Bichler, Martin

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AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

BISE – PROFILEInterview with Amit Basu on “The InformationSystems Society of the INFORMS”Professor Amit Basu is the Carr P Collins Chair in MIS and president of the INFORMSInformation Systems Society (ISS). His areas of expertise include virtual organizations,knowledge management, technology and innovation management, informationmanagement, strategic information systems, IS in health care, management informationsystems, e-commerce, database design and implementation, and computer-basedinformation systems. Amit is Associate editor of Management Science, InformationTechnology & Management, and the POMS journal.DOI 10.1007/s12599-013-0280-6Prof. Amit BasuCarr P Collins Chair in ManagementInformation SystemsSMU – Cox School of Business6212 Bishop Blvd.Dallas, TX 75275-0333USAInterview byProf. Dr. Martin Bichler ()Decision Sciences & SystemsDepartment of InformaticsTU MünchenBoltzmannstr. 385748 GarchingGermanybichler@in.tum.dePublished online: 2013-07-05This article is also available in Ger-man in print and via http://www.wirtschaftsinformatik.de: Bichler M(2013) Interview mit Amit Basuzum Thema „Wirtschaftsinformatikin der INFORMS“. WIRTSCHAFTSIN-FORMATIK. doi: 10.1007/s11576-013-0375-1.© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden2013BISE: The INFORMS is seen as a muchrespected organization covering all areasof the management sciences. How do yousee the role of ISS within the INFORMSand how did it develop over the years?Basu: The field of information systemsis quite diverse, drawing upon a variety ofreference disciplines ranging from Com-puter Science and Operations Research toEconomics and Psychology. Within thisbroad scope, it is clear that ManagementScience and Operations Research play avery significant role in our field, includ-ing core training of graduate studentsand research methodology. The ISS pro-vides a valuable forum for academic andindustrial researchers in information sys-tems, particularly those who use Manage-ment Science and Operations Researchmethods and tools in their work. Thismakes the society very inclusive, so Statis-ticians, Econometricians, algorithm de-velopers, IS designers, modelers and em-piricists who work on information sys-tems and issues related to their designand use, can all find value in the society’sactivities.BISE: Where do you see the specificrole of the INFORMS ISS with respect tothe Association for Information Systems(AIS), but also relative to IS communi-ties in the Academy of Management, theACM, and the IEEE Computer Society?Basu: As I indicated earlier, the scopeof information systems research spansall those communities. The AIS is abroad-spectrum organization intendedto span the whole field, so in princi-ple, the scope of ISS is included withinAIS. The other organizations you citedwere created by communities within dif-ferent reference disciplines, such as orga-nization theory/management, computerscience and computer/software engineer-ing. These are key resources for informa-tion systems researchers as well. In myview, their fields of interest overlap sig-nificantly with those of ISS, and their ac-tivities nicely complement those of ISS.I can also see some interesting synergiesthat can be realized through collaborativeefforts, such as joint sponsorship of someactivities.BISE: Information technology is stilldeveloping rapidly. The importance ofthese technological changes for researchvaries across different research questions.But, how important is it to have informa-tion technology and engineering classesas part of IS curricula? This has an im-pact on the types of jobs IS students willapply for.Basu: I think you have to look attwo types of curricula. For undergrad-uate programs and programs intendedto train students for industry jobs, youneed curricula that develop high-demandskills in programming, business analy-sis, software engineering, systems analy-sis, systems development, project man-agement, IT consulting, etc. They alsoBusiness & Information Systems Engineering 4|2013 279BISE – PROFILEshould develop familiarity with the infor-mation technology used by most compa-nies, such as database systems, applica-tion and system development tools, en-terprise systems, networks, mobile de-vices and systems, etc., and the issues andprocesses underlying their design andmanagement.At the graduate level or for programsgeared towards training researchers, thefocus needs to be on teaching about re-search tools and core IT, followed by ex-posure to open research problems andthe state of the art. At this level, Isee schools differing more significantly,based on the research expertise they haveon their faculty.This distinction is important because itimpacts the basis on which schools candistinguish themselves, and focus theirdevelopment and innovation efforts.BISE: Given the interdisciplinary na-ture of research in IS, there is also a broadset of research methods that is nowa-days being used ranging from analyticalmodeling to algorithm design, lab experi-ments and field studies. Other disciplinessuch as Marketing or Operations Man-agement are based on a core set of modelsand methods, which largely shape theircurricula. This is different in IS and themethods are largely based on the phe-nomena being analyzed, may it be socialnetworks, online auctions, or technologyadoption. This can be seen as a virtue anda vice. On the one hand, this has helpedpicking up new and relevant topics. Onthe other hand, there are regular discus-sions on the identity of the field. What doyou consider core elements of an IS cur-riculum? Which role plays the ISS in thisregard?Basu: I believe my previous answergets at your first question here. The no-tion of “core curriculum” depends uponthe level and orientation of the program.With respect to the role of ISS, I thinkby bringing together a broad range of ISresearchers working across the spectrumof problems, methods and tools, the soci-ety’s activities can complement the cur-ricula and programs of each individualschool, and enable researchers to build abroader awareness of the field in whichthey work and study.BISE: ISR is the flagship journal ofthe INFORMS ISS. Publications in a fewjournals such as ISR, Management Sci-ence, and MISQ have become very im-portant for getting tenure in many USuniversities. How do you perceive the de-velopments in the IS job market and therole of different types of journals?Basu: The breadth and diversity of theIS field makes it particularly difficult tofocus on a small set of journals. The onesyou mentioned are all well-respected, andcommonly cited as being the best in thefield. At the same time, depending on thespecific problem being addressed, thereare a number of high quality journals, in-cluding many transactions of the ACMand IEEE that are equally well-respected.My view is that researchers should pub-lish their work where it will be mostwidely appreciated and have the great-est impact (e.g., through citations). Sincemost people do a variety of work, overtime this approach should lead to pub-lications in both broad-spectrum andspecialized journals.The question of what matters mostfor performance evaluation also needsto factor in the context, i.e., the typeof school. Business schools tend to leantowards journals published by societiessuch as INFORMS because these societiesare well-known in other business disci-plines as well. On the other hand, infor-mation schools (the so-called i-schools)and IS departments within engineeringschools are familiar with ACM and IEEEpublications as well – if not more. Thesepreferences tend to get reinforced im-plicitly through the schools’ hiring anddevelopment processes.Finally, it is important to note that ISis a relatively young field, and one of themost dynamic. So new ideas, areas of fo-cus and opportunities are still emerging,and will very likely lead to the emergenceof yet more journals.BISE: How does the ISS support re-search in IS? Beyond the support for ISR,which meetings and conferences are cur-rently supported by the ISS and howdo you see the role of these individualmeetings?Basu: Currently, we support ISR di-rectly, by enhancing its publication ca-pacity. We are also initiating some “bestpaper” awards for IS papers in sev-eral journals. Beyond that, we spon-sor/support several academic researchconferences and workshops, includingCIST, SCECR, and some IS teachingworkshops. Ultimately, the forums wesupport are a function of our members’interests, and we are always open to newideas on this front.BISE: IS is a relatively young field. Howdo you see the development of the ISdiscipline over time? Which trends andtopics do you see emerge? What do yousee as the biggest challenge for the IScommunity?Basu: I think we are in a very excit-ing period for the IS field. Modern or-ganizations are increasingly automatedand data-driven, and modern society isincreasingly networked. The age of sen-sors and sensor-based systems is justdawning. So over the next few years, Ithink we will see tremendous innova-tion in managing, analyzing and lever-aging data, both within companies andbetween companies, people and things(devices, appliances, etc.).The biggest challenge for the academicfield of IS is to keep up with these hugeand rapid changes, and to stay relevant.Already, we see academic research laggingtechnological innovation and even IT useand practice. I wonder about the effec-tiveness of a research model that impliesa gestation period of several years, in acontext where the technology and issuesbeing researched change over even a fewmonths.BISE: You have worked on a numberof different research areas in your career.Much of your research is devoted to elec-tronic markets. Where do you see some ofthe future IS research challenges in theseareas?Basu: Electronic markets and the emer-gence of a global networked business andcommunication infrastructure have dra-matically changed whole industries andeven society in general. In recent years,four key trends have emerged – mobil-ity, sensor-systems, cloud computing andbig data. I think these will provide fod-der for a large variety of IS research ques-tions, not only separately but also in theirinteractions. With these opportunities, aswell as the plethora of existing issues thatIS researchers are already studying, I seeno threat of stagnation in the field for theforeseeable future.BISE: Professor Basu, we thank youvery much for this interview.280 Business & Information Systems Engineering 4|2013

Interview with Amit Basu on “The Information Systems Society of the INFORMS”

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Interview with Amit Basu on “The Information Systems Society of the INFORMS”

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