Research Commons
      • Browse 
        • Communities & Collections
        • Titles
        • Authors
        • By Issue Date
        • Subjects
        • Types
        • Series
      • Help 
        • About
        • Collection Policy
        • OA Mandate Guidelines
        • Guidelines FAQ
        • Contact Us
      • My Account 
        • Sign In
        • Register
      View Item 
      •   Research Commons
      • University of Waikato Research
      • Management
      • Management Papers
      • View Item
      •   Research Commons
      • University of Waikato Research
      • Management
      • Management Papers
      • View Item
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

      Focus and diversity in information systems research: Meeting the dual demands of a healthy applied discipline

      Taylor, Hazel; van Wingen, Milinda; Dillon, Stuart M.
      Link
       www.misq.org
      Citation
      Export citation
      Taylor, H., van Wingen, M. & Dillon, S.M. (2010). Focus and diversity in information systems research: Meeting the dual demands of a healthy applied discipline. MIS Quarterly, 34(4), 647-688.
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/5690
      Abstract
      Drawing on sociology of science foundations, we argue that, in order to survive and prosper, healthy applied disciplines must meet the dual demands of academic and practitioner audiences by demonstrating both focus and diversity in their research. First, we use this concomitant modality to explain why previous studies into the structure of the Information Systems discipline have reported contradictory results, with some finding a focused field while others conclude that the field is diverse. In support of our argument, we then present the results of a longitudinal, author co-citation analysis, looking across the full range of journals in which IS research is published. Our results suggest that the IS field has sustained a focus on research within three subfields over a 20-year period from 1986 to 2005: (1) a thematic miscellany of research on development, implementation, and use of systems in various application domains; (2) IS strategy and business outcomes; and (3) group work and decision support. At the same time, the field has demonstrated considerable diversity within and around these core subfields, with researchers responding flexibly to the rapidly changing field by investigating these areas with new paradigms and in new contexts, and by exploring new topics including inter-business and Internet applications, computer-supported collaborative work, virtual teams, and knowledge management. Finally, we demonstrate that, over the 20-year period from 1986 to 2005, the discipline has shifted from fragmented adhocracy to a polycentric state, which is particularly appropriate to an applied discipline such as IS that must address the dual demands of focus and diversity in a rapidly changing technological context.
      Date
      2010
      Type
      Journal Article
      Publisher
      University of Minnesota MIS Research Center
      Collections
      • Management Papers [1125]
      Show full item record  

      Usage

       
       

      Usage Statistics

      For this itemFor all of Research Commons

      The University of Waikato - Te Whare Wānanga o WaikatoFeedback and RequestsCopyright and Legal Statement