Information Systems Journals Research Articles

Navigating the moral maze: a literature review of ethical values in business process management

PurposeBusiness process management (BPM), as a pillar of information systems (IS) research, has become more complex with the advent of new technologies, emphasizing the need for moral and ethical perspectives. To foster moral behavior and responsible action, including ethical values in IT systems and processes can be a solid option. By incorporating a socio-technical perspective, we are able to analyze the various aspects of BPM and organizational processes and the incorporated values. We find an overall acknowledgment of the importance of values and ethics in BPM.Design/methodology/approachThis publication explores ethical values within BPM through a systematic literature review (SLR). The study aims to identify the ethical dimensions inherent in BPM and their practical implications in process management and task execution. The methodological approach adopted is a SLR (Boell and Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2015), adapting the PRISMA guidelines (Page et al., 2021) to identify 82 articles from 21 top IS journals suggested by Lowry et al. (2013).FindingsA descriptive framework is developed to explain the use and application of ethical values within business processes. This framework enables practitioners and researchers to categorize and understand the various ethical considerations involved in BPM. It provides a structured approach highlighting the interrelation between process perspectives and ethical values, demonstrating how different BPM approaches may have varying ethical implications. We compare past and future research in business processes, identifying areas for further investigation and theoretical development. A historical analysis of values and literature also helps contextualize contemporary discussions on ethics in BPM, shedding light on the evolution of ethical considerations within this domain.Originality/valueOur study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of BPM, highlighting the importance of considering ethical values and socio-technical perspectives in designing and implementing business processes. These findings contribute to understanding the values associated with different types of processes and their employment and highlight potential areas for future research. Our study provides ethics-oriented research in IS with novel insights by examining BPM from an ethical value perspective. We contribute to the BPM literature by examining which values are applied in which process types from which perspective. In addition, our research suggestions provide food for thought for both research streams.

Private, Public, Personal: Shifting Patterns in Geospatial Data Sources in Geographic Research

Geospatial data sources include data collected by the public sector (i.e., government), private sector (i.e., industry), or through field work. Of these categories, the private sector, especially through tech firms, has provided new types of cutting-edge data sets that are particularly large and novel. These include data from social media platforms and location-based technologies such as Global Positioning Systems and mobile phones. Here, we explore the extent to which peer-reviewed geospatial research has adopted these data sources, perhaps in lieu of more traditional data types. We review peer-reviewed journal articles from six flagship journals in geographic information systems, geography, and urban analytics that publish research that uses spatial data analysis. We find that geospatial researchers continue to rely on government-collected data for their research, but that researchers’ use of data from the private sector have increased in recent years. This finding implies that as spatial analysis studies increasingly rely on private data sets, we should revisit (1) how industry data collection faces fewer regulations on data quality and has different motivations for their collection, (2) how this affects our ability to trust our data sets, and (3) the role of government and field work in data collection and dissemination in the future.

QUANTIFYING THE EVOLUTION OF IT AUDIT AND CONTROL PRACTICES: A BIBLIOMETRIC APPROACH

This research conducts a comprehensive review spanning nine years of literature on IT audit and control practices. Utilizing bibliometric and content analyses, it examines 88 articles from English-language journals indexed in the Web of Science (WOS) database. In this field, the United States emerges as the dominant contributor and recipient of citations. We note the frequent publication and citation rates of key journals like the Journal of Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, and Accounting Review, featuring prominent authors like J.F. Brazel and Tarafdar M. The analysis underscores increasing interest in topics such as IT audit and governance, particularly from 2010 to 2024. However, the study’s reliance on the WOS core collection may restrict its applicability beyond this specific dataset.

The role of artificial intelligence algorithms in information systems research: a conceptual overview and avenues for research

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) has made remarkable progress in the past decade. Despite the plethora of AI research, we lack an accrued overview of the extent to which management research uses AI algorithms. The context, purpose, and type of AI used in previous work remain unknown, though this information is critical to coordinating, extending, and strengthening the use of AI. We address this knowledge gap with a systematic literature review (SLR), focusing on 12 leading information systems (IS) journals and leveraging a customized generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) in our analyses. We propose a conceptual framework comprising eight dimensions to categorize our findings in terms of application areas, methods, and algorithms of applied AI, mitigating the lack of a concise AI taxonomy. Thus, we identify and discuss trends, outline underrepresented algorithms with significant potential, and derive research avenues. We extend the literature with a conceptual overview that may serve as a building block for theory building and further exploration of the evolving AI research domain.

Q methodology and the sociotechnical perspective

AbstractWhen studying information systems (IS) phenomena, scholars increasingly aim to take a socio-technical approach. This means that instead of focusing exclusively on the technical side, they also study them from a human perspective. An underrecognized yet powerful tool for examining the opinions and attitudes of individuals is the Q methodology because it makes subjective viewpoints on IS phenomena objectively measurable. Despite its benefits and wide application in other disciplines, the use of Q methodology in top IS journals is still rare. Based on a systematic literature review, this article explores the potential and fit of Q methodology within the sociotechnical systems framework. This analysis leads to two main insights. First, Q methodology enables the integration of the social and the technical component as well as instrumental and humanistic outcomes. Second, this qualiquantilogical technique enriches the understanding of IS phenomena by objectifying the approach to exploring subjective viewpoints. Thus, our work highlights the potential of the method for conducting IS research. And it also provides clear guidelines on how to use the method to uncover new patterns inherent in the data being studied.

An SEM-ANN Approach - Guidelines in Information Systems Research

ABSTRACT The application of hybrid Partial-Least-Square-Structural-Equation-Modeling-Artificial-Neural-Network in Information Systems (IS) research has surged over the years. Grounded on a systematic literature review from the list of premier and other promising IS journals, we found several concerns and issues. Hitherto, there are no guidelines for IS researchers for the hybrid PLS-SEM-ANN approach. We unlocked the potential of the hybrid PLS-SEM-ANN in providing better insight and understanding for IS researchers. In addition, best practices and recommendations for the adoption of PLS-SEM-ANN are discussed. The study contributes to advancing IS research by conducting a systematic literature review with Biblioshiny apps from the R studio’s Bibliometrix package and then proposing a comprehensive and robust approach to address the duality nature through the linear-nonlinear and compensatory-non-compensatory relationships. We proposed a guideline and suggested the minimum sample size, best practices and recommendations for reporting the results. We discuss the opportunities and prospects of the hybrid approach.

The authorship origins of accounting information systems and emerging technologies research: An analysis of accounting information systems journals

This article examines the authorship origins of accounting information systems (AIS) and emerging technologies (ET) research from 2004 to 2021 in six journals: Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting (JETA), Journal of Information Systems (JIS), International Journal of Accounting Information Systems (IJAIS), International Journal of Digital Accounting Research (IJDAR), Accounting Information Systems Educator Journal (AISEJ), and Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance, and Management (ISAFM). This study contributes to the understanding of AIS and ET research by conducting a comprehensive analysis of 1,101 research articles published in these AIS journals by authors’ employer and doctoral country, employer institutions, doctoral institutions, doctoral disciplines, author type, and by AIS and ET classifications. The aim of this study is to identify the historically most productive and influential countries and institutions in the AIS and ET domain and to discover the educational and professional background of AIS and ET researchers, respectively. The findings of this study provide helpful information for job seekers, prospective Ph.D. students, researchers seeking co-authorship, and those interested in this literature and serve as a valuable supplement to the existing bibliometric analysis of AIS literature.

Reimagining the Journal Editorial Process: An AI-Augmented Versus an AI-Driven Future

The editorial process at our leading information systems journals has been pivotal in shaping and growing our field. But this process has grown long in the tooth and is increasingly frustrating and challenging its various stakeholders: editors, reviewers, and authors. The sudden and explosive spread of AI tools, including advances in language models, make them a tempting fit in our efforts to ease and advance the editorial process. But we must carefully consider how the goals and methods of AI tools fit with the core purpose of the editorial process. We present a thought experiment exploring the implications of two distinct futures for the information systems powering today’s journal editorial process: an AI-augmented and an AI-driven one. The AI-augmented scenario envisions systems providing algorithmic predictions and recommendations to enhance human decision-making, offering enhanced efficiency while maintaining human judgment and accountability. However, it also requires debate over algorithm transparency, appropriate machine learning methods, and data privacy and security. The AI-driven scenario, meanwhile, imagines a fully autonomous and iterative AI. While potentially even more efficient, this future risks failing to align with academic values and norms, perpetuating data biases, and neglecting the important social bonds and community practices embedded in and strengthened by the human-led editorial process. We consider and contrast the two scenarios in terms of their usefulness and dangers to authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers. We conclude by cautioning against the lure of an AI-driven, metric-focused approach, advocating instead for a future where AI serves as a tool to augment human capacity and strengthen the quality of academic discourse. But more broadly, this thought experiment allows us to distill what the editorial process is about: the building of a premier research community instead of chasing metrics and efficiency. It is up to us to guard these values.

The ‘hijacking’ of the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems: Implications for the information systems community

AbstractJournal hijacking, which refers to the attempted brand takeover of a journal by a third party, is a nascent threat confronting the information systems (IS) community, as evidenced by cybercriminals having established an online presence, masquerading as the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS). The SJIS hijacking damages the journal's reputation, leads to payment and publication scams, involves identity theft among unsuspecting IS researchers, and results in tarnished author reputations. Beyond SJIS, journal hijacking presents a threat, not only to the IS community, but also to science and academic integrity in general if researchers and readers cannot distinguish between fake publications by hijacked journals and real publications by legitimate journals. In this opinion article, we relate the story of the SJIS hijacking from the victims' perspectives. We describe its many aspects, draw attention to the key factors that contribute to the problem, and offer our perspectives on different response strategies in the absence of simple solutions. We hope to create awareness about the problem and stimulate a discussion in the IS community, not least in the face of digital innovations, such as ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence technologies that may inadvertently support paper mills and the production of fake research results.

Blockchain from the information systems perspective: Literature review, synthesis, and directions for future research

This paper profiled blockchain studies in information systems (IS) journals from 2016 to 2022. Drawing on the 443 selected articles from 77 IS journals, we proposed a classification scheme from the IS perspective. Current blockchain articles are highly skewed, focusing on research agendas and system design. We proposed a theoretical framework by summarizing the current status of the blockchain literature and highlighting 15 future research questions for the IS research community. We are optimistic that the proposed framework and future research questions can guide blockchain research and advance its scale and impact.

Exploring artificial intelligence and big data scholarship in information systems: A citation, bibliographic coupling, and co-word analysis

This research explores extant research on artificial intelligence (AI) and big data published in the premier Information Systems (IS) journals over a period of 26 years (1997–2022), and it uses the techniques of citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and co-word analysis. Citation analysis results reveal IS as the most cited reference discipline, followed by general business, organization science, and marketing. Two major topical clusters have been identified — problem domain-specific AI (e.g., predictive analytics, machine learning algorithms, and text mining) and organizational-specific AI (e.g., big data capabilities, firm performance, agility, and strategy). Co-word analysis revealed a gradual shift of scholarly interest from problem-domain-specific AI toward organizational-specific AI. Using the citation data, the most influential (cited) authors, (cited) articles, journals, institutions, and countries are identified. Gaps in extant research and future research paths are discussed.

The importance of theory at the Information Systems Journal

The importance of theory at the <i>Information Systems Journal</i>

Communication performance and vertex-transitivity on folded locally twisted cube

ABSTRACT The communication performance and symmetry properties are two vital properties for a multiprocessor interconnection network. Diameter is an important factor to determine the communication performance of a graph. In a vertex-transitive graph, every vertex is identical to every other vertex in relation to its location. In this paper, we study the communication performance and vertex-transitivity property of the folded locally twisted cube . We find that the diameter of is , which is less than the diameter proposed by Peng [S. Peng, C. Guo, B. Yang, Topological properties of folded locally twisted cubes, Journal of Computational Information Systems, 11 (2015) 7667–7676]. And we prove that is vertex-transitive for n = 2, and is not vertex-transitive for .

Leveraging paradigms to foster theoretical contributions in information systems research

Despite all our theorizing efforts and the importance that we and our major information systems (IS) journals ascribe to theory development, making theoretical contributions to our field remains challenging. Recognizing that we cannot develop better theories without improving how we theorize, our field is now engaged in an in-depth discussion of the theorizing process. This manuscript contributes to this discussion by exposing why and how leveraging paradigms when theorizing can foster theoretical contributions within our field. Its premise is that we need to stop working within the confines of a limited set of well-entrenched paradigms and move beyond what is known as true and correct to come up with improvements that significantly alter the way we come to rationalize, explain, and master our world. Anchored on this premise, this manuscript begins by discussing the origin, role, and features of paradigms as well as explaining that they are of three different but interrelated forms (i.e., metaphysical, sociological, and artefactual). The manuscript then adds to this understanding of paradigms by detailing the unique relationships that tie paradigms of each form to theory and explaining why taking advantage of these unique bonds when theorizing may help us make theoretical contributions. Lastly, to foster theoretical contributions within our field, this manuscript proposes a set of guidelines to help us leverage paradigms of the different forms when theorizing.

Journal of Information Systems Workshop on Data Value Creation: Views from Industry and Academia

Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Citation J. Efrim Boritz, Theophanis Stratopoulos; Journal of Information Systems Workshop on Data Value Creation: Views from Industry and Academia. Journal of Information Systems 1 March 2023; 37 (1): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.2308/ISYS-2023-002 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of Information Systems Search Advanced Search

Stress in the cybersecurity profession: a systematic review of related literature and opportunities for future research

PurposeThe impact of stress on personal and work-related outcomes has been studied in the information systems (IS) literature across several professions. However, the cybersecurity profession has received little attention despite numerous reports suggesting stress is a leading cause of various adverse professional outcomes. Cybersecurity professionals work in a constantly changing adversarial threat landscape, are focused on enforcement rather than compliance, and are required to adhere to ever-changing industry mandates – a work environment that is stressful and has been likened to a war zone. Hence, this literature review aims to reveal gaps and trends in the current extant general workplace and IS-specific stress literature and illuminate potentially fruitful paths for future research focused on stress among cybersecurity professionals.Design/methodology/approachUsing the systematic literature review process (Okoli and Schabram, 2010), the authors examined the current IS research that studies stress in organizations. A disciplinary corpus was generated from IS journals and conferences encompassing 30 years. The authors analyzed 293 articles from 21 journals and six conferences to retain 77 articles and four conference proceedings for literature review.FindingsThe findings reveal four key research opportunities. First, the demands experienced by cybersecurity professionals are distinct from the demands experienced by regular information technology (IT) professionals. Second, it is crucial to identify the appraisal process that cybersecurity professionals follow in assessing security demands. Third, there are many stress responses from cybersecurity professionals, not just negative responses. Fourth, future research should focus on stress-related outcomes such as employee productivity, job satisfaction, job turnover, etc., and not only security compliance among cybersecurity professionals.Originality/valueThis study is the first to provide a systematic synthesis of the IS stress literature to reveal gaps, trends and opportunities for future research focused on stress among cybersecurity professionals. The study presents several novel trends and research opportunities. It contends that the demands experienced by cybersecurity professionals are distinct from those experienced by regular IT professionals and scholars should seek to identify the key characteristics of these demands that influence their appraisal process. Also, there are many stress responses, not just negative responses, deserving increased attention and future research should focus on unexplored stress-related outcomes for cybersecurity professionals.

Editorial: Continuing on an Inclusive Path to Scholarly Excellence with Renewed Vigor

Editorial: Continuing on an Inclusive Path to Scholarly Excellence with Renewed Vigor

A parametric similarity method: Comparative experiments based on semantically annotated large datasets

We present the parametric method SemSimp aimed at measuring semantic similarity of digital resources. SemSimp is based on the notion of information content, and it leverages a reference ontology and taxonomic reasoning, encompassing different approaches for weighting the concepts of the ontology. In particular, weights can be computed by considering either the available digital resources or the structure of the reference ontology of a given domain. SemSimp is assessed against six representative semantic similarity methods for comparing sets of concepts proposed in the literature, by carrying out an experimentation that includes both a statistical analysis and an expert judgment evaluation. To the purpose of achieving a reliable assessment, we used a real-world large dataset based on the Digital Library of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and a reference ontology derived from the ACM Computing Classification System (ACM-CCS). For each method, we considered two indicators. The first concerns the degree of confidence to identify the similarity among the papers belonging to some special issues selected from the ACM Transactions on Information Systems journal, the second the Pearson correlation with human judgment. The results reveal that one of the configurations of SemSimp outperforms the other assessed methods. An additional experiment performed in the domain of physics shows that, in general, SemSimp provides better results than the other similarity methods.

Critique and change: The “what”, “why”, “how”, and “so what”

Critique and change: The “what”, “why”, “how”, and “so what”

Six Inversion Strategies for Avoiding Rejection in Academic Publishing: Lessons from the IS Discipline

The publication process in many academic disciplines, including in Information Systems (IS), can seem arduous and unpredictable, particularly for early career researchers. While the literature offers plentiful guidance on how to pursue publication acceptance, this paper offers a crisp summary of common mistakes that lead to rejection and provides six actionable inversion strategies for avoiding them. Namely, when preparing a paper, we recommend you (1) abstain from methodological promiscuity and (2) never overclaim (but try not to underclaim either); When submitting a paper, it is a good idea to (3) steer clear of bootlicking and (3) avoid sloppiness; and, after receiving the reviews, you should (5) forego belligerence, and (6) stop flogging a dead horse. These inversion strategies can help early career researchers better navigate the review process, increasing the chances of their papers maturing, and helping to avoid mistakes that lower the chance of publishing in high-quality IS journals.