Nurturing a thriving information systems discipline: A call to action

Abstract

While the aspiration for the IS discipline`s bright future is a shared objective, there is a controversy about what are the fundamental challenges ahead let alone how to approach them. This panel addresses the question of what should we do to nurture a thriving IS discipline? Opinions regarding how to solidify the position of the IS discipline can be classified into five interrelated clusters: research-oriented approaches, teaching-oriented approaches, practice-oriented approaches, scholarship-oriented approaches, and organization-oriented approaches. Building on crowdsourcing within the IS community to inform a panel of senior scholars, we will engage in a debate about possible approaches to nurture and invigorate the IS discipline in the coming decade. Overall, we aim to inspire and spark grassroots-based collective action in pursuit of thriving IS scholarship. At minimum, we hope to stimulate new insights about the desired and possible futures of the IS discipline, and the instrumental steps to realize them. © (2011) by the AIS/ICIS Administrative Office All rights reserved.