaints.     

The paucity of multimethod research: a review of the information systems literature

Abstract.  It has commonly been argued that the use of different research methods within the information system (IS) discipline and within individual pieces of research will produce richer and more reliable results. This paper reports on a survey of the IS literature to discover the extent of multimethod research. The findings are that such work is relatively scarce, and where it occurs involves only a small set of traditional methods. Possible reasons for this are discussed.     

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The article comments on, and critiques, a view of IS as an independent discipline. It argues that, rather than being a subject that is distinct and distinguishable from existing research disciplines, it cannot be seen as uniquely different, and to attempt to do so would be theoretically and practically unsafe. A number of suggestions as to how IS research might be conducted and assessed in light of this claim are made.     

Moden und Trends in Wirtschaftsinformatik und Information Systems

The business and information systems engineering (BISE) discipline, dominating in the German-speaking countries, where it is called Wirtschaftsinformatik, is currently undergoing a phase of increasing internationalization and the U.S.-based Information Systems (IS) discipline is often considered an ideal. Studies show that BISE has often dealt with fads in the past – for IS there are no findings reporting on the diffusion of fads. The objective of the paper is to close this research gap. We conducted a literature analysis that investigates the development of topics and terms in BISE and IS from 1994 to 2007. Titles, abstracts and keywords of 2,564 articles in three BISE journals and 5,647 articles in five IS journals were analyzed. The results show that BISE is topically more diverse and concrete than IS. In addition, the rate of fads is higher in BISE than IS. We concede that being engaged in fads is not necessarily negative – rather, it may considerably contribute to the relevance of research. However, it has to be considered that an overly intense orientation on fads may negatively influence a cumulative research progress. Hence, we conclude that for BISE and IS, which both have a theoretical and pragmatic mission, a balanced ratio of short- and long-term topics seems appropriate.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vive les differences?</Emphasis> Developing a profile of European information systems research as a basis for international comparisons

The information systems (IS) community is truly international, yet there is often a sense that different elements of the community have different profiles in terms of their research and publication expectations. This paper contributes to this discussion by developing a profile of European IS research that can be used as a basis for international comparisons. It reflects on European research on IS as presented during the first 10 years of the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). Based on an analysis of all papers published in the ECIS proceedings during the period 1993–2002, the paper presents the key characteristics of the ECIS conferences, together with a profile of European IS research activity as presented at ECIS. In particular, it highlights the key references and sources used by researchers presenting papers at ECIS. It articulates the research areas presented at ECIS and explores the claim that European IS draws more on social theories than elsewhere. Its contribution in presenting a profile of European research in the IS field lies in identifying particular characteristics of the European style of research that can be compared to that undertaken in other parts of the world.     

An Experimental Investigation into the Effectiveness of OOA for Specifying Requirements

The application of object oriented concepts (OO) to the requirements phase of information systems (IS) and software development has been adopted by many proponents of IS and software development methodologies. Although many claims have been made about the effectiveness of OO techniques for improving requirements analysis, very few experimental studies have been done to substantiate these claims. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by conducting an experimental study that attempts to validate the effectiveness of object-oriented analysis (OOA) by comparing it to structured analysis (SA) for producing requirements. We argue that the quality of the requirements specification can be measured and that measurement can be used to compare the effectiveness of OOA and SA. We present an overview of the basic models and principles associated with OOA and SA, a discussion of quality in requirements definition, and a detailed discussion of the research methodology used. A review of relevant research is also presented and directions for further research are suggested. Our findings suggest that the OOA methodology does not necessarily produce better requirements statements.     

The ‘hijacking’ of the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems: Implications for the information systems community

Journal hijacking, which refers to the attempted brand takeover of a journal by a third party, is a nascent threat confronting the information systems (IS) community, as evidenced by cybercriminals having established an online presence, masquerading as the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS). The SJIS hijacking damages the journal's reputation, leads to payment and publication scams, involves identity theft among unsuspecting IS researchers, and results in tarnished author reputations. Beyond SJIS, journal hijacking presents a threat, not only to the IS community, but also to science and academic integrity in general if researchers and readers cannot distinguish between fake publications by hijacked journals and real publications by legitimate journals. In this opinion article, we relate the story of the SJIS hijacking from the victims' perspectives. We describe its many aspects, draw attention to the key factors that contribute to the problem, and offer our perspectives on different response strategies in the absence of simple solutions. We hope to create awareness about the problem and stimulate a discussion in the IS community, not least in the face of digital innovations, such as ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence technologies that may inadvertently support paper mills and the production of fake research results.     

Strategic information systems planning: A case study from the financial services industry

Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is an important topic for managers and researchers alike. However, there is evidence of a gap between SISP research and practice. Taking this situation as a motivation, we conducted an in depth case study on SISP to investigate this gap. The study was carried out in a German financial services company (FSC) over a period of five months in summer 2003. During this time, the enterprise situation and the information system (IS) practices situation of FSC were studied with respect to the SISP approach in place. Our findings confirm the hypothesis that practitioners largely ignore academic literature and do not use it in support of their SISP endeavours. This is all the more striking since FSC extensively used guidance from IS research in other fields such as systems analysis and software development. Our case study examines in detail two possible explanations for the gap: firstly a lacking transfer of academic knowledge to practice, and secondly deficiencies in the academic knowledge base itself. In fact, our observations highlight a disconnect between academic discussion and practical conduct. However, we found that the ignorance of academic literature on SISP is not primarily caused by a constrained knowledge transfer. In order to exclude communication barriers, we filtered the academic discussion according to the specific situation and the needs of FSC and translated it into practical recommendations. Nevertheless, the academic arguments we put forward hardly had any impact, either on IT managers’ thinking or on SISP practice at FSC. Though academic literature was partly perceived as inspiring, it was not regarded as a touchstone for SISP practice. Academia, in the eyes of FSC’s practitioners, ignores the “real problems” and thus is not accredited as a relevant source of advice. Moreover, in a final discussion with FSC’s senior IT executives we got the impression that the professional identity of FSC’s IT management – and more specifically the CIO’s role – was different from interpretations prevalent in academia. The academic discussion assumes the CIO to be an initiator of organisational innovations and driver of business strategy on the board. In contrast, we found that FSC’s CIO basically perceives her role as that of a service provider to business. While the different perceptions might be due to idiosyncrasies of FSC, related research provided additional empirical support for the conjecture of misleading academic assumptions about the role of IT management in practice.     

Defining information systems as work systems: implications for the IS field

The lack of an agreed upon definition of information system (IS) is one of many obstacles troubling the academic IS discipline. After listing a number of definitions of IS, this paper defines IS as a special case of work system as defined in Alter (1999a). This definition has many desirable characteristics: it is easy to understand; differentiates IS from information technology (IT); covers totally manual, partially automated, and totally automated ISs; links to a life cycle model that generates many insights about development and implementation problems; provides a simple guideline that helps in interpreting common IS/IT jargon; and has other useful implications related to IS concepts, IS terminology, and the analysis and design of ISs. The paper presents the proposed IS definition and evaluates the definition in terms of simplicity, clarity, scope, systematic power, explanatory power, validity, reliability, and fruitfulness. An Appendix summarizes previously published concepts and two frameworks that flow from the proposed definition and are useful for appreciating many points in the evaluation section.     

Information systems action research: Debunking myths and overcoming barriers

The relevance of action research as a research method in the information systems (IS) discipline is not disputed. Nevertheless, the extent to which action research is published in good journals is infrequent enough to indicate a serious problem. In this article, we explore the reasons underlying this situation and make recommendations aiming to increase both the practice and the publication of action research. To identify both the barriers to undertaking action research and potential ways of overcoming those barriers, we survey 218 authors of 120 articles demonstrating empirical action research published in 12 of our good journals during the period 1982–2016. We received 70 usable responses. We also surveyed 52 editors of selected IS journals and received 25 usable responses. Our findings are revealing as they indicate both genuine barriers associated with action research and some apparent barriers that are in reality misperceptions or myths. In reflecting on these, we emphasize the special qualities of action research. We also reflect on the critical role that action research plays in the IS field as a whole and its potential for further contributions to research and practice, given the strong and close connections with organizational problem contexts that action research requires. Finally, we make a number of recommendations that are designed to increase the incidence of action research in the IS discipline     

Epistemological perspectives on IS research: a framework for analysing and systematizing epistemological assumptions

Abstract.  Over the last three decades, a methodological pluralism has developed within information systems (IS) research. Various disciplines and many research communities as well, contribute to this discussion. However, working on the same research topic or studying the same phenomenon does not necessarily ensure mutual understanding. Especially within this multidisciplinary and international context, the epistemological assumptions made by different researchers may vary fundamentally. These assumptions exert a substantial impact on how concepts like validity, reliability, quality and rigour of research are understood. Thus, the extensive publication of epistemological assumptions is, in effect, almost mandatory. Hence, the aim of this paper is to develop an epistemological framework which can be used for systematically analysing the epistemological assumptions in IS research. Rather than attempting to identify and classify IS research paradigms, this research aims at a comprehensive discussion of epistemology within the context of IS. It seeks to contribute to building the basis for identifying similarities as well as differences between distinct IS approaches and methods. In order to demonstrate the epistemological framework, the consensus-oriented interpretivist approach to conceptual modelling is used as an example.     

Informationssystem-Strategie

The paper depicts the current state of IS strategy research with the aim of identifying research needs as well as appropriate ways to study IS strategy in the future. To this end, the paper introduces the results of an extensive analysis of academic literature on IS strategy. In addition, it sheds light on current practice as uncovered in case-study research and through in-depth interviews with IS strategy professionals. A comparison reveals that the issues prevalent in practice and the ones traditionally focused on in the academic debate on IS strategy often vary considerably. A conspicuous attempt to fill this gap is the so-called “Strategizing” framework put forward by Robert Galliers. This framework, which is receiving increasing attention in the current academic debate, calls for a practice turn in IS strategy research in that it treats strategy as something people or, more precisely, IS strategists do. In addition, by identifying the challenges and problems IS strategists are faced with, the framework intends to better reflect the new planning conditions which are often seen as characteristics of the information age. The framework distinguishes three general problem domains of IS strategizing: exploration, exploitation, as well as implementation and change management.     

A survey study of the current IS usage in the Chinese manufacturing industry

The status of information systems (IS) usage is an important measure of the level of IS adoption. This paper presents the results of a study investigating the current usage of IS and the attitudes toward their use in the Chinese manufacturing industry. Using the survey results obtained from a sample of 78 firms, we provide findings in the current status of IS applications, orientation of IS applications, human factors, and future IS plans. This effort also demonstrates an underlying relationship between critical IS factors (especially the human factors) and business performance in the Chinese environment. The paper concludes with a discussion of IS issues and their implications for practitioners.     

The wisdom nexus: Guiding information systems research,practice, and education

“Wisdom” has been at the heart of practical, philosophical, and spiritual disciplines since antiquity and is now increasingly receiving organizational as well as academic attention in scholarly areas that include psychology and organizational studies among others. However, practical wisdom has not received adequate focus in the information systems (IS) discipline. In this commentary, we make the case for a systemic focus on the role of wisdom in IS research, teaching, and practice. We introduce underlying theoretical concepts of wisdom; review relevant key research linking wisdom and IS; propose a framework to link wisdom with IS research, practice, and education; and discuss the implications of the framework and illustrate how it can be used to generate research opportunities for IS. We conclude that wisdom, whose goal is the common good, can provide a foundation to discover, view, understand, and resolve myriad issues that lie at the nexus of wisdom and information technologies.     

Knowledge, power and action: towards an understanding of implementation failures in a government scheme

Conceptual knowledge inspires imagination. On the other hand, it is a claim to power as well. Multiple knowledge claims often, therefore, are engaged in a contest. This contest can take the form of several discourses. Extant power structures play a significant role in lending (or not lending) a voice to one or several such discourses. To one with the power to govern, knowledge claims flowing from abstract concepts generated in an elite discourse not only inspires imagination but also often leads to ‘norms’ and ‘rules’ that drive governance in the system which leads to action. Norms and rules define actionability of the conceptual knowledge claim. However, for the one weighed by powerlessness in being governed, knowledge claims often get generated only in action, since an autonomous discourse is often lacking. Yet the sheer powerlessness of the authors of such knowledge claims generated in action leads to its non-celebration. It fails to get elevated. It might also wither away. Such actionable knowledge claims of the powerless often then gets manifested as something like an ‘unvoiced’ or an ‘unvoicable’ discourse, in macabre forms of subversion of ‘norms’ and ‘rules’ of the system that leads to a sense of failure in governance among those with power as well. Power, thus, brings actionable knowledge to the fore, but in two different forms. For the power-holder, it takes the form of a ‘deviation’ from norms and rules in the actionable domain through subversion by the powerless, revealing a gap between knowledge in the conceptual and actionable domain that is reluctantly (often tacitly) tolerated. For the powerless, on the other hand, actionable knowledge is living; negotiating on the ‘deviation’ is an existential requirement. This paper is an attempt to explore these dichotomies, how power (and the lack of it) alters the significance and implications of actionable knowledge.