Epistemological Perspectives on Multi-Method Information Systems Research

There is a continuing discussion on methodological pluralism in IS research. Several claims have been made both for and against methodological pluralism. The debate focuses mainly on discussing the relationship between research methods and IS research paradigms, especially positivism and interpretivism. Also, the literature analyzes the epistemological assumptions of research paradigms, but pays little attention to a direct association of research methods with epistemology. We argue that the potential for methodological pluralism depends heavily on the epistemological characteristics of the research methods themselves. After analyzing various arguments pro and contra methodological pluralism, we then provide an epistemological framework addressing the relevant aspects in this context

Identity in information systems

Open Process Innovation – drawing from the literature on Open Innovation and Business Process Management (BPM) – promotes the study of how to systematically make use of knowledge that lies outside of an organization’s boundaries for process innovation initiatives. Open Innovation has been heavily studied for product innovation, however, process innovation has not yet been researched from such perspective. Against this background, we seek to investigate into variables that impact on the qualities of Open Process Innovation taking the example of the public sector domain. This paper examines how personnel resource scarcity exerts influence on the involvement of i) customers (here citizens and local companies) and ii) consultants (here management and software consultants) in public sector BPM. Our multi-method analysis shows that personnel resource scarcity has consequences for BPM-related collaboration schema as it restricts the involvement of customers. Based on our findings, implications for theory and practice are discussed, including implications for studies on BPM maturity or on business process design. We call for a governance-theory perspective on process innovation as a fundamental basis for understanding and designing the institutions that shape collaboration in open process innovation

Evaluation of Conceptual Models - A Structuralist Approach

The quality and thus the validation of conceptual models are of high economic importance. However, only little empirical work has focused on their evaluation so far. This raises the question whether a holistic approach to determining the quality of conceptual models is available yet. In order to describe the current state of research and to expose the so far neglected research fields we develop a two dimensional framework. With the help of this framework we can identify a notable shortcoming on conceptual model evaluation. Contrary to models on theories a lot of empirical work has been performed. Therefore we apply the structuralist approach from philosophy of science in order to develop an inner structure of conceptual models. Based on these findings we deduce the structural requirements that conceptual models shall meet. We explain the practical implications of our proposal and sketch an outlook to future scientific inquiries

Experiences in Process Oriented Reorganization through Reference Modelling in Public Administrations - The Case Study REGIO@KOMM

During the last years the optimisation of business processes has gained more and more importance in the context of modernising public administrations. In line with the concept of electronic government (eGovernment) citizens demand not only an improved design of internet sites, but also the creation of real added value to administrational services. In dimensions of benefits (from the citizen’s point of view) and in dimensions of cost reduction (from the administrations’ point of view) the added value can be generated by providing fully transactional online citizen services. The establishment of such services should be supported by reorganising the underlying business processes in terms of process organisation and enabling ICT. Approximately 13,000 German municipalities mainly have to deal with the same spectrum of tasks. The administration processes that are necessary to fulfil those tasks share strong structural analogies. Within process oriented reorganisation projects, reference models can contribute to cost reduction in the phase of to-be modelling. Aim of this paper is to present experiences in applying reference modelling within the process oriented reorganisation project Regio@KomM in public administrations. The reorganisation of the process of issuing a general debit note authorisation exemplifies the practical applicability and the value potential of reference modelling in public administration

Social Inclusiveness of Electronic Public Service Delivery in Germany - A Quantitative Analysis

Digital divide is, despite all efforts in research and practice, a matter of fact in most societies. In search for specific strategies to promote digital inclusion, one has to ask for what are the specific reasons and factors behind the problem. Here, the field of E-Government features several particular characteristics, including high privacy and security demands or high complexity of administrative processes, which might hinder the societal inclusiveness of such electronic public service delivery. Addressing the question of what could be possible explanations for a lack of inclusiveness in E-Government, we develop an E-Government-inclusion-gap-model and conduct a quantitative analysis of statistical data on E-Government usage in Germany, taking into account specific social digital divide groups, such as senior citizens, people with low education or people without employment. Here, we contrast E-Government usage with E-Commerce and internet usage. Specific inclusion gaps in E-Government and their underlying issues are analysed and specific recommendations given

Open process innovation: A multi-method study on the involvement of customers and consultants in public sector BPM

Open Process Innovation – drawing from the literature on Open Innovation and Business Process Management (BPM) – promotes the study of how to systematically make use of knowledge that lies outside of an organization’s boundaries for process innovation initiatives. Open Innovation has been heavily studied for product innovation, however, process innovation has not yet been researched from such perspective. Against this background, we seek to investigate into variables that impact on the qualities of Open Process Innovation taking the example of the public sector domain. This paper examines how personnel resource scarcity exerts influence on the involvement of i) customers (here citizens and local companies) and ii) consultants (here management and software consultants) in public sector BPM. Our multi-method analysis shows that personnel resource scarcity has consequences for BPM-related collaboration schema as it restricts the involvement of customers. Based on our findings, implications for theory and practice are discussed, including implications for studies on BPM maturity or on business process design. We call for a governance-theory perspective on process innovation as a fundamental basis for understanding and designing the institutions that shape collaboration in open process innovation

Epistemological perspectives on ontology-based theories for conceptual modeling

Conceptual modeling is a core activity within information systems analysis and design. In response to continuous criticisms targeting the foundation of conceptual modeling, the notion of ontology as a theoretical reference has gained immense popularity over recent decades. At the forefront of these ontology-based theories is the Bunge–Wand–Weber representation model, which has frequently been applied in conceptual modeling research, most notably to the task of evaluating conceptual Information Systems analysis and design models and modeling grammars. Recently, however, ontology-based theories themselves have been subjected to criticisms, in particular in respect to their epistemological presuppositions. In our paper we address the question of epistemology in conceptual modeling research based on ontological theories, and argue that there is an immanent need for publishing the epistemological assumptions of these theories in order to be able to critically evaluate boundaries, scope and limits of these theories for conceptual modeling. We present a discussion framework that facilitates the analysis of epistemological viewpoints and their implications. We apply this framework to the commonly known Bunge–Wand–Weber model and discuss the implications of our findings towards the feasibility of ontology as a reference theory for conceptual modeling

RECONSTRUCTING THE GIANT: ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RIGOUR IN DOCUMENTING THE LITERATURE SEARCH PROCESS

Science is a cumulative endeavour as new knowledge is often created in the process of interpreting and combining existing knowledge. This is why literature reviews have long played a decisive role in scholarship. The quality of literature reviews is particularly determined by the literature search process. As Sir Isaac Newton eminently put it: “If I can see further, it is because I am standing on the shoulders of giants.” Drawing on this metaphor, the goal of writing a literature review is to reconstruct the giant of accumulated knowledge in a specific domain. And in doing so, a literature search represents the fundamental first step that makes up the giant’s skeleton and largely determines its reconstruction in the subsequent literature analysis. In this paper, we argue that the process of searching the literature must be comprehensibly described. Only then can readers assess the exhaustiveness of the review and other scholars in the field can more confidently (re)use the results in their own research. We set out to explore the methodological rigour of literature review articles published in ten major information systems (IS) journals and show that many of these reviews do not thoroughly document the process of literature search. The results drawn from our analysis lead us to call for more rigour in documenting the literature search process and to present guidelines for crafting a literature review and search in the IS domain

RECONSTRUCTING THE GIANT: ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RIGOUR IN DOCUMENTING NTHE LITERATURE SEARCH PROCESS

Science is a cumulative endeavour as new knowledge is often created in the process of interpreting and combining existing knowledge. This is why literature reviews have long played a decisive role in scholarship. The quality of literature reviews is particularly determined by the literature search process. As Sir Isaac Newton eminently put it: “If I can see further, it is because I am standing on the shoulders of giants.” Drawing on this metaphor, the goal of writing a literature review is to reconstruct the giant of accumulated knowledge in a specific domain. And in doing so, a literature search represents the fundamental first step that makes up the giant’s skeleton and largely determines its reconstruction in the subsequent literature analysis. In this paper, we argue that the process of searching the literature must be comprehensibly described. Only then can readers assess the exhaustiveness of the review and other scholars in the field can more confidently (re)use the results in their own research. We set out to explore the methodological rigour of literature review articles published in ten major information systems (IS) journals and show that many of these reviews do not thoroughly document the process of literature search. The results drawn from our analysis lead us to call for more rigour in documenting the literature search process and to present guidelines for crafting a literature review and search in the IS domain