(Apologies for cross-postings of this announcement.)

 

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CALL FOR PAPERS

 

24th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2016)

 

Track: Advancing Theories and Theorizing in IS Research

 

June 12-15, 2016, Istanbul, Turkey (http://ecis2016.eu/)

 

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TRACK CHAIRS

 

Shirley Gregor, Australian National University, Australia, shirley.gregor@anu.edu.au

Benjamin Mueller, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, b.mueller@rug.nl (corresponding track chair)

Nils Urbach, University of Bayreuth, Germany, nils.urbach@uni-bayreuth.de

 

 

DESCRIPTION

 

The generation of knowledge can be seen as one of the key contributions of any science. Consequently, scholars like Whetten (1989), Steinfield and Fulk (1990), and Blalock (1969) have emphasized the centrality of theories for any scientific endeavor – a thought widely reflected in many disciplines from natural to social sciences (Atmanspacher 2007). While this attention to theoretical work has been at the heart of the IS discipline for a long time (cf. Keen 1980), we believe that advanced theorizing in an increasingly networked and global society calls for a dedicated discussion on the evolution of existing methodological and conceptual approaches to theorizing. Particularly the growing connection of individuals and groups with other people and organizations forces us to pay attention to complexity and contingencies that create opportunities and challenges for the careful development of new theories.

 

Recently we have seen some of our reference disciplines turn towards reviving their own examination of theories and theoretical work and their role in producing high quality scholarly contributions (e.g., in management research with contributions by Corley and Gioia 2011; Hillman 2011; Shapira 2011; Shepherd and Sutcliffe 2011; Suddaby et al. 2011; Thompson 2011; Tsang and Ellsaesser 2011). It is this rekindled interest that leads us to suggest that the IS discipline, too, should intensify its discussion of theory and theorizing above and beyond such landmark papers as Gregor’s (2006) influential piece on the role of theory in IS research, Urquhart et al.'s (2010) guidelines for theory building, Weber’s (2012) treatment of quality of theories and theorizing, or Straub’s (2012) discussion on native IS theories. The need for theory is being discussed, with Avison and Malaurent (2014) calling for greater acceptance of “theory light” articles in journals. This track is targeted towards picking up this debate. It provides a platform for the discussion and development of new approaches to theorizing as well as new methods to inform this theorizing. We also want to engage in a differentiated discussion on the nature and role of our theorizing in our discipline in order to advance our understanding of Information Systems as a “global gateway.”

 

We seek submissions that are innovative, novel, and significant in terms of advancing our discipline’s ability to theorize phenomena in the global networked society. We place particular emphasis on a submission’s ability to highlight how it helps us as a discipline to better describe, explain, predict, and design these phenomena. The latter requires special considerations. Following the classic work of Simon (1996), artifacts have an inside and outside view and we encourage specific consideration of both. In methodological contributions, we encourage potential authors to elaborate on what in the phenomena we study can now be captured better and how and why the method suggested is able to do that. Authors of methodological pieces are also encouraged to carefully reflect on issues of epistemology in their work. In theoretical pieces, we will look not only for novel ideas, but also for a careful integration with what is known already and how and why the new contribution advances existing nomological nets.

 

 

TOPICS OF INTEREST

 

Conceptual advances in theories for IS research

> New theories on Information Systems as a Global Gateway

> Significant advances or critiques of existing theories (e.g., innovative or substantially improved construct conceptualizations or meaningful extensions through additional constructs)

> Exploration of multi-level aspects extending existing theories

> Integration / synthesis of existing theories

> Detailed application of existing theories to inform design and action (e.g., formal verification, design theories, as well as exploring the interaction between technology artifact and humans)

> Reflections on theories-in-practice and what we can learn from their application

 

Methodological advances in theorizing about IS phenomena

> New or advanced methods for data collection with an emphasis on what kind of data they contribute beyond conventional methods as well as a discussion of how and why this advances our theorizing

> New or refined methods of data analysis (i.e., theorizing, theory building) with an emphasis on a comparison to established approaches and a discussion of how and why they advance our theorizing

> Strategies for inductive theorizing and the building of substantive theories grounded in an IS context

> The interplay of theory and design and how engaged forms of scholarly work help to advance our discipline theoretically

> A constructive critique of existing methods and an identification of impacts on and limits to current theorizing

 

The nature and role of theoretical contributions of IS research

> An analysis of the current state-of-the-art of the discipline’s theorizing

> Reflections on what can be learned from reference disciplines

> Frameworks and typologies for theories and theoretical work in IS

 

Should authors of mainly methodological pieces feel unsure about whether to submit their methods-related paper to the Theory and Theorizing Track (T01) or the Philosophy and Methods Track (T26), please contact the track chairs prior to submission.

 

 

IMPORTANT DATES

 

Opening of Paper Submission System: October 5, 2015

Paper Submission Deadline: November 27, 2015

 

 

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

 

Robert Briggs, San Diego State University, USA

Bendik Bygstad, University of Oslo, Norway

Ulrich Frank, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany

Nik R. Hassan, University of Minnesota Duluth, USA

Dirk Hovorka, Bond University, Australia

Julien Malaurent, ESSEC Business School, France

Sebastian Olbrich, Mercator School of Management, Germany

Jeffrey Parsons, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

Neil Ramiller, Portland State University, USA

Kai Riemer, University of Sydney, Australia

Suzanne Rivard, HEC Montreal, Canada

Christoph Rosenkranz, University of Cologne, Germany

Suprateek Sarker, University of Virginia, Virginia, USA

Carol Saunders, University of Central Florida, Florida, USA

Daniel Schlagwein, The University of New South Wales, Australia

Ulrike Schultze, Southern Methodist University, Texas, USA

Mikko Siponen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Ron Weber, Monash University, Australia

 

Thank you for your interest in advancing theories and theorizing in IS research. We are looking forward to your contributions and seeing you in Istanbul!

 

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Prof. Dr. Nils Urbach

 

Professor of Information Systems

and Strategic IT Management

 

University of Bayreuth

 

Wittelsbacherring 10

95444 Bayreuth
GERMANY

 

Phone +49 921 55-4712

Fax +49 921 55-84-4712

nils.urbach@uni-bayreuth.de

www.sim.uni-bayreuth.de