Type of Publication: Article in Journal

Different Paths of Development of Two Information Systems Communities: A Comparative Study Based on Peer Interviews

Author(s):

Frank, Ulrich; Schauer, Carola; Wigand, Rolf

Title of Journal:

Communications of the AIS

Volume (Publication Date):

22 (2008)

Number of Issue:

21

pages:

391-412

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

doi:10.17705/1CAIS.02221

Link to complete version:

http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol22/iss1/21

Citation:

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Abstract

Information Systems (IS) is not a homogeneous discipline. Rather, it is comprised of various
communities that are characterized by different perspectives and methods. With regard to the
ongoing discussion about the profile of the discipline, this is a remarkable phenomenon. More
specifically, it recommends analyzing the characteristic features of the various IS communities
and explaining the diverse paths of development they took. Furthermore, it implies the question
whether—and how—the current diversity could be overcome in order to foster a more focused
competition as well as a more coherent presentation of research results on an international scale.
This article contributes to such an investigation. It is focused on a comparison of the international
English-speaking community predominantly (in particular in its early days) shaped by North-
American IS researchers, which plays a leading role in the international scene, and the IS discipline
in German-speaking countries (”Wirtschaftsinformatik” or WI, in Austria, Germany, and
Switzerland), which constitutes the largest IS community outside North America that maintains
its own approach. The focus of this article is mainly on describing the communities’ characteristics
as the outcome of a social construction that is chiefly influenced by those individuals who
participated in this construction. Against this background, eight scholars from North America
and six scholars from German-speaking countries were interviewed at length. All were chosen as
witnesses of and important contributors to the development of their discipline. As a result of this
reconstruction, the article presents a rich picture of the communities’ history and characteristics as
experienced and reported by the interviewees. The results obtained from this project indicate that
neither of the two conceptions (IS or WI) can serve as an ideal model. Instead, a more intensive
international exchange among the various research communities, including the Scandinavian and
British scholars, should contribute to further develop the field into a more mature and satisfactory
state.