[AISWorld] 10th Concurrent SIGPHIL at ICIS Workshop on “From Tinkering with Models to Engaging with Theory,” Monday, December 16, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand

[Nik Rushdi Hassan]

Dear colleagues,
If you are attending ICIS in Bangkok this year, don't forget to attend the SIG
Philosophy workshop on “From Tinkering with Models to Engaging with Theory"
<https://sigphil.wordpress.com/10th-concurrent-sigphilicis-workshop-on-from-tinkering-with-models-to-engaging-with-theory-monday-december-16-2024-in-bangkok-thailand/>
to get answers to probably the most challenging question in the IS field:
What is theory and how do we know if we have one? The SIGPHIL at ICIS workshop
is a friendly environment where the community can hear from thought leaders
and listen to real behind-the-scenes stories on the latest topics in the
field. This year, the workshop features Rudy Hirschheim, Dorothy Leidner,
Fred Niederman, Ojelanki Ngwenyama, Frantz Rowe and myself discuss, among
others, why the topic of theory and theorizing remains the single most
confusing topic in the field and why different terms such as models and
frameworks are used to refer to theory, and why that matters. The workshop
is the culminating event of a series of workshops to be held throughout the
world in the Theories and Products of Theorizing (T-PoT) World Tour.
<https://sigphil.wordpress.com/the-theories-and-products-of-theorizing-t-pot-world-tour/>

Because the workshop is held in the evening at ICIS, you will still be able
to attend it if you are attending any pre-ICIS programs and of course, you
can always attend the workshop even if you are not attending the main ICIS
conference. If you have already registered for ICIS, go to <
https://icis2024.aisconferences.org/register/>, add the workshop to the
registration by clicking on Register and clicking on “Modify an existing
registration”, click “Attendee Selections” tab and under Ancillary Meetings
& Workshops Monday events, select SIG PHIL workshop.
Don't hesitate to email me directly at nhassan at d.umn.edu if you have any
questions.

See you there!
Nik
10th Concurrent SIGPHIL at ICIS Workshop on “From Tinkering with Models to
Engaging with Theory,” Monday, December 16, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand

In conjunction with the 2024 International Conference of Information
Systems (ICIS), the AIS Special Interest Group on Philosophy in Information
Systems (AIS-SIGPHIL) will hold its 10th Concurrent SIGPHIL at ICIS Research
Workshop on Monday, December 16, 2024 between 7-10pm (location TBD). This
workshop provides an excellent opportunity to spend quality time with
thought leaders of the IS community in an informal and friendly
environment, discussing  issues that are close to their hearts.
Workshop Presenters, Organizing Committee and Contributors (in alphabetical
order)

Nik Rushdi Hassan, University of Minnesota Duluth, USA

Rudy Hirschheim, Louisiana State University, USA

Dorothy Leidner, University of Virginia, USA

Ojelanki Ngwenyama, Ryerson University, Canada

Fred Niederman, St. Louis University, USA

Frantz Rowe, University of Nantes, France
Workshop Theme

Without hyperbole, theory is the single most confusing topic in the IS
field. Grover et al (2008, p. 41) note that theory appears to an aspiring
student of IS “like attempting to cross an ocean when one has barely
learned to swim.” In 2012, the then Editor-in-Chief of *MIS Quarterly*,
Prof. Detmar Straub (2012), published an editorial on “Does MIS Have Native
Theories?” In that article, Prof. Straub passionately made his case that
the IS field’s practice of borrowing from other disciplines without
creating its own, and the “no native theories” assertion circulating at the
time, were both “urban” journal myths. Prof. Straub listed and described
several theories that he considered to be native IS theories including TAM
and its variants, Media Richness Theory, Media Synchronicity Theory, the
Information Success Model and Adaptive Structuration Theory, to quote a
few. The SIGPhil invited Prof. Straub to present his arguments at the 2nd
SIGPHIL at ICIS workshop that year. A panel of senior scholars consisting of
Professors Ron Weber, Kalle Lyytinen and Varun Grover responded to Prof.
Straub’s arguments with the overwhelming conclusion, that except for a
small number, most of the so-called “theories” are not native to IS. Avison
and Malaurent’s (2014) critique of the IS field’s “theory fetish” placed
the value of theory into question, while rejoinders (Gregor 2014; Lee 2014;
Markus 2014) rebutted their claim in the Journal of Information Theory
Special Issue, defend the “kingly” status of theory. In that same year, the
SIGPhil invited all of them to defend their arguments. After a lively
debate, Prof. Avison admitted that his article was really meant as a
provocateur rather than to question the value of theory itself.

The following year, Grover and Lyytinen (2015) expanded on their response
at the workshop with an MIS Quarterly article that found over 70% of the
143 articles in MIS Quarterly and Information Systems Research they
analyzed applied a well-trodden research script that borrows from abstract
reference discipline theories and fitting into the IS context with little
modification. Hirschheim (2019) wrote “Against Theory” which several senior
scholars, though agreeing with most of Hirschheim’s points, disagreed also
with many (Hovorka et al. 2019). At the same time, two independent efforts
were being worked on to address these issues: Prof. Andrew Burton-Jones et
al (2021) published a Special Issue on Next Generation Theorizing in the
MIS Quarterly defending the even more critical need for better theories
with recent development in technology overtaking the IS field. At the same
time, the Editor-in-Chief of JAIS, Dorothy Leidner requested Profs M. Lynne
Markus and Frantz Rowe to work on a JAIS special issue (Markus and Rowe
2021; Markus and Rowe 2023) to showcase the diverse potential of IS theory,
the experience of which they discovered, was not as smooth as they
expected. JAIS also established a new section titled “Theory” to encourage
more theory work in the IS community (Leidner and Gregory 2024). Despite
the classic works in the IS field on the nature of theory (Gregor 2006) and
how it can be evaluated (Weber 2012), and the many special issues dedicated
to it, it appears its nature is still unclear (Niederman 2021). All of
these debates and provocations did little to resolve the status of theory
as Grover and Lyytinen (2023, p. 46) wrote “overall, the community appears
to strongly share a view that its current modus operandi in theory building
is unsatisfactory”

It is against this background that the SIGPHIL at ICIS workshop this year
seeks to bring together the community to engage with the thought leaders of
the field to raise the level of discourse on theory and theorizing (Hassan
et al. 2022; Hassan et al. 2019; Rivard 2021). The workshop is a
culmination of a series of workshops held around the world called the
Theories and Products of Theorizing (T-PoT) World Tour. In Fall 2024, the
tour traveled to ten countries conducting over 12 workshops to answer the
following questions:

1.     Why is the topic of theory and theorizing the single most confusing
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? If they differ, what are some implications to
the IS field?

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

5.     What is a theory and what does a native IS theory look like? How do
we create native IS theories and how do we know if we have one?

6.     When exactly do theories enter the picture in research?

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

The workshop will be organized in the form of a dialogue or debate
surrounding the status of theory in the IS field and answering at least
some of the questions posed above. The first session will kick off the
workshop with several provocative assertions that will be discussed by the
first three panelists. The second workshop will feature three senior
scholars who will share their thoughts on how some of these issues may be
addressed.
Program [Location to TBD]

7:00-7:05pm Welcome by the Chair of the workshop (to be determined)

7:05-8:05pm Dialogue/Debate with panelists Prof. Nik Hassan, Fred Niederman
and Rudy Hirschheim on
“Are we really engaging with theories in the IS field?”

8:05-8:30pm Q & A and dialogue with audience

8:30-8:40pm Coffee Break

8:40-9:40pm Panel responding to the first session with panelists Dorothy
Leidner, Frantz Rowe and Ojelanki Ngwenyama.

9:40-10:00pm Q&A and dialogue with audience

10:00pm Conclude workshop
Registration

How: Please register via the ICIS registration website.<
https://icis2024.aisconferences.org/register/> Our workshop this year is an
in-person event and can be added to your ICIS registration or as a
stand-alone attendee. If you’re already registered for the main conference,
add the workshop to the registration by clicking on Register and clicking
on “Modify an existing registration”, click “Attendee Selections” tab and
under Ancillary Meetings & Workshops Monday events, select SIG PHIL
workshop.
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. 2014. "Theory – Still King but Needing a Revolution!," *Journal
of Information Technology* (29:4) pp. 337-340.

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

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., Mathiassen, L., and Lowry, P.B. 2019. "The Process of
Information Systems Theorizing as a Discursive Practice," *Journal of
Information Technology* (34:3) pp. 198–220.

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.

Niederman, F. 2021. "A Minimalist View of Theory: Why This Promises
Advancement for the IS Discipline," *Data Base* (52:4) pp. 119-130.

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.

Straub, D. 2012. "Editorial: Does MIS Have Native Theories," *MIS Quarterly*
(36:2) pp. iii-xii.

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

-- 
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/