A Citation Analysis of the Evolution and State of Information Systems within a Constellation of Reference Disciplines

For the past two decades notions of cumulative tradition and reference disciplines have been a significant part of the introspective debates on the IS field. We provide an exploratory test on these notions using sociometric analysis. In doing so, we extend the work of Culnan and Swanson originally carried out about 25 years ago. By using the concept of a work point and reference points to identify where an IS article is published and the extent to which it draws from or contributes to other disciplines, we can position research in the IS field. First, a quantitative analysis of over 72,600 citations spread across 1406 IS articles in 16 journals over the period 1990-2003 reveals a distinct trend toward a cumulative tradition, a changing mix of reference disciplines, and a two-way relationship between IS and some of the more mature disciplines. Second, post-hoc content analysis provides a glimpse of how IS work is being utilized by other disciplines. Overall, our analysis indicates that IS is taking up a more socio-technical persona, building upon its own knowledge base, and repaying its debts by contributing to other disciplines. We interpret the movement towards building a cumulative tradition, and informing work in other disciplines as positive, as we strive toward being part of an intellectual network and establish centrality in areas that matter to us most

Citation Analyses in Information Systems

Few scientists that specialize in information systems would recognize the name one of the field’s most cited authors, Ike Antkare. It is not that Antkare is from an obscure discipline. This aberration is the result of a vulnerability of citation analyses. A vulnerability proven with a computer program. Today, funding, promotion and tenure extension depend on the results of these analyses. This paper explores the nature of citation analyses in the information systems (IS) field and classifies them based on an adapted framework of Zupic and Cater (2015). The results illustrate two types of citation analyses. The first type contains ranking studies using measures of the h-family index calculated on citation networks. The second type involves co-citation analysis applying cluster or factor analysis to determine the intellectual structure, trajectory or maturity

Value of IS Research: Let’s Not Talk Crisis – but We Can Do Better

I argue that the Information Systems (IS) field is at a crossroads, not a crisis. Across a variety of metrics, the field has progressed fabulously. The quality of our journals and the research they embody is on par with other business disciplines. However, our course of drawing from reference disciplines, creating different instantiations of models, having everyone engage in theory and empirics, and limiting our actionable implications – might be creating an impediment for us. We need to expend more energy in dealing with bigger questions that characterize contemporary digital environments. This will require some thoughtful discussion and introspection – so that we can fight against the institutional forces that limit our value proposition

Nurturing a Thriving Information Systems Discipline: A Call to Action

While the aspiration for the IS discipline\u27s bright future is a shared objective, there is a controversy about what are the fundamental challenges ahead let alone how to approach them. This panel addresses the question of what should we do to nurture a thriving IS discipline? Opinions regarding how to solidify the position of the IS discipline can be classified into five interrelated clusters: research-oriented approaches, teaching-oriented approaches, practice-oriented approaches, scholarship-oriented approaches, and organization-oriented approaches. Building on crowdsourcing within the IS community to inform a panel of senior scholars, we will engage in a debate about possible approaches to nurture and invigorate the IS discipline in the coming decade. Overall, we aim to inspire and spark grassroots-based collective action in pursuit of thriving IS scholarship. At minimum, we hope to stimulate new insights about the desired and possible futures of the IS discipline, and the instrumental steps to realize them

Intellectual Structure of Business Analytics in Information Systems

Business Analytics is arguably the most dominant topic of discussion among both academics and practitioners. As organizations scramble to derive insights from rapidly growing data, we see an exponential growth in the number of articles related to Business Analytics. The purpose of this article is to examine the conceptual foundations of the field of analytics based on an analysis of articles that have appeared in the IS senior scholars’ basket of eight journals during the last 25 years (1992 - 2016). Using a combination of citation analysis and text mining, our study: (a) reveals the disciplines that influence Business Analytics research in information systems; and (b) explicates dominant themes latent in the corpus. Concepts related to Predictive Analytics, Business Intelligence, the Web, IT Management, Firm Performance and Decision Support were found to be at the heart of analytics research conducted by IS scholars in the basket of eight journals

Muddling Along to Moving Beyond in IS Research: Getting from Good to Great

In this article, I argue that the IS field seems to be doing well when evaluated with sociometric techniques. However, while the progress of our field is commendable, we might have reached diminishing returns in the way we conduct research with our current modus operandi. Given that we are dealing with the most important phenomena of our time, I believe that it is time to become more ambitious and expand our impact to other domains and disciplines by creating more enduring and impactful research. I argue that four key dimensions on which we should place emphasis include: our institutionalization of a certain genre of research, monistic theorizing of our phenomena, the focus on questions for which data is easier to access, and our unwillingness to deeply engage with reference discipline theories. Addressing these through individual and collective efforts can help us expand the frontiers of our knowledge product and create broader value

Identifying Research Trends in IS

The Information Systems (IS) discipline is a relatively young and rapidly evolving field of study, and its roots can be found within diverse disciplines. While these roots have been studied thoroughly and discussed at length, little is known about the emergent areas of research within the discipline. In this study, we map the IS discipline based on all publications in the top IS journals from 2005 through 2014. Our results provide a holistic view of the field and identify active and emergent areas of research

Conceptual Development in IS: The Case of MISQ 1995-2004

The goal of this research-in-progress is to analyze how concepts in the information system (IS) field emerge, are invented, or transformed, based on the works of the best IS scholars as they publish in MIS Quarterly, the highest-ranked journal in IS. Using a variant of citation analysis, this study uncovers how IS authors appropriate concepts and theories from other authors. Preliminary results show that IS authors often draw from other authors without adding substantive content and do not actively manipulate and transform concepts they borrow