A Review of MIS Research and Disciplinary Development

Author(s): Maryam Alavi and Patricia Carlson

Source: Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Spring, 1992), pp. 45-62
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
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A ReviewofMIS Researchand
Development
Disciplinary

MARYAM ALAVI AND PATRICIA CARLSON

Maryam Alavi is an AssociateProfessor ofInformation

Systemsat theUniversity
ofMaryland atCollegePark.Herarticlesandresearch haveappearedregularly
reports
inscholarly
journals,includingCommunications oftheACM,JournalofManagement
InformationSystems, ManagementScience,MIS Quarterly, and Information
and
Management. Dr. Alavi was an associateeditorofMIS Quarterly
(1987-1990) and
serveson the editorialboards of Information SystemsResearch and Journalof
Management Information Systems.

Patricia Carlson is a Ph.D. candidatein the Department of Information and

of Minnesota,Minneapolis.She receivedher
Decision Sciences at theUniversity
M.B.A. fromthe University of Houstonin 1987. Her researchinterestsare in
informationas an organizational
phenomenon. Her currentworkinvestigatesinfor-
mationacquisitionanddisseminationat themanagerial
level.

Abstract: Thecurrent studyfocusesonthedevelopment ofMIS as a fieldofresearch

andinquiryandexaminesitsintellectual evolution.
Theseissuesareaddressedthrough
a systematicexamination and analysisof 908 MIS articlespublishedbetween1968
and 1988 in eightcorejournals.The articleswereanalyzedforthemes,topics,and
researchapproach.The findings identify popularresearchtopics,thedominant re-
searchperspective, and therelationshipbetweenMIS researchand practice.The
popularresearchtopicsconsistof: IS management, information systemstypesand
and development
characteristics, and operationof systems.The dominant research
perspectiveemployedinalmostall oftheempiricalarticlesincludedin thestudycan
be characterizedas a traditional
approachreflectinga positivist
orientation.

Key words and phrases: MIS as a discipline,

MIS journals,MIS research.

1. Introduction
The primaryobjective of the current study was todevelopan overviewofthe
structure
intellectual of MIS through directand systematicanalysisof a sampleof
mainstream MIS articlespublishedin the 1968-88 period.The studyaimed at
investigatingwhatconstitutes thefieldof MIS by examiningtopics,themes,and
research in
strategies the Thisestablishes
literature. abenchmark fortracking thestatus
ofMIS development andevolution, whilefocusing attention
on areasrequiringmore
research.
The importanceof thecurrent studyforthestillevolvingfieldofMIS lies mainly
JournalofManagement
Information I Spring1992,Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.45-62
Systems
© M.E. Shaipe,Inc.,1992
Copyright

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46 ALAVI AND CARLSON

in thatit providesan opportunity to pause and reflectupon bothwhathas been

accomplished bypastworkandwhatneedstobe accomplished inthefuture.As such,
itmaypromoteinformed discussionand debateand thereby helpresearchersdirect
theireffortsin themostproductive manner. Evenemerging fieldssuchas MIS have
a senseofhistory; thosethatcutthemselves offfromcuriosity andreflectionarelikely
toatrophy [17].
As fieldsofresearch orprofessional practiceevolve,theybecomeobjectsofinterest
and studythemselves[9]. For example,HarvardBusinessSchool's 1984 Research
Colloquiumon Information Systemswas devotedto highlighting theresearchneeds
ofMIS. Furthermore, severalstudiespublishedduringthelastdecadehavereviewed
and examineddifferent aspectsof theMIS field.Ives, Hamilton,and Davis [13]
developeda comprehensive taxonomy ofpotential MIS researchareasanduseditto
classifyover300 MIS doctoraldissertations. Ives andOlson [14] examinedresearch
associatedwithuserinvolvement intheMIS development process.Jarvenpaa, Dick-
son,and DeSanctis[15] addressedmethodological issuesin experimental research.
Culnan[6] conducteda co-citation analysisoftheMIS literature from1972 to 1982
in orderto identify intellectualsubfields in MIS and thereference disciplineswithin
whichthesesubfieldsare founded.Culnanand Swanson[7] examinedpublished
articlesfrom1980 to 1984 to evaluatetheemergenceof MIS as an independent
scholarlyfieldof study,differentiated fromreference disciplinessuchas computer
science,management science,andorganizational behavior. Elam,Huber,andHurt[8]
analyzed DSS literature
between 1975 and 1985 in orderto identifytrendsinresearch
methodology, and
topics application areas.Farhoomand [9] studiedtheevolutionof
MIS froma philosophicalscientific perspective through examination of published
articlesinthe1977-85period.AlaviandJoachimsthaler [1]conducted a meta-analytic
reviewofDSS andindividual differences literaturepublished between1978and 1988
inordertosynthesize andintegrate theempiricalfindings inthisarea.
The presentworkbuildsuponand extendsthebreadthand depthof theprevious
studies.For example,in thepresentstudythescope of MIS literature coverageis
extendedto covera twenty-year period from 1968 to 1988. Furthermore, insteadof
beingconfined toa specifictopicortheme(e.g.,DSS, GDSS, orimplementation) or
a specifictypeofresearch(e.g.,fieldstudiesor laboratory experiments), thecurrent
studyadopteda comprehensive perspective and incorporated researchpertainingto
anyoftheenvironmental, system, orprocessaspectsofMIS .

2. Methodology
Eight journals were selected to be included in thestudy:Communications of
theACM, Data Base, Decision Sciences,HarvardBusinessReview,Journalof
Management Information Systems, Management Science,MIS Quarterly,
and Sloan
Management Review.
TheMIS articlespublishedinthesejournalsbetween1968and 1988werecollected
andanalyzed.Foran articletobe includedinthestudy,ithadtoaddressan aspectof
research,
management, design,implementation, use,or impactof MIS or
operation,

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 MIS RESEARCH AND DISCIPLINARY DEVELOPMENT 47

MIS components. The MIS fielddrawson severalreferencedisciplinessuch as

computer science,management science,cognitive science,andorganizational behav-
ior.Somearticles focusing on issues ofinteresttothesedisciplinescould be considered
partof theMIS literature at somelevelof abstraction. However,sucharticleswere
notincludedinthestudyunlesstheywereexplicitly relatedtoatleastoneoftheabove
MIS topics.It was feltthatanalysisof a numberof leadingor corejournalswould
providea good understanding of thepriorities and issues of interestto theMIS
The
community. eightjournals selected forthisstudywereincludedin thelistof
journalpreferences of MIS academicians and practitionersforpublishing theirwork
[12].Articles inthesejournalsrepresent a good mix ofMIS scholarly work(e.g.,those
publishedinthetheory andresearchsectionoftheMIS Quarterly orintheJournalof
Management Information Systems) andpractitioner-oriented work(e.g.,thoseappear-
ing inHarvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review).Furthermore, most
of thesejournals were included in the previousMIS literaturereviews [6, 8, 27]. As
such,itwas feltthattheyrepresent themainstream ofMIS work.All thejournalswere
published in theUnited Statesand most hadbeen in publicationforat leasttenyears
the
during period 1968-88.

3. Analysis
The journal articles included in the study wereclassifiedandcodedin three
ways:
1. By subjector topic,accordingto thekeywordclassificationschemeof Barki,
Rivard,andTalbot[2].
2. By type,accordingtoa framework forthestudy.
developedspecifically
3. By orientation in
towardresearchorpractice thefield.

Afterexaminingsomeof theexistingkeywordclassification schemes(e.g.,MIS

Quarterly and Computing Review),theBarki-Rivard-Talbot classificationscheme
was adoptedandused to code thetopicor subjectareasaddressedby thearticles.It
was determined thatthisschemepresentsthemostcomprehensive and current ap-
of theMIS territory.
proachto classification Thisclassification containsover1,100
keywordsand consistsof ninetop-levelcategories, each of whichis dividedinto
severalsubcategories.The ninetop-levelcategoriesare: A- ReferenceDisciplines;
B- ExternalEnvironment; C- Technological Environment; D - Organizational En-
vironment; -
E IS Management; -
F IS Development andOperations; -
G IS Usage;
H- Information Systems;andI- IS EducationandResearch.
The framework developedforclassifying thearticlesbytypeis displayedin figure
1. This framework is consistentwith theexistingMIS methodological taxonomies
[24,26] andextendsthem.Atthehighest level,theframework distinguishesbetween
empiricaland nonempirical articles.The empiricalarticlescapturetheessenceof
researchbyrelyingon observation [26].Theempirical articlesarefurtherdividedinto
thosethatdescribean object(e.g.,an information system) that endures through time,
andthosethatdescribean eventorprocess(e.g., an information systemdevelopment

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48 ALAVI AND CARLSON

[~ Article
TypTfr
"
i i
; Empirical
I Non-Empirical
k I
UHÉMd
LM|MHdi

Conceptual I illustrative k I Applied k I objects k I Events/Processk

|
_^j^ntioj Lmbéiii^JI I Concepts
| HhEhJ LVHHHÌHHhJI

• MIS * °Pinlon ■■* I Conceptual ■ I . n- ^««Hrm #»f Ll

b
Framework. ■- * I I ' L'b"^ri- » L

* Opinionand
framework. Ç^Saîs'e. ' Fle!d ExPerlment
• Conceptual | Applications| ?e5molSet,
Modeli "^ ™ "" etc.
Systems, . FieldStudy
Experience«

. Theory Method«, Application. . gnrve

Model System,
.^^2^^«
^■^■lll-l^l- installation.
Applications . Deveiopment
of
1^^ mwmm
Jj I^Program^etc^^ ,g^^„„t,
• Ex post Descriptions

• Secondary Data

Figure1 A Framework
forClassification
ofMIS ResearchStrategies

project)thathas a limitedlife span or is essentiallya temporary phenomenon.

Empiricalarticlesfocusing onobjectsmaydescribea system, product, or
installation,
companyMIS function;or theymay containdescriptions of typesor classes of
products, technologies,systems, orprojects.
Empiricalarticlesfocusing oneventsand
processesmay take a number of methodological research approaches(e.g., lab
experimentation, fieldexperimentation,case study)ortheymayinvolvedevelopment
ofMIS instruments (e.g.,usersatisfactionquestionnaire)ordesignmethodologies.
Nonempirical articlesare thosethatareprimarily based on ideas,frameworks, and
speculation ratherthanon systematic observation.Nonempirical articlesmaycontain
someempiricalobservations or data,butthesewillbe in a secondaryor supporting
role only.Thatis, theemphasisis on ideas ratherthanon data and observations.
Nonempirical articlesmaybe dividedintothreecategories:conceptual, illustrative,
and appliedconcepts.Conceptualarticlesdescribeframeworks, models,or theories
andoffer explanations andreasons.Illustrative ontheotherhand,areintended
articles,
toguidepractice, oftencontaining recommendations foractionorstepstobe followed
in givencircumstances; thestressis on "what"or"how"rather than"why."Applied
conceptsarticlesarethosethathavean approximately equal emphasison conceptual
and illustrative
elements.A moredetaileddescription of theclassification scheme
in
(displayed figure1) and two examples of each articletype providedin the
are
appendix.

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 MIS RESEARCH
ANDDISCIPLINARY
DEVELOPMENT49

Inordertoexaminetherelationship betweenMIS research andpractice,

a distinction
betweenresearchandpractitioner-oriented articleswas made.Researcharticleswere
definedas primarily focusedon MIS theory/research and aimed at an academic
readership.Practitionerarticlesweredefinedas primarily concernedwithMIS prac-
Theresearch
tice/application. andpractitionerarticleswereidentified
according tothe
editorialpolicyof thejournalsunderconsideration. Two of thejournals,Harvard
BusinessReviewandSloanManagement Reviewwereconsidered tobe predominantly
ofpractitionerorientation.Articlesfromthesetwojournalswereclassifiedas practi-
articlesinthe"Applications"
tionerarticles.Similarly, sectionofMIS Quarterly and
the"Computing Practices"sectionofCommunications of theACM were classifiedas
practitionerarticles.The set of practitioner
articleswere comparedwitha set of
researcharticlesconsistingofarticlesfromManagement Science,DecisionSciences,
the"Theoryand Research"sectionofMIS Quarterly, and the"ResearchContribu-
tions"sectionofCommunications oftheACM.

4. Procedure
Two researchers were involved incoding thearticles andworkedindependently
accordingto thefollowing procedures. The entirecollectionof theJournalofMan-
agementInformation SystemsandMIS Quarterly forthetimeperiodcoveredby the
study was included. Forthesixremaining journals(Communications oftheACM,Data
Base, DecisionSciences, Harvard Business Review,Management Science,andSloan
Management Review),first,thetablesof contents wereexaminedby thecodersin
ordertoidentify theMIS-related titles.Thesearchwasbasedonthepresenceofcertain
key words,including:management, information, computer, data,and system.The
tablesof contentswerethenreviewedin a searchforrecognizedMIS authorsto
identifyMIS articlesthatmighthavebeenmissedbyexamination ofthearticletitles
alone.Thelistsofarticlesidentifiedbyeachindividual coderwerepooledtoestablish
a masterlist.The textofeacharticleinthelistwas thenreviewedinordertoexclude
articlesthatmighthavecontainedMIS-relatedkeywordsin thetitle,butessentially
havea non-MISfocus.
Once itwas decidedto includean articlein thestudy,a codingsheetwas used to
recorddataextracted fromthearticlesinordertoprovideuniformity, and
consistency,
completenessof data collection.To ensurethoroughness, a shortsummarywas
written1 and thearticlewas coded accordingto thetwoclassification schemes:the
classificationschemeforarticletypeshowninfigure1, andtheBarki-Rivard-Talbot
scheme.Each articlewas assignedto onlyone oftheclassifications shownin figure1;
however,dependingon thenumberof topicscovered thearticle,morethanone
in
Barkicode couldbe assignedtoan article.In all, 1,685Barkicodeswereassignedto
the908 articles,anaverageof 1.86codesperarticle.Thecodingsheetswerethenused
to inputthedata intoa dBase III Plus databaseto facilitate data manipulation and
analysis.On the average,each took
article abouttwenty minutesto code.

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50 ALAVI AND CARLSON

5. Results
A total of 908 articles were identifiedand coded usingtheaboveprocedures.
Thenumber ofarticlesbyjournalandbythree-year intervalis showninTable 1. As
faras non-MISjournalsareconcerned, 160articleswerepublishedinthepractitioner
orientedjournals(HarvardBusinessReviewandSloanManagement Review)and 111
articleswerepublishedin scholarlyjournals.As expected,thejournalsdedicatedto
MIS orcomputing anddataprocessing (i.e.,Communications oftheACM,Data Base,
JournalofManagement Information MIS
Systems, Quarterly,) providedclose to 70
percent ofthepublications.

5.L Publication
Topics
Articlesclassifiedin different
topicareasof theBarki-Rivard-Talbot classification
scheme(one-letter categoriesA-I) bythree-year aredisplayedinTable2. In
interval
thepasttwodecades,themostextensively researched topicsin oursamplewereIS
management followed by informationsystems,and IS development and operations.
The specificresearchissuesofinterestineachofthesethreetopicareasareshownin
Table 3.

In thearea ofIS management (category E), thethreemostpopulartopicswereIS

evaluation(user satisfaction and cost-benefit analysis),IS planning(IS strategic
planning and
issues), IS management issues(stagetheory). Intheinformation systems
usagearea (categoryH), thehighestnumber of articleswerewritten on thetopicof
information systems types(particularly DSS andexpertsystems). The nexttwomost
populartopics in thisarea were IS applications and IS characteristics.The highest
numbersof articlesaboutIS applications wererelatedto simulation and modeling,
government, andbanking applications. WithregardtoIS characteristics area,themain
topic ofinterest
has been system interface characteristics,particularlygraphicsinter-
faces.
The issues of interest pertinent to categoryF (IS development and operations)
consistedofIS lifecycleactivities (information requirements analysisandIS design),
IS development strategies (prototyping andparticipative design),andIS implementa-
tion(user-analyst differences).
The datadisplayedin Table 2 indicatethatthesmallestnumberof articlesin the
period1968-88wereinthetopicareasofexternal environment (category B), techno-
logicalenvironment (category C), andorganizational environment (category D). The
focusofpastresearchin thearea oftheexternalenvironment hasbeenprimarily on
theeconomic,social,andlegalenvironments. Thearticlesdealingwiththetechnolog-
ical environment haveprimarily addresseddatabasemanagement systems anddiffer-
ent aspectsof computerhardwaresystems.The articlespublishedin categoryD
(organizationalenvironment) wereprimarily focusedonorganizational structure.The
numberofpublishedarticlesaddressing theorganizational environment issuesmore
thandoubledintheearly1980sas comparedtothelate 1970s.

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 ANDDISCIPLINARY
MIS RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT51

Table 1 Frequencyof MIS Articlesin theJournalsby Three-Year Intervals

Journals 1968-70 1971-73 1974-76 1977-79 1980-82 1983-85 1986-88Total

Communications 4 12 7 21 19 42 31 136
of the ACM

DataBase 2 17 6 16 23 32 36 132

Decision Science 1 1 8 5 7 8 12 42

HarvardBusi- 19 11 11 6 19 19 10 95
ness Review

Journalof Man- 0 0 0 0 0 41 56 97
agement Informa-
tionSystems*
MIS Quarter!/* 0 0 0 50 64 64 94 272

Management Sci- 9 6 8 11 12 13 10 69
enee
Sloan Manage- 3 12 9 6 6 14 15 65
ment Review

Systemsstartedpublicationin 1984. ** MIS Quarterly

* JournalofManagementInformation
startedpublicationin 1977

Table 2 Articlesin DifferentTopical Areas by Three-Year Intervals

Barki- TopicAreas 1968- 1971- 1974- 1977- 1980- 1983- 1986- Total
Rivard- 70 73 76 79 82 85 88
Talbot
Codes
I IS Management 20 21 22 63 74 133 Ï26 459
H Information
Sys- 26 29 18 39 57 65 119 353
terns
F IS Development 3 6 11 57 44 72 73 266
& Operations
A ReferenceDisci- 7 19 19 20 32 35 69 201
plines
G IS Usage 6 1 3 11 12 26 53 112

I IS Education& 2 11 4 9 20 18 23 87
Research
D Organizational 3 4 2 9 20 24 29 91
Environment
C Technological 1 4 3 6 5 26 28 73
Environment

B ExternalEnviron- 3 4 7 9 312 5 43
ment
Total 1685

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52 ALAVI AND CARLSON

Table 3 MostPopularResearchIssuesin theTop ThreeTopicAreas

ofMIS Research

Barki-Rivard-Talbot Description NumberofPublished

Classification
Codes Articles
E IS Management
EJ IS evaluation 133
EG IS planning 74
EM IS management issues 67
H Information Systems
HA Types of information 191
systems
HB IS application areas 1 09
HD IS characteristics 41
F IS Development and
Operations
FB IS lifecycle activities 98
FA IS development strategies 65
FD IS implementation 50

5.2. ArticleTypes
Thenumber ofarticlesbyarticletypeandthree-year timeintervalis displayedinfigure
2. For each of the three-year intervalsbetween1968 and 1985, the numberof
nonempirical articleswas greater thanthenumberofempiricalarticles.Overall,the
empirical articlesconstituted
48.8 percentof thetotalpublishedbetween1968 and
1988. The frequencies ofthetypesofnonempirical articles(conceptual, illustrative,
and appliedconcepts)are displayedin Table 4. Withtheexceptionof a peak in the
period1971-73, thenumberof conceptualarticles(MIS frameworks, conceptual
models,and theories)has been consistently lowerthanthenumberof illustrative
articles.A totalof twenty-two applied conceptsarticleswere identified. In the
empirical showninTable5,themostpopularresearch
articles, methodologies between
1968and 1988were:fieldstudies(usedin 146articlesor33.4 percent ofthesample)
followedbylaboratory experiments (usedin 66 or 15.1 percentofthesample).Case
studies3accountedfor9.1 percentoftheempiricalarticles(a totalof40 articles)and
only4.1 percentof theempiricalarticles(18 articles)used fieldexperimentation in
theperiod1968-88. Descriptionsof typesof products,technologies, etc.,and of
specificsystems, products, etc.,accountedfor98 (22.4 percent)of the
installations,
empiricalarticleswritten duringthistimeperiod.
Thenumber ofarticlesbytypeandbyresearchtopic(Barki-Rivard-Talbot catego-
riesA-I) are displayedin figure3. Interestingly, bothempiricaland nonempirical
articleshave primarily focusedon thesame topics:IS management (categoryE),
information systems(categoryH), development and operations(categoryF), and
reference disciplines(categoryA). The smallestnumbersof empiricalarticlesap-
peared in categoryB (externalenvironment) and categoryI (IS educationand
research),with 15 and 17 articles,
respectively.The smallestnumber ofnonempirical

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 MIS RESEARCH AND DISCIPLINARY DEVELOPMENT 53

160-Yi 1 1 1 1 1 [Ï46
140
J
" j^2 finpirical
120 ^"
^^■ng
120
Jj Non-Empirical
'_2^S^^^E?Ï H
100~ ^^^^^B^^^^^E
Frequency~ 81
^^^^B^^^^fl
80j 57- "^^f^^^^H^^^^H"
----- - - - ^-^- - ^-
60_2 "TS^^^B; ^^^^^■^^^^^^H^^^^^^F

1968-70 1971-73 1974-76 1977-79 1980-821983-85 1986-88

Year

Figure2 NumberofArticlesbyTypeandYear

Table4 NumberofNonempirical
ArticlesbyTypeandThree-
Year TimePeriod

Nonempirical 1968-70 1971-73 1974-76 1977-79 1980-82 1983-85 1986-88Total

articles
Conceptual 1 24 9 23 29 30 44 160
articles
Illustrative 21 13 17 42 47 82 67 289
articles

Applied 0002587 22
concepts
Total 471

articles(29 articles)was publishedin thecategoryof technological environment

(computer systemsand software). Relativeto empiricalarticles,a largernumberof
nonempirical articles(160 versus199 articles)focusedon IS management (category
E). On the otherhand,moreempiricalarticlesaddressedthetopicof information
systems (category H) primarilyduetotherelatively largenumber ofempirical articles
in theareaofuser-system interface.

5.3. Relationship between MIS Research and Practice

Fromthetotalof679 articlesincludedinthissectionoftheanalysis,376 articles(55

and 303 (45 percent)wereresearcharticles.To
percent)werepractitioner-oriented
identify topicsintheresearch
thedominant andpractitioner we classifiedthe
articles,
articles to
according theBarki-Rivard-Talbot The
subjectcategories. results indicated

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 54 ALAVI AND CARLSON

Table 5 EmpiricalArticlesbyType(1968-88)
ResearchStrategy NumberofArticles
Field Study 146
Lab Experiment 66
Case Studies 40
Survey 32
Reid Experiment 18
Other Empirical Type
Description 98
Ex-post Description 18
Development oftool 12
Secondary Data 7
Total 437

300-A I I I I I I I
[
' 260
- _- - ___________
______
_^^4 ___- ______ ______
______ fl Empirical
250- ~~^H
^m 212
I -*L_H ¿SI
200- S^H ^M
! Barki-Rivard-Talbot
Codes
^^H ^fl
150_I ^^H" 139 ^KlT A Reference
Disciplines
^■3321 Ki BEx^Envàooment
! 109 CTedioologicdE-viioamaet
■ á_^B_)3>
^Hl^-i I^H
______ _______ ______^_^_^_^_^_^_H. _^_^_^_l P Environment
n OrauiIixlLuL I TT......
ürgani7inon«l
100-" ^^E_T ^ _^_^_l
E B Management
" ^^3 ^^^^^^■1 ^^H 70
F IS Development
»dOpeniiont
^^^1 55 ^^^^160 ^^Hl _^|

A^^^| i_^2^^S-^-i-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-i ~--H I ISEducation

and
Researcb
o_U-i-^C-HE-l-H9_l-^-B-i-__^-^---^-^-^-^-^^-^-^^
i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
ABCDEFGHI
Barki-Rivard-TalDot Topic Code

Figure3 ArticlesbyTopic andCode

thatresearch articles primarilyfocused on four subject categories: referencedisci-

plines (categoryA), informationsystems(categoryH), IS management(categoryE),
and IS developmentand operations(categoryF). The popularsubjectcategoriesin the
practitionerarticles (E, H, and F) coincided with three of the dominant subject
categories in theresearch articles.The most popular subject categoryin the practi-
tionerarticleswas IS management(categoryE), whichappearedalmosttwiceas many
timesin thepractitionerarticlesas in theresearcharticles.
We nextstudiedthemajor themesin thedominantsubjectcategories- E, H, and F.
The most frequentlyoccurring theme in category E - IS management- for both
researchand practitionerarticleswas IS evaluation.The nextmostpopular themesin

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 MIS RESEARCH AND DISCIPLINARY DEVELOPMENT 55

category E wereusersatisfaction (dominant in theresearcharticles)andIS planning

(dominant inthepractitionerarticles).The dominant themeincategory H- informa-
-
tionsystems intheresearch articleswasDS S ,whilethepractitioner articlesfocused
ondifferent applicationareas. In category F - IS and
development implementation -
practitionerarticles
concentrated on development strategiesand lifecycleactivities;
whileresearcharticlessharedtheinterest in lifecycleactivities,theyalso frequently
focusedon IS implementation themes.
The"origin"oftheMIS publication topicswas also investigated. Ifa topicwas first
in a
published practitioner article, it would be of a practitionerorigin.On theother
ifa
hand, topic was firstpublished in a research journal, itwould havea research/ac-
ademicorigin.The publication datesof thefirst published research andpractitioner
A-I
articlesforthesubjectcategories aredisplayedinTable6. SubjectcategoriesA
and B (reference disciplinesand externalenvironment) wereof research/academic
origin,whilesubjectcategory E (IS management) was firstpublishedinthesameyear
in bothresearchandpractitioner articles.For all of theremaining categories(C, D,
andF-I), practitionerarticlesaddressedthesubjectcategory first.

6. DiscussionandConclusion
By collecting and analyzing MIS literature publishedincorejournalsin the
period1968-88we havebeenable topaintan overallpictureoftheMIS fieldandits
evolutionas represented in thisliterature.
Ananalysisofthetopicareascoveredbythearticlesindicated a dearthofpublished
workon thetopicsof externalenvironment (economic,legal, social, and political
environments), technological environment (hardwareand software), and organiza-
tionalenvironment (organization dynamics, and
structure, taskcharacteristics).The
smallnumber oftechnological articlesrepresented inthesamplemaybe attributed to
themanagement orientation ofthejournalsincludedin thestudy.On theotherhand,
theresearchemphasison theexternaland organizational environments shouldbe
increased.In ouropinion,as information systems becomemoreprevalent in organi-
zationsandsocieties,moreworkon thesetopicsis neededtomovethefieldforward
byproviding feedbackandtoguidepracticeandfurther research.
Ourresearchrevealsa trendintheevolutionoftheMIS field.Sincethemid-1980s
therehas beena shiftin MIS researchefforts. For thefirsttimeduringthepasttwo
decades,the numberof empiricalarticlesexceededthe numberof nonempirical
articlesessentiallyfocusingon purelyconceptualwork.This mayindicatethatthe
lattertypeofarticlewas appropriate intheearlyyearsofMIS, butwiththematurity
of thefield,therehas beena redirection of theresearcheffort paralleledby changes
in thepublishingstandards and practicesof coreMIS journals.Empiricalresearch
articlesinvolvingcase studies,
laboratory experimentation, andfieldstudieshavebeen
on theriseduringthepasttwenty In the
years. particular, popularity ofthelaboratory
experimentation suggeststhatan effort is beingmade to focuson testingtheories
and/or constructingempirically basedtheories. However,thesmallnumberoftheo-
retically articles
oriented (only fifteenin the entiresample)raisesquestionsaboutthe

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56 ALAVI AND CARLSON

Table 6 Dates oftheFirstArticlesinEach oftheSubjectCategories

Publication

SubjectCategories
ABCDEFGHI
Research 1968 1968 1971 1971 1968 1974 1970 ?969 1970
Articles

Practitioner 1971 1969 1968 1970 1968 1970 1968 1968 1968
Articles

rateof progressin thearea.We findthepaucityof MIS -oriented theoriesalarming

becauseof thepotentialimplications forquality,experimental design,and valueof
MIS research. BaroudiandOrlikowski [3]havereported problems withMIS empirical
work.Theysuggestthattheaveragepower(theabilitytodetecttreatment effects)of
many MIS empirical works is low. In theabsence of MIS theories, thiscan resultin
important relationships among variablesgoing undetected. In a surveyof MIS publi-
cationsbyJenkins [16],itwas concludedthatonlyone-third ofthestudieschosethe
appropriate researchmethodology. Theoriesareneededtoguideresearchandchoice
ofresearchmethodologies. The impactandroleoftheories andtheoretical viewson
thechoiceofresearchmethodologies areaddressedbyKling[18] andWeick[28],
OuranalysisindicatedthatMIS researchhasbeencloselyassociatedwithpractice.
Almost300 articles(approximately one-third of all articlespublishedin theperiod
1968-88) have been devoted to and
describing illustrating howtheMIS conceptsand
modelscould be applied.In fact,relativeto purelyconceptual/theoretical articles,
approximately twiceas manyillustrative andappliedarticleshavebeenpublishedin
theliterature duringthepasttwodecades.
Another indication oftheclose tiebetweenMIS researchandpracticeis thatinall
but two subjectcategories,thepractitioner interest in thetopiccoincidedwithor
the
preceded research interest.Thisis animportant aspectoftheevolutionofthefield
ofMIS. It indicatesthat,whileenhancing theMIS researchrigor,we havemanaged
tomaintain itsrelevancebyfocusing ontopicsofinterest andconcerntopractitioners.
It is important to continueto striveforbalance betweenMIS researchrigorand
relevancein thefuture.
Almostall of theresearchapproachesemployedin theempiricalarticlesincluded
in the studycan be characterized as traditionalapproachesreflecting a positivist
orientation.Thepositivist of
philosophy MIS researchassumesan objectivephysical
andsocialworldindependent ofhumansthatcanbe characterized andmeasured. Thus,
theresearcher assumestherole of an impartial observerwho attempts to uncover
objectivereality through defining constructsandprecisemeasures.Thedominance of
positivism inMIS researchhasdirectimplications foraspectsofthephenomena that
arestudiedandforMIS researchmethodologies. In theirassessment ofthepositivist
research philosophy, Orlikowski and Baroudi [24] state thatan exclusiveviewis only
a partialview,andthedominance ofpositivism inMIS researchmaybe unacceptably
restrictive.They and otherauthors[5, 19, 21, 28] have discussedsome of the

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 MIS RESEARCH AND DISCIPLINARY DEVELOPMENT 57

restrictionsand limitations of thepositivist researchperspective. For example,the

perspective
positivist tendstodisregard historical
andcontextual conditions instudy-
ingthephenomena ofinterest, butthedevelopment anduse ofMIS in organizations
are intrinsicallyembeddedin social contexts. For thisreason,neglecting contextual
influencesmay lead to an incomplete of the
understanding phenomenon [24].Further-
more,thepositivist researchperspective assumesdeterministic and causal relation-
the
shipsunderlying phenomena of interest.As Markus and Robey [20] assert,there
is noreasontopresumedeterministic andnonreciprocal interactions amonginforma-
tionsystems, people,andorganizational settings.
Discussionof thenonpositivist researchphilosophiesis beyondthescope of this
paper.However,a number ofMIS researchers havestarted toapplytheseapproaches
in theconductof MIS research.For example,Orlikowski[23] used an interpretive
approachtostudyhowthedeployment ofinformation technology inprimary business
affected
activities production workers. Smith[25] used a criticalresearch approachto
studythe impactof the introduction of information technology(in thiscase, an
electronicpoint of sales system) in retailorganizations retailserviceworkers.
on
GalliersandLand [11,p. 900] statethat, "Traditionally, thetopic[IS] hasoftenbeen
viewedas residing forthemostpartatleast,within theprovinceoftechnology." They
furtherassertthata widerview of IS concernedwithsocial, organizational, and
individualfactors has to
emerged,leading greatercomplexity, imprecision, and
ambiguity. Thisinturn requiresnewparadigms forIS research. Thus,methodological
pluralism,allowingmultiple paradigms forMIS research, shouldbe encouraged[11,
19,24, 29]. The interpretive perspective, thecriticalperspective, andthepopulation
ecologyapproaches to MIS research are examples that could opennew avenuesfor
gaininginsights.
Complementing thedominant positivistMIS researchparadigmwithalternative
perspectives andphilosophical basesis important tofurther development ofthefield.
Progressin the field can be enhanced a
byadopting plurality of research perspectives
togaininsights intocomplexMIS phenomena.

NOTES
1. Incaseswherethecodersfeltthatthearticleabstractwasa goodrepresentation
ofcontent,
thesummary wasbasedon theabstract. On theotherhand,forthearticlesforwhichtheabstract
was nothighlydescriptiveofthecontent, thesummary wasbasedon materialfromthearticle.
2. To calculateintercoder a randomsampleof thearticleswas recodedtwice
reliability,
duringthecodingprocess.Thereliabilities of71 percentand70 percentwerecalculated;these
areconsistentwiththecommonly acceptedcriteriaof70 percentforthistypeofresearch.
was madebetweena case studyas a research
thearticles,a distinction
3. In categorizing
methodology articlethatessentiallyuses exemplarsfordemonstrative
and an illustrative
purposes.

REFERENCES
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1. Alavi,M., andJoachimsthaler, DSS implementation a meta-anal-
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andsuggestions
ysisoftheliterature forresearchers.
MIS Quarterly,
forthcoming.
2. Barki,H.; Rivard,S.; and Talbot,J.An informationsystemskeywordclassification

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 58 ALAVIAND CARLSON

scheme.MIS Quarterly, 34, 4 (June1988),299-322.

3. Baroudi,J.J.,and Orlikowski, W.J.The problemof statistical powerin MIS research.
MIS Quarterly, 35, 1 (March1989),87-106.
4. Boland,RJ. Phenomenology: a preferred approachtoresearch on information systems.
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5. Chua,W.F. Radical development in accounting thought. The Accounting Review,61
(1986), 601-632.
6. Culnan,M. The intellectual development of management information systems,1972-
1982: a co-citation analysis.Management Science,32, 2 (1986), 156-172.
7. Culnan,M., and Swanson,E.B. Researchin management information systems,1980-
1984:pointsofworkandreference. MIS Quarterly, 32, 9 (1986),289-301.
8. Elam,J.J.;Huber,G.P.; and Hurt,M.E. An examination of theDSS literature (1975-
1985).In E.R. McLeanandH.G. Sol, eds.,DecisionSupportSystems: A Decade inPerspective.
Proceedingsof theIMP WG 8.3 WorkingConferenceon Decision SupportSystems,the
Netherlands (June1986),pp. 1-17.
9. Farhoomand, A. Scientific progress ofmanagement information systems . Data Base, 18,
4 (Summer1987),48-56.
10. Galliers,R.D. In searchofa paradigm forinformation systems research. In E. Mumford,
et al., eds.,ResearchMethodsinInformation Systems. New York:NorthHolland,1985,pp.
281-297.
11. Galliers,R.D., and Land, F.F. Choosingappropriate information systemsresearch
methodologies. Communication ofACM,30, 11 (1987),900-903.
12. Hamilton, S. Knowledgeutilization amongMIS researchers. MIS Quarterly, 6, 4 (1982),
61-77.
13. Ives, B.; Hamilton,S.; and Davis, G. A framework forresearchin computer-based
management information systems. Management Science,26, 9 (1980),910-934.
14. Ives, B., and Olson,L.H. User involvement and MIS success: a reviewof research.
Management Science,30, 7 (1984),586-603.
15. Jarvenpaa, S.L.; Dickson,G.W.;andDeSanctis,G. Methodological issuesinexperimen-
talIS research:experiences andrecommendations. MIS Quarterly, 2, 3 (1988), 141-156.
16. Jenkins, A.M.Researchmethodologies andMIS research.In E. Mumford, et al., eds.,
ResearchMethodsinInformation Systems. New York:NorthHolland,1985,pp. 103-117.
17. Keen,P.G.W.MIS research: referencedisciplinesandcumulative traditions.Proceedings of
theFirstInternationalConferenceonlnformationSystems, Philadelphia, December1980,pp.8-18.
18. Kling,R. Social analysisof computing: theoreticalperspectives in recentempirical
research. Computing Surveys,12 (1980), 61-110.
19. Lee, A.S. Integrating positivist andinterpretive approachesto organizational research.
Working paper,BusinessAdministration, Northeastern University, Boston,1989.
20. Markus,M.L., andRobey,D. Information technology andorganizational change:casual
structure in theory andresearch. Management Science.34. 5 ( 1988).583-598.
21. Mumford, E.; Hirschheim, R.; Fitzgerald, G.; and Wood-Harper, T., eds. Research
MethodsinInformation Systems. New York:NorthHolland,1985.
22. Nilles, J.; Mohrman,A.; and El Sawy, O.A. The strategicimpactof information
technologies onmanagerial work.Prospectives fora Study(F-52), CenterforFutureResearch,
University ofSouthern California, Los Angeles(1983).
23. Orlikowski, W.J.Divisionamongtheranks:thesocial implications of CASE toolsfor
systemsdevelopers.ProceedingsoftheTenthInternational Conference on Information Sys-
tems,Boston,December1989.pd. 199-210.
24. Orlikowski, S.J.,and Baroudi,J.J.Studyinginformation technology in organizations:
research approaches andassumptions. Information Systems Research.2. 1 (March199IV 3-14.
25. Smith,S. How muchchangeat thestore?The impactofnew technologies and labour
processesonmanagersandstaffs inretaildistribution.In D. KnightsandH. Wilmott, eds.,New
Technology and theLabourProcess.London:Macmillan,1988,pp. 143-162.
26. Van Horn,R.L. Empiricalstudieson management information systems. Data Base, 5, 2
(1973), 172-180.
27. Vogel,D.R., andWetherbe, J.C.MIS research:a profileofleadingjournalsanduniver-

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 MIS RESEARCH
ANDDISCIPLINARY
DEVELOPMENT59

DataBase,16,1 (Fall1984),
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28. Weick, andresearch
assumptions selection.
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arlan,ed.,Information Systems ResearchChallenge,Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,
1984,pp. 110-132.
29. Weill, P., and Olson, M.H. An assessmentof contingency theoryof management
information systemsJournalofManagement InformationSystems.6, 1 (Summer1989),59-85.
30. Wood-Harper, A.J.Researchmethodology ininformation
systems : usingactionresearch.
In E. Mumford, et al., eds., ResearchMethodsin InformationSystems.New York: North
Holland,1985,pp. 169-191.

APPENDIX:ClassificationScheme forResearch Approach

I. NonempiricalArticles

A. ConceptualOrientation

1. MIS Frameworks: proposesa frameworkfordefining

thecontentand scope of
forMIS research.
MIS, andprovidesdirections
Sprague,R.H.A framework forthedevelopmentofdecisionsupport MIS Quarterly,
systems.
4, 4 (December1980), 1-26.
Ives, B.; Hamilton,S.; and Davis, G.B. A framework forresearchin computerbased
management informationsystems.Management Science,20, 9 (September1980),910-934.

2. ConceptualModel of a Processor Structure: an integrated,

presents schematic
of
representation MIS-related behavior,
activity, method,
organization, etc.

King,W.R. Strategicplanningformanagement information

systems.MIS Quarterly,
2, 1
(March1978),27-37.
Gibson,CF., andNolan,R.L. ManagingthefourstagesofEDP growth.
HarvardBusiness
Review,52, 1 (January-February
1974),76-88.

3. ConceptualOverviewof Ideas,Theories,Concepts,etc.:containsan overview

ofmanyconceptsortheories inone ormoreareas,anddoes notpropoundorsupport
any individual or
idea, approach.
theory,
DeSanctis,G. Computer graphics forresearch.
as decisionaids:directions DecisionSciences,
15,4 (October1984),463^87.
Attewell,P., andRule,J.Computing andorganizations: whatwe knowandwhatwe don't
know.Communications oftheACM,27, 12 (December1984), 1184-1192.

4. TheoryfromReferenceDisciplines:presentstheoryor theoriesdrawnfrom
an MIS context.
outsidetheMIS fieldbutappliedwithin

Robey,D., and TaggartW. Humaninformation processingin information

and decision
systems.
support 6, 2 (June1982),61-73.
MIS Quarterly,
Huber,G.P.Thenatureanddesignofpost-industrial Management
organizations. Science,30,
8 (August1984),928-951.

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60 ALAVI AND CARLSON

B. Illustrative
Articles

1. Opinion(Pure,or Supportedby Examples):gives advice and guidancefor

intheformofrulesandrecommendations,
practice, stepsorprocedurestobe followed,
hintsandwarnings,etc.May be supported
byexamplesandapplications.
Alavi,M. Managingtherisksassociatedwithend-user
computing. JournalofManagement
Systems,
Information 2, 3 (Winter1985),5-20.
T.P., and Rockart,J.F.End-usercomputing:
Gerrity, areyou a leaderor a laggard?Sloan
Management Review,27, 4 (Summer1986),25-34.

2. Opinion(Supported byPersonalExperience):as for1,above,butalso describes

theauthor'sexperiencein somerelevantcontext(e.g.,planningor systemdevelop-
mentproject).
Matlin,G.L. How to survivea management assessment.
MIS Quarterly,1, 1 (March1977),
11-17.
Leonard-Barton,D. The case forintegrativeinnovation:
an expertsystemat Digital.Sloan
Management Review,29, 1 (Fall 1987),7-19.

3. Descriptionof a Tool, Technique, Method,Model, etc.: usually highlyspecific

and detailed,as well as technicallyor methodologicallyprecise.

Rockart,J.F.Chiefexecutivesdefinetheirowndataneeds.HarvardBusinessReview,57, 2
(March-April1979),81-93.
March,S.T., andCarlis,J.V.On theinterdependences
betweenrecordstructure andaccess
pathdesign.JournalofManagement Information
Systems,4, 2 (Fall 1987),45-73.

C. Applied Concepts

Frameworks
Conceptual andApplications:
contains
bothconceptual
andillustrative
elements.
May presentsomeconceptorframeworkandthendescribean application
ofit.

Naumann,J.D.,andJenkins, A.M.Prototyping:
thenewparadigmforsystems
development.
MIS Quarterly,6, 3 (September
1982),29-44.
McFarlan,F.W. Information technologychangesthewayyou compete.HarvardBusiness
Review,62, 3 (May-June1984),98-103.

II. EmpiricalArticles

A. Objects

1. Description
ofa TypeorClass ofProducts,
Technologies,
Systems, etc.
Projects,
Johansen,R.,andBullen,C. Whattoexpectfrom HarvardBusinessReview,
teleconferencing.
62, 2 (March-April1984),164-174.
Vassiliou,Y. On theinteractive
use ofdatabases:querylanguages.JournalofManagement
InformationSystems, 1,3 (Winter1984),22-48.

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 MIS RESEARCH AND DISCIPLINARY DEVELOPMENT 61

2. Descriptionof a SpecificApplicationSystem,Product,Installation,
Software
Model,Program, IS
Company, Function, etc.

Hall, W.A., andMcCauley,R.E. Planningandmanaginga corporate network MIS

utility.
Quarterly,11,4 (December1987),437^49.
Bonczek,R.H.; Holsapple,C.W.; and Whinston,A.B. Aidingdecisionmakerswitha
generalizeddatabasemanagement anapplication
system: toinventory Decision
management.
Sciences,9, 2 (April1978),228-245.

B. Events/Process

1. Laboratory manipulates
Experiment: variable;controls
independent forinterven-
incontrolled
ingvariables;conducted settings.
Alavi,M., andHenderson, J.C.An evolutionary forimplementing
strategy a decisionsupport
system.Management Science,27, 11 (November1981), 1309-1323.
Benbasat,L; Dexter,A.S.; andMasulis,P.S. An experimentalstudyofthehuman/computer
Communications
interface. oftheACM, 24, 11 (November 1981),752-762.

as forlaboratory
2. Field Experiment: butin a naturalsettingof the
experiment,
phenomenon under
study.
Franz,C.R.; Robey,D.; andKoeblitz,R.R. Userresponsetoanonlineinformation
system:a
fieldexperiment. 10, 1 (March1986),29-42.
MIS Quarterly,
Barber,R.E., andLucas,H.C. Systemresponsetime,operator andjob satisfac-
productivity
tion.Communications oftheACM,26, 11 (November1983),972-986.

of independent
3. Field Study:no manipulation variables,involvesexperimental
controls,is carriedout in thenaturalsettingsof the
designbut no experimental
phenomenon ofinterest.

Couger,J.D.,andMclntyre, normsof knowledgeengineerscomparedto

S.C. Motivation
thoseofsoftware /ök/tm/
engineers. ofManagementInformation 4,3 (Winter1987),
Systems,
82-93.
Swanson,E.B. Informationchanneldispositionanduse. DecisionSciences,18, 1 (January
1987),131-145.

4. Case Study:
group,orsystemindetail;involves
a. SingleCase: examinesa singleorganization,
no variablemanipulation,
experimental or
design controls; in nature.
is exploratory

Harrison,W. Usingsoftware matrices resources.

to allocatetesting JournalofManagement
InformationSystems,4, 4 (Spring1988),91-105.
KlingR., andIacono,S. Thecontrolofinformation systems afterimplementa-
development
tion.Communications oftheACM,27, 12 (December1984), 1218-1226.

butcarriedoutina smallnumber
b. MultipleCase Studies:as forsinglecase studies,
oforganizations orcontext.
inspaceandtime.Communications
workpatterns
Olson,M.H. Remoteofficework:changing
oftheACM,26, 3 (March1983),182-187.

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62 ALAVI AND CARLSON

Boynton,A.D.,andZmud,R.W.Anassessment
ofcriticalsuccessfactors.
SloanManagement
Review,25, 4 (Summer1984), 17-27.

5. Survey:involveslargenumbersof observations;theresearchuses an experimen-

tal design but no controls.

Adams,C. How management usersviewinformation DecisionSciences,6, 2 (April

systems.
1975),337-345.
Dickson,G.S.; Leitheiser, J.,et al. Key information
R.L.; Wetherbe, systemsissuesforthe
1980's.M/SQuarterly, 8, 3 (September1984),135-159.

6. Descriptionof the Development of Instrument/Measurements

or Classification
Scheme.

Bailey,J.E.,andPearson,S.W. Development ofa toolformeasuring

andanalyzing computer
usersatisfaction.
Management Science,29, 5 (May 1983),530-545.
Barki,H.; Rivard,S.; andTalbot,J.An informationsystemskeyword classification
scheme.
MIS Quarterly,12,2 (June1988),299-322.

7. Ex-PostDescriptionofSomeProjectorEvent:interest inreporting
theresultsof
theprojectdevelopsaftertheprojectis complete(or is partially
complete).
Kozar,K.A., andMahlum,J.M.A usergenerated informationsystem:an innovative
devel-
opmentapproach.MIS Quarterly, 11,2 (June1987), 163-174.
Hiltz,S.R., andTuroff,
M. The evolutionofuserbehaviorin a computerized
conferencing
system.Communications oftheACM,24, 11 (November1981),739-751.

8. Secondary Data: research using data from secondary sources, that is, data
collected by sources otherthantheresearcher.

Dutton,W.H., and Kraemer,K.L. Managementutilization

ofcomputers in Americanlocal
Communications
governments. oftheACM,21, 3 (March1978),206-218.
Mendelson,H. Economiesofscale in computing:Grosch'slaw revisited.
Communications
oftheACM,30, 12 (December1987), 1066-1072.

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