On the nationality balance of authors and references in selected MIS journals

Abstract

Citation analysis is an established technique in literature analysis. It can be used to reveal citation patterns and thus results stemming from the analysis, including co-citation patterns and groupings of researchers, even reveal paradigmatic schools within a certain field. In this article, twelve major MIS journals — six European and six American — are studied to find out whether there are any differences in author selection and referencing patterns. It was discovered that the American MIS community is much more self-sustaining than the European one, which relies heavily on work by American authors. This points either to the superiority of the American MIS community, or the under-appreciation of foreign research, or possibly both. On the European side, the result might be interpreted as a sign of low-quality research, lack of self-esteem and pride, or again both. Clear differences between the editorial policy of the journals can be discerned: some journals accept the American hegemony; some try to maintain a balance between contributions from different countries; and some favour European research.