Hassan, N.R., Lowry, P.B., Mathiassen, L.
Useful Products in Information Systems Theorizing: A Discursive Formation Perspective
(2022) Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 23 (2), pp. 418-446.
DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00730
Abstract
Although there is a growing understanding of theory building in the information systems (IS) field, what constitutes IS theory remains the subject of intense debate. Following Weick’s recommendation to focus on the products of theorizing rather than on what theories are, we assemble and analyze 12 products—question, paradigm, law, framework, myth, analogy, metaphor, model, concept, construct, statement, and hypothesis—that are rarely discussed together in any depth in the IS field and combine them into a coherent theorizing framework. Drawing on Foucault’s thesis of discursive formation we characterize the unique role of each product in IS theorizing and illustrate the usefulness of the framework in relation to both classical IS theorizing in the form of media richness theory as well as next-generation theorizing. © 2022 by the Association for Information Systems.
Author Keywords
Analogy; Concept; Construct; Discursive Formation; Framework; Hypothesis; Information Systems (IS) Theory; Law; Media Richness Theory; Metaphor; Model; Myth; Paradigm; Question; Statement; Theorizing
Index Keywords
Information use; Analogy, Concept, Construct, Discursive formation, Framework, Hypothesis, Information systems theory, Law, Media richness theory, Metaphor, Myth, Paradigm, Question, Statement, Theorizing; Information systems
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