[AISWorld] Invitation to get involved with the Theories and Products of Theorizing (T-PoT) World Tour

[Nik Rushdi Hassan]

Dear colleagues

The SIG Philosophy of Information Systems (SIGPhil) is pleased to announce
the Theories and Products of Theorizing (T-PoT) World Tour that will begin
this Fall starting with a European tour in October and a Southeast Asian
and Australasian tour to coincide with the ICIS Conference in Bangkok in
November and December. The North American tour will be conducted in Spring
2025. The goal of the SIGPhil T-PoT World Tour is to raise the level of
discourse surrounding the single most challenging topic in the IS field: IS
Theory. Despite the compelling progress in that area (Burton-Jones et al.
2021; Gregor 2006; Gregor and Jones 2007; Rivard 2021; Weber 2012), the
status of theory itself was put to debate (Avison and Malaurent 2014; Lee
2014; Markus 2014) so much so that Grover et al., (2008, p. 41) highlighted
how the topic of theory appears to an aspiring student of IS “like
attempting to cross an ocean when one has barely learned to swim.”
Hirschheim (2019) wrote “Against Theory” and the field’s unhealthy
obsession with it, while several senior IS scholars rebutted his
suppositions (Hovorka et al. 2019). In the end, Grover and Lyytinen (2023,
p. 46) submit that “the community appears to strongly share a view that its
current modus operandi in theory building is unsatisfactory.”

Following a suggestion from Dorothy Leidner, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal
of the AIS, Frantz Rowe and M. Lynne Markus started working on a special
issue in the JAIS entitled “Envisioning Digital Transformation: Advancing
Theoretical Diversity” (Markus and Rowe 2021). That special issue (Rowe and
Markus 2023) was the result of a long-drawn effort since 2020 for the IS
community to formulate “theoretical statements that account for” specific
IS phenomena, in other words, something that resembles theory rather than
theory building or perspectives. In several JAIS editorials, they described
the challenges they faced in guiding prospective authors to submit what
they were looking for (Markus and Rowe 2021; Markus and Rowe 2023). JAIS
established a new section called “Theory” and explained the need for more
work (Leidner and Gregory 2024). Clearly, the issue surrounding IS theory
remains a major problem.

The T-PoT World Tour features a series of workshops that will address the
following questions:

1.     Why is the topic of theory and theorizing the single most
challenging topic in the IS field? Why do IS researchers call TAM and the
IS Success Model theories when their authors call them models?

2.     Why can’t we agree on whether we have native IS theories or not?

3.     Are models theories? Or do they differ?

4.     Are frameworks theories? Why do IS researchers often refer to models
as frameworks?

5.     If models and frameworks are not the same as theories, then what is
a theory? What does a native IS theory look like? How do we know if we have
one?

6.     What is the role of theory in research? When exactly do theories
enter the picture?

7.     If the IS field is a professional field, where does theory play a
role in professionalism?

The Journal of Information Technology Special Issue on Products of
Theorizing, a JAIS editorial and the two volumes with Springer (Hassan et
al. 2022; Hassan et al. 2023; Hassan and Willcocks 2021; Willcocks et al.
2023) addressed a few of these questions but did not answer the question on
the nature of theory itself. Drawing from great scholars and theorists
throughout history since Aristotle to answer these questions, the T-PoT
World Tour seeks to re-address that question and resolve these issues. Here
are some comments from faculty and PhD students who were introduced to this
new discourse on IS theory at the recent AMCIS 2024 Conference:

“I found it very helpful that you clearly distinguished the differences
between a model and a theory … particularly useful for framing the context
of our work in theoretical terms” ~ Michael Curry, faculty, Oregon State
University.

“Your approach was simple and effective … being able to distinguish between
Theory vs Models is so critically important … Honestly, a brief encounter
but so influential and delightful … do you see the gears in my head
turning?” ~ Sam Sena, PhD student, ESCP Business School, France.

“We base our knowledge on different assumptions on how knowledge is created
… learning about these IS foundations create a bridge to my formal
background in psychology!” ~ Dorthea Vatn, PhD student, NTNU, Norway,
working on explainable AI.

"You nailed the unexamined issue as soon as I roughly described the model
and then put a box around it and asked: What question is the model
addressing and who is asking the question? Those questions should be
addressed by the theory you said. That blew me away. I thought, "He is
right, there should be a theory. I have not seen a theory referenced, at
all! That explains a lot!" ~ Bill Bonner, faculty, Canada.

“How you framed research with Kuhn’s work then added Foucault pretty much
blew my mind … science is not like … add[ing] bricks to the pile below in a
clean process of ‘building knowledge.’ Instead, occasionally something new
is discovered that requires the toppling of what came before to make room
for something new … following a well-worn path, though potentially
productive, may not be the best way to learn as a scholar” ~ Margaret
Barbieri, PhD Student, University of Manchester, UK.

“Why wasn’t I taught these things?” ~ PhD Student, Canada.

The T-PoT World Tour in the fall will end with a SIGPhil workshop featuring
a debate/dialogue by Fred Niederman, Rudy Hirschheim, Frantz Rowe and Nik
Hassan that will address these issues (the official announcement will
follow once the lineup of panelists is finalized).

Although the European tour is finalized, there is space for workshops in
the Southeast Asian and Australasian tour as well as the North American
tour in 2025. Institutions interested in filling the itinerary for this
world tour can contact Nik Hassan (nhassan at d.umn.edu) or the SIGPhil.
Regional or local flights and lodging are all that’s required. Here’s the
tentative schedule (*confirmed, ? not confirmed, Available – slots still
available for visit). The final schedule with locations and times will be
sent out soon for those interested in attending.


Europe Fall 2024

Oct 2-3 Ireland (U. Galway)*

Oct 7-8 UK (U. Leicester)*

Oct 9-10 Norway (U. Oslo)*

Oct 11 Sweden (Uppsala U.)*

Oct 14-15 Germany (U. Paderborn)*



South East Asia/Australasia

Nov 14-15 Singapore?

Nov 18-25 Available

Nov 26 Australia?

Nov 27 Australia (Macquarie U.)*

Nov 28-29 Available

Dec 3-6 At ACIS Canberra, SIG Philosophy Workshop

Dec 9-13 Available

Dec 15-18 ICIS Bangkok, SIG Philosophy Workshop on Monday, Dec 16



North America Spring 2025

April 4 Canada (HEC Montreal)?



Don’t hesitate to contact me at nhassan at d.umn.edu if you’d like to fit a
visit into the schedule or have any questions.

Sincerely

Nik, President-Elect, SIG Philosophy



References

Avison, D., and Malaurent, J. 2014. "Is Theory King?: Questioning the
Theory Fetish in Information Systems," *Journal of Information Technology*
(29:4) pp. 327-336.

Burton-Jones, A., Butler, B.S., Scott, S.V., and Xu, S.X. 2021.
"Next-Generation Information Systems Theorizing: A Call to Action," *MIS
Quarterly* (45:1) pp. 301-314.

Gregor, S. 2006. "The Nature of Theory in Information Systems," *MIS
Quarterly* (30:3) pp. 611-642.

Gregor, S., and Jones, D. 2007. "The Anatomy of a Design Theory," *Journal
of the AIS* (8:5) pp. 312-335.

Grover, V., and Lyytinen, K. 2023. "The Pursuit of Innovative Theory in the
Digital Age," *Journal of Information Technology* (38:1) pp. 45-59.

Grover, V., Lyytinen, K., Srinivasan, A., and Tan, B.C.Y. 2008.
"Contributing to Rigorous and Forward Thinking Explanatory Theory," *Journal
of the AIS* (9:2) pp. 40-47.

Hassan, N.R., Lowry, P.B., and Mathiassen, L. 2022. "Editorial-Useful
Products in Information Systems Theorizing: A Discursive Formation
Perspective," *Journal of the Association for Information Systems* (23:2)
pp. 418-446.

Hassan, N.R., Rivard, S., Schultze, U., and Willcocks, L. 2023. "Products
of Theorizing—Towards Native Theories of Emerging Information
Technologies," *Journal of Information Technology* (38:4) pp. 372–381.

Hassan, N.R., and Willcocks, L.P. (eds.). 2021. *Advancing Information
System Theories Volume I: Rationale and Processes*. London: Palgrave
Macmillan.

Hirschheim, R. 2019. "Against Theory: With Apologies to Feyerabend," *Journal
of the Association for Information Systems* (20:9) pp. 1340-1357.

Hovorka, D.S., Rowe, F., Markus, M.L., Jarvenpaa, S.L., Swanson, E.B.,
Lacity, M., Burton-Jones, A., Venkatesh, V., and Hirschheim, R. 2019.
"Scholarly Commentaries on Hirschheim’s ‘against Theory’," *Journal of the
Association for Information Systems* (20:9) pp. 1358-1389.

Lee, A.S. 2014. "Theory Is King? But First, What Is Theory?," *Journal of
Information Technology* (29:4) pp. 350-352.

Leidner, D.E., and Gregory, R.W. 2024. "About Theory and Theorizing," *Journal
of the Association for Information Systems* (25:3) pp. 501-521.

Markus, M.L. 2014. "Maybe Not the King, but an Invaluable Subordinate: A
Commentary on Avison and Malaurent’s Advocacy of ‘Theory Light’ IS
Research," *Journal of Information Technology* (29:4) pp. 341-345.

Markus, M.L., and Rowe, F. 2021. "Guest Editorial: Theories of Digital
Transformation: A Progress Report," *Journal of the Association for
Information Systems* (22:2) pp. 273-280.

Markus, M.L., and Rowe, F. 2023. "The Digital Transformation Conundrum:
Labels, Definitions, Phenomena, and Theories," *Journal of the Association
for Information Systems* (24:2) pp. 328-335.

Rivard, S. 2021. "Theory Building Is Neither an Art nor a Science. It Is a
Craft," *Journal of Information Technology* (36:3) pp. 316 –328.

Rowe, F., and Markus, M.L. 2023. "Envisioning Digital Transformation:
Advancing Theoretical Diversity," *Journal of the Association for
Information Systems* (24:6) pp. 1459-1478.

Weber, R. 2012. "Evaluating and Developing Theories in the Information
Systems Discipline," *Journal of the AIS* (13:1) pp. 1-30.

Willcocks, L., Hassan, N.R., and Rivard, S. (eds.). 2023. *Advancing
Information Systems Theories Volume II: Products and Digitalisation*.
London: Palgrave Macmillan.

-- 
Nik Rushdi Hassan, Professor of MIS and Business Analytics
Labovitz School of Business and Economics
University of Minnesota Duluth
1318 Kirby Drive, LSBE 365P
Duluth MN 55812
Office Phone: (218) 726-7453
Fax: (218) 726-7578
Home Page: www.d.umn.edu/~nhassan
Email: nhassan at d.umn.edu
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nikrushdi/