A Replication Manifesto

Replication is one of the main principles of the scientific method. The social sciences, and in particular the information systems discipline, has lagged behind the physical sciences which have more established traditions of independently replicating studies from other labs. In this essay, we outline the need for replication in the information systems discipline, identifying three possible approaches for executing such studies. There are numerous benefits to the discipline from embracing and valuing replication research. Replication will either improve confidence in our research findings or identify important boundary conditions. Replications also enhance various scientific processes and offer methodical and educational improvements. Collectively, these benefits will help the information systems discipline mature and prosper

Replication research: opportunities, experiences and challenges

Replication is one of the main principles of the scientific method. In the physical sciences, new knowledge is often not considered valid until the original study has been replicated in other labs and the original results are not refuted Replication will either improve confidence in our research findings or identify important boundary conditions. Replications also enhance various scientific processes and offer methodical and educational improvements. The purpose of this panel is twofold. First, to explore the opportunities for scientific development that replication research enables by reflecting on the experiences of encouraging, doing, and publishing replication studies. Second, to explore the various challenges that replication research raises about its value to individual scholars as well as to our collective understanding of phenomena within the information systems field

The Dangers of Dance for the Information Systems Discipline

Neil McBride (2018) asks if information systems (IS) is a science. He perceives several problems with current research practice and attitudes in information systems and proposes that we should treat it as a discipline in the humanities akin to dance studies. However, his proposal does not recognize that IS deals with both technology and humans. Further, he does not consider the different views of science and that one can view information systems as a science of the artificial in which one develops actionable knowledge in accordance with available evidence and uses scientific techniques in part. Failure to apply well-founded knowledge in building and applying technology can have significant adverse societal consequences, and professionals would see it as unethical. Since these considerations scarcely apply to dance studies, it appears a poor model for information systems

Antecedents and Outcomes of Information Privacy Concerns: A Replication Study in Rural India

With the increasing use of social media, individuals are now exposed to risks stemming from the improper use of their data by their peers. This study replicates Ozdemir, Smith and Benamati\u27s article, exploring the relationships among the constructs of privacy experiences, privacy awareness, trust, risk, and benefits and individuals’ behaviors are impacted by these relationships. We collected 248 valid responses through in-person surveys conducted within a rural area in India. Similar to the original study, the hypotheses were tested using SmartPLS. Our preliminary results enrich existing knowledge by revealing distinct privacy concerns in rural India compared with Western settings. Our findings not only reaffirm but also extend the original study’s implications, making it relevant to various contexts

A Comment on “Is Information Systems a Science?”

In this paper, we respond to McBride’s (2018) paper on whether information systems is a science. We first argue that information systems is indeed a science in that it draws from and creates knowledge in a form similar to many different disciplines, including psychology, sociology, mathematics, economics, computer science, and engineering. We counter the flawed logic of methodical extremists who believe that their approach represents the best or only path to knowledge. Specifically, we argue that many different methods of inquiry and discovery are appropriate in information systems and that each has its strengths and weaknesses

Continuance Intention on Using Mobile Banking Applications: A Replication Study of Information Systems Continuance Model

One of the most significant factors to the survival of many service-based firms such as banks and insurance companies is customers’ continuous use of their IT services. The focus of this paper is on replicating IS Continuance Model (Bhattacherjee, 2001) in the mobile banking context. We collected data by surveying 256 college students who were users of mobile banking applications of multiple banks in the U.S. The hypotheses were also tested using Structural Equation Modeling technique (SEM), with AMOS version 23. All five hypotheses of the model were supported, with 67% explained variance for the “continuance intention,” as the dependent variable. Our findings show that the IS Continuance Model, which was originally tested by surveying the users of web-based banking services of one bank, is supported in a modern related context and is generalizable to the mobile banking applications users

Examining the Relationships between Supply Chain Integration, Information Sharing, and Supply Chain Performance: A Replication Study

This study performs a conceptual replication of the study of Koçoğlu et al. (2011) which explored the effect of Supply Chain Integration (SCI) on Supply Chain Performance (SCP) and Information Sharing using manufacturing firms in Turkey. The replicated study explored the same relationships but considered manufacturing and service firms belonging to one giant supply chain in Ghana. Whilst the results of the measurement model of replicated study are valid and reliable, the structural model results were different from that of the original study. The original study observed a positive significant effect of SCI on SCP which was not confirmed in our study. Instead, a mediating effect of Information Sharing on the relationship between SCI and SCP was observed. The differences in the structural model results may have arisen due to the different conceptualization of the SCP construct, or the existence of different contextual and/or environmental factors

Information Security Compliance regarding Security Culture, Job Satisfaction, and Perceived Organizational Support

Heeding recent calls for more replications in MIS research (Dennis and Valacich 2014), this study is a methodological replication of the original research (D’Arcy and Greene 2014) to investigate the drivers of employees’ security compliance regarding security culture and the employment relationship. Data were collected using an online survey of respondents recruited with the snowball method. We applied the structural equation modeling technique (SmartPLS 2.0) to test three hypotheses and achieved similar results compared with the original paper. Our findings reflect that organizational security culture and employees’ job satisfaction are drivers of employees’ security compliance in the workplace. The results also provide empirical validation of the measurement of security culture, which consisted of a three-dimensional nature, including top management commitment, security communication, and computer monitoring

Home Computer User Security Behavioral Intention: A Replication Study from Guam

This replication study is a methodological replication of Study 1 of Anderson and Agarwal (2010) (A&A) using data collected from Guam to investigate information security (InfoSec) behavioral intention. This study also extended the A&A Model by examining the effect of gender on each construct of the model. Our findings are very similar to those reported by A&A, and indicate that the model is generalizable to the population on Guam. We also observed the effect of gender on several constructs of the model. As this study cannot confirm whether the slight differences between the result of A&A and this study are related to cultural differences, we suggest future replication studies be conducted to examine how culture would affect our security behavior intention. We also suggest practitioners consider gender as an important factor when designing mechanisms to encourage people to practice information security behavior

Cognitive Stopping Rules in a New Online Reality

This research is a conceptual replication of a study by Browne, Pitts, and Wetherbe (2007) that explores information stopping rules in an online search context. Information stopping rules consider the cognitive reasons decision makers determine when enough information is collected to make a decision. Previous research outlines five stopping rules decision makers use and applies them in different decision context. The original research considers three information search tasks (search for a television, map, and job) and hypothesizes the relationship between structure of the task and the stopping rule employed. This research replicates that study in a new information environment with new search methodologies and technology. We find that structured tasks use similar stopping rules to the original study; however further analysis shows distinct differences in the nature of the two tasks presented. Poorly structured tasks potentially involve the use of different stopping rules than previously determined. The updated findings suggest information systems used for poorly structured search tasks might also benefit from highlighting the uniqueness of information in order to encourage a user to continue searching for information