Intellectual Diversity in IS Research: Discipline-Based Conceptualization and an Illustration from Information Systems Research

Abstract

This paper advances the understanding of the information systems (IS) discipline by developing a multidimensional conceptualization of the discipline’s intellectual diversity and applying it to information systems research (ISR). It provides an empirical analysis of the intellectual diversity exhibited by the full set of ISR articles published in over the last 10 years. We categorize IS intellectual diversity into four intellectual dimensions of IS research—namely, domain topic, level of phenomenon, type of contribution, and method—and highlight differences along these dimensions. We use our framework to describe the ebb and flow of the topics, methods, and contributions of IS scholarship that appears in ISR during 2012–2021. Our analysis shows a preponderance of econometric and modeling studies. It also shows that there is a substantial variety of topics, research questions, and methods. Based on these conceptual and empirical insights, we identify implications for intellectual diversity and inclusion in the broader IS discipline.