TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding the dominance and advocacy of the design-oriented research approach in the business informatics community: A history-based examination
AU - Heinrich, Lutz J.
AU - Riedl, René
N1 - Funding Information:
Five autobiographies include explicit discussions about research projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology or the German Research Foundation. Almost all of the mentioned projects are development projects, for which the outcome was the development of prototype software systems, as exemplified in the following statement: The apparent achievements of BI research were based on a construction-oriented approach. The above-mentioned program of the German Research Foundation in the period from 1985 to 1990 [Interactive Corporate Information and Controlling Systems] was characterized by modeling, development, and software prototype construction projects. In my view, the majority of BI scholars working today remain construction-oriented in their approach. (Autobiography 8, p. 122) Thus, the explicit goal was the design and implementation of IT artefacts, and not theory development and testing, respectively. Most autobiographies do not contain discussions about specific themes addressed in the projects. However, six informants mentioned topics, particularly query-reply systems, executive IS, and computer integrated manufacturing. Basic research, as a significant and enduring source of technological innovation, is not mentioned in any of the autobiographies. Two informants discussed the tendency of BI to dwell on recent topics, so-called fads (Mertens, 1995; Steininger et al., 2009). Such a focus may negatively affect a cumulative research tradition, as well as direct comparisons of research quality, as is effectively exemplified in the following remark: In fact, a strategy could be observed which aimed at the establishment of local and small research domains and publication markets that are virtually unconnected, thereby impeding national and global quality comparisons in a putative intelligent way. (Autobiography 6, p. 101) Also, it is discussed that BI should continuously scrutinize its core areas in research and development, thereby identifying promising new areas of enquiry. One informant, however, indicated that despite the large variety of possible topics, the fundamental question in BI is how IT systems can be effectively and efficiently designed, implemented, used, maintained, and renewed.
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - The objective of this article is to explain the dominance and advocacy of the design-oriented research approach in Wirtschaftsinformatik (Business Informatics or BI), one of the major Information Systems (IS) communities. To this end, we employed a research approach based on autobiographical material. Sixteen well-known BI scholars served as informants, and provided career autobiographies in which they document their perceptions and observations regarding the genesis and development of BI. The average age of this sample of contemporary witnesses is 70 years, signifying a rich body of experience. Based on an interpretive analysis of the data, we find that the design of IS is deeply rooted in BI's history, and our results also show that there have always been close relationships with practice. As a consequence, we conclude that the success of BI as an academic community is inseparably associated with systems design, implementation, and engineering. Against this background, we argue that it is unlikely that BI will weaken its design orientation in the future, although external forces signify a shift to a more behaviouristic research approach. In order to balance the internal strength of the community and the external forces, we suggest a 'theory-driven design approach' as a viable strategy for the future orientation of the community.
AB - The objective of this article is to explain the dominance and advocacy of the design-oriented research approach in Wirtschaftsinformatik (Business Informatics or BI), one of the major Information Systems (IS) communities. To this end, we employed a research approach based on autobiographical material. Sixteen well-known BI scholars served as informants, and provided career autobiographies in which they document their perceptions and observations regarding the genesis and development of BI. The average age of this sample of contemporary witnesses is 70 years, signifying a rich body of experience. Based on an interpretive analysis of the data, we find that the design of IS is deeply rooted in BI's history, and our results also show that there have always been close relationships with practice. As a consequence, we conclude that the success of BI as an academic community is inseparably associated with systems design, implementation, and engineering. Against this background, we argue that it is unlikely that BI will weaken its design orientation in the future, although external forces signify a shift to a more behaviouristic research approach. In order to balance the internal strength of the community and the external forces, we suggest a 'theory-driven design approach' as a viable strategy for the future orientation of the community.
KW - Wirtschaftsinformatik
KW - autobiography
KW - business informatics
KW - design-oriented research approach
KW - history
KW - information systems
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875187619&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1057/jit.2013.1
DO - 10.1057/jit.2013.1
M3 - Article
SN - 0268-3962
VL - 28
SP - 34
EP - 49
JO - Journal of Information Technology
JF - Journal of Information Technology
IS - 1
ER -