[AISWorld] Last CFP - 5th Concurrent SIGPhil-ICIS Workshop: Between Grand Theories and Scripted Research in IS

[Nik Rushdi Hassan]

Dear Colleagues,

For those considering submitting a paper to the SIG Philosophy's popular
evening workshop at ICIS 2015, the deadline is September 30th (two more
days!).  This year we have an exciting program (below) featuring (in
presentation order) *Profs Suzanne Rivard, Varun Grover, Kalle Lyytinen,
Lynne Markus and Frantz Rowe*, who will be following up last year's theme
on IS theories and theorizing. If you are looking for the latest
developments in the philosophy of IS or your ICIS submission didn't quite
get accepted, or just want to socialize with thought leaders in IS, please
consider attending this workshop and perhaps submitting a paper (paper not
required to attend workshop). Dinner and intelligent conversations
included. Take advantage of early registration discount for the 2-evening
workshop before Oct 21.

*5th Concurrent ICIS-SIGPHIL Workshop: Between Grand Theories and Scripted
Research in IS – The Proverbial Rock and a Hard Place*

In conjunction with the 2015 International Conference of Information
Systems (ICIS), the AIS Special Interest Group on Philosophy in Information
Systems (AIS-SIGPHIL) will hold its 5th Concurrent-ICIS SIGPHIL Research
Workshop during two evenings of the ICIS conference in Fort Worth, Texas,
USA. Although labeled as a workshop, this event provides an opportunity to
attend the ICIS conference and at the same time spend quality time with
thought leaders of the IS community in an informal and friendly environment.
Workshop Presenters and Organizing Committee (in alphabetical order)

Jack Becker, University of North Texas, USA

Varun Grover, Clemson University, USA

Nik Rushdi Hassan, University of Minnesota Duluth, USA

Kalle Lyytinen, Case Western Reserve University, USA

Lynne Markus, Bentley University, USA

Suzanne Rivard, HEC Montréal, Canada

Frantz Rowe, Université de Nantes, France
Program

In a recent *MIS Quarterly* article, Varun Grover and Kalle Lyytinen (2015)
find that 70% of articles in *MIS Quarterly* and *Information Systems
Research* borrow directly from theories of reference disciplines, with
minor or no change in constructs, configurations, or logic. They suggest
that this form of scripted research that domesticate reference discipline
theories into the IS context result in less than original research,
produces an “intellectual landscape … [that is] smooth, with well-trodden
paths and few cliffs, shadows, or uncharted territories”, generates
research that can be boring with little surprises, leaving the reader with
an “uneasy feeling that we do not get into the heart of the matter or the
substantive questions associated with IT-related phenomena” (p. 274). They
propose relaxing institutional norms to allow for research that “push to
the edges” away from what they call “mid-range” theorizing towards either
more data-driven research or blue ocean theorizing. Frantz Rowe (2011) made
a similar call for less scripted papers and greater diversity of genres in
IS research. On the other hand, attempts at deeper theorizing in IS have
been guided predominantly by “grand theories” also mostly from reference
disciplines. Critical theory, structuration theory, practice theory, and
systems theory are but a few examples of grand theories that the IS field
has adopted in its history, with mixed results. Doctoral students are often
persuaded to apply various philosophical approaches such as structuralism,
sociomateriality and critical realism for their research, with little
guidance how to do so. For example, the IS community is still “exploring”
the critical agenda (Cecez-Kecmanovic, Klein, & Brooke, 2008; Myers &
Klein, 2011). Structuration theory was well received (Jones & Karsten, 2008)
and even has an IS-version of it (DeSanctis & Poole, 1994), however, it too
has been put to question (Orlikowski & Scott, 2008). The same can be said
concerning the post-modernist movement, despite some promising
technological theorizing, has only recently captured the attention of the
IS community, and it is still unclear how it will guide IS research (Mitev,
2006).



All of these issues coupled with Shirley Gregor’s (2014) statement at the
SIG Philosophy ICIS Workshop in Auckland that we, the IS community, “do not
understand theorizing” leaves us somewhat between a rock and a hard place.
We know we don’t really need more scripted research. At the same time,
grand theories are not necessarily helping. What is perhaps needed is some
kind of heuristics that are not too abstract as grand theories, and not too
formulaic and sterile as domesticated theories, that will provide enough
guidance. What shape that theoretical discourse, heuristic or mode of
theorizing takes is the key to the practice of theorizing in IS. Should we
be pushing to the edges as Grover and Lyytinen propose? Are they offering a
real shift in and challenge to our paradigm of doing research or is that
just another script? How do we escape the scripted research that most
studies in IS seem to be following and start developing concepts and
theories of our own (Markus & Saunders, 2007)? What principles are useful
to help us critically adapt theories into our field (Truex, Holmström, &
Keil, 2006), or guide us in this endeavor (Rivard, 2014)? Might this
movement open the door to some discussion of when theories should “be
retired” from the journals especially when they’ve reached the diminishing
returns stage some call the “splitting of concepts and their endless
rearrangement.” Or is the problem actually with theories themselves (Holmström
& Truex, 2011) as was debated in last year’s SIG Philosophy workshop at
ICIS in Auckland (Willcocks, Gregor, Hendfridsson, & Chatterjee, 2014). As
Avison and Malaurent (2014) asked in their provocative article about
theory-light research, “when was the last time IS theories excited us?”
This workshop will discuss these questions in a cordial, reflective and
interactive environment. The format of the workshop will be slightly
modified to allow for more discussion and interaction with senior scholars
to encourage serious thinking about the future direction of IS research.



*Sun, Dec 13, 2015, Room: TBA  *

6:00-7:30pm ICIS reception

7:30-7:40pm Introduction

7:40-8:15pm Keynote Presentation by Prof Suzanne Rivard, “Theory building
is neither an art nor a science; it is a craft"

Prof Rivard will present her view of theory building as a craft, which
calls for exerting care and ingenuity, and requires patience and
perseverance.

8:15-9:30pm Panel discussion with panelists Profs. Kalle Lyytinen, Varun
Grover, Lynne Markus and Frantz Rowe

Profs Varun Grover and Kalle Lyytinen will respond with "Creating theory
for IS: Where do we go from here?" They will elaborate on their notion of
“moving to the edges” and data on the type of theorizing that receives the
most citations

Profs Lynne Markus and Frantz Rowe will comment on “Research genres and
causal structure in theorizing”

9:30-10:00pm Q&A Session



*Mon, Dec 14, 2015, Room: TBA *

5:00-7:00pm Dinner [Location TBA]

7:30-8:15pm Second Keynote Presentation

8:15-8:30pm Comments from Panellists and Q&A with audience

8:30-10:00pm Workshop paper reviews

10:00pm Workshop wrap-up


Workshop Paper Reviews

We invite you to submit your philosophy-related works, or works-in-progress
to be reviewed by selected discussants. Papers can be as short as 2 pages
or full-length papers. Full-length papers are more likely to be accepted
for presentations. Papers should be designed to encourage in-depth
discussion during the workshop. Submitting authors will present their
papers and discussants will be selected to discuss each paper. We are
particularly interested in papers that are close to the theme of the
workshop, in particular papers that address theories and theorizing in IS.
However, we welcome all papers on any IS philosophy-related topics. This
workshop also provides an early review for authors interested in submitting
to the European Journal of IS (EJIS) Special Issue on IS Philosophy (
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ejis/special_issues.html) and to the
Advancing Theories and Theorizing track at the ECIS 2016 Conference in
Istanbul (http://www.ecis2016.eu/files/downloads/Tracks/T01.pdf). Doctoral
students and junior faculty members are especially encouraged to submit
their research. Student papers will be given special consideration. The
SIGPhil can provide written confirmation for authors needing support for
conference travel. Submit all papers to the EasyChair conference site
*https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=icissigphil2015
<https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=icissigphil2015>* before September
30th, 2015.



*Important Information and dates:*

Register for ICIS Conference and workshop as early as possible

Workshop Registration Fee: Early registration $60/Regular $80 includes one
dinner

Submission deadline *https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=icissigphil2015
<https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=icissigphil2015>* for workshop
papers: September 30th, 2015

Decision on papers: October 15th, 2015

Discussant for paper appointed: TBD

SIGPhil Home Page: http://sigphil.wordpress.com
References

Avison, D., & Malaurent, J. (2014). Is theory king?: Questioning the theory
fetish in information systems. *Journal of Information Technology, 29*(4),
327-336.

Cecez-Kecmanovic, D., Klein, H. K., & Brooke, C. (2008). Editorial:
Exploring the critical agenda in information systems research. *Information
Systems Journal, 18*(2), 123-135.

DeSanctis, G., & Poole, M. S. (1994). Capturing the complexity in advanced
technology use - adaptive structuration theory. *Organization Science, 5*(2),
121-147.

Gregor, S. (2014). Theory – Still king but needing a revolution! *Journal
of Information Technology, 29*(4), 337-340.

Grover, V., & Lyytinen, K. (2015). New State of Play in Information Systems
Research: The Push to the Edges. *MIS Quarterly, 39*(2), 271-296.

Holmström, J., & Truex, D. (2011). Dropping Your Tools: Exploring When and
How Theories Can Serve as Blinders in IS Research. *Communications of the
Association for Information Systems, 28*(Art 19), 283-294.

Jones, M., & Karsten, H. (2008). Giddens's structuration theory and
information systems research. *MIS Quarterly, 32*(1), 127-157.

Markus, M. L., & Saunders, C. S. (2007). Editorial Comments: Looking for a
Few Good Concepts...and Theories...for the Information Systems Field. *MIS
Quarterly, 31*(1), iii-vi.

Mitev, N. N. (2006). Postmodernism and Criticality in Information Systems
Research: What Critical Management Studies Can Contribute. *Social Science
Computer Review, 24*(4), 310-325.

Myers, M. D., & Klein, H. K. (2011). A set of principles for conducting
critical research in information systems. *MIS Quarterly, 35*(1), 17-36.

Orlikowski, W. J., & Scott, S. V. (2008). Sociomateriality: Challenging the
separation of technology, work and organization. *The Academy of Management
Annals, 2*(1), 433-474.

Rivard, S. (2014). Editor's comments: The ions of theory construction. *MIS
Quarterly, 38*(2), iii-xiii.

Truex, D. P., Holmström, J., & Keil, M. (2006). Theorizing in Information
Systems Research: A Reflexive Analysis of the Adaptation of Theory in
Information Systems Research. *Journal of the AIS, 7*(12), 797-821.

Willcocks, L., Gregor, S., Hendfridsson, O., & Chatterjee, S. (2014). *Panel
on 'Is theory king? Questioning the theory fetish in information systems.'.*
Paper presented at the Special Interest Group on Philosophy and
Epistemology in IS (SIGPHIL) Workshop on IS Theory: Whence Cometh, Whither
Goeth?, Auckland, NZ, Dec 14-15.

-- 
Nik Rushdi Hassan, PhD
Assoc. Professor, Finance & MIS Dept.
Labovitz School of Business and Economics
University of Minnesota Duluth
1318 Kirby Drive, LSBE 335Q
Duluth MN 55812
Office Phone: (218) 726-7453
Fax: (218) 726-7516
Home Page: www.d.umn.edu/~nhassan
Email: nhassan at d.umn.edu
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nikrushdi/