Introduction to the Special Issue: The Literature Review in Information Systems
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paper_title: 10 Sociomateriality: Challenging the Separation of Technology, Work and Organization

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Abstract We begin by juxtaposing the pervasive presence of technology in organizational work with its absence from the organization studies literature. Our analysis of four leading journals in the field confirms that over 95% of the articles published in top management research outlets do not take into account the role of technology in organizational life. We then examine the research that has been done on technology, and categorize this literature into two research streams according to their view of technology: discrete entities or mutually dependent ensembles. For each stream, we discuss three existing reviews spanning the last three decades of scholarship to highlight that while there have been many studies and approaches to studying organizational interactions and implications of technology, empirical research has produced mixed and often‐conflicting results. Going forward, we suggest that further work is needed to theorize the fusion of technology and work in organizations, and that additional perspe...
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paper_title: Construct measurement and validation procedures in MIS and behavioral research: integrating new and existing techniques

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Despite the fact that validating the measures of constructs is critical to building cumulative knowledge in MIS and the behavioral sciences, the process of scale development and validation continues to be a challenging activity. Undoubtedly, part of the problem is that many of the scale development procedures advocated in the literature are limited by the fact that they (1) fail to adequately discuss how to develop appropriate conceptual definitions of the focal construct, (2) often fail to properly specify the measurement model that relates the latent construct to its indicators, and (3) underutilize techniques that provide evidence that the set of items used to represent the focal construct actually measures what it purports to measure. Therefore, the purpose of the present paper is to integrate new and existing techniques into a comprehensive set of recommendations that can be used to give researchers in MIS and the behavioral sciences a framework for developing valid measures. First, we briefly elaborate upon some of the limitations of current scale development practices. Following this, we discuss each of the steps in the scale development process while paying particular attention to the differences that are required when one is attempting to develop scales for constructs with formative indicators as opposed to constructs with reflective indicators. Finally, we discuss several things that should be done after the initial development of a scale to examine its generalizability and to enhance its usefulness.
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paper_title: Synthesizing information systems knowledge: A typology of literature reviews

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Abstract In this article we develop a typology of review types and provide a descriptive insight into the most common reviews found in top IS journals. Our assessment reveals that the number of IS reviews has increased over the years. The majority of the 139 reviews are theoretical in nature, followed by narrative reviews, meta-analyses, descriptive reviews, hybrid reviews, critical reviews, and scoping reviews. Considering the calls for IS research to develop a cumulative tradition, we hope more review articles will be published in the future and encourage researchers who start a review to use our typology to position their contribution.
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paper_title: Critical Discourse Analysis as a Review Methodology: An Empirical Example

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Research disciplines and subdisciplines are steeped in epistemological beliefs and theoretical assumptions that guide and constrain research. These beliefs and assumptions both enable scientific inquiry and limit scientific progress. Theory and review papers tend to be a means for reproducing ideological assumptions. However, review papers can also challenge ideological assumptions by critically assessing taken-for-granted assumptions. Critical review methods are underdeveloped in the management disciplines. The information systems (IS) discipline must do more to improve the critical examination of its scientific discourse. In this paper, we present a method with guiding principles and steps for systematically conducting critical reviews of IS literature based on Habermasian strains of critical discourse analysis. We provide an empirical example of the method. The empirical example offers a critical review of behavioral information security research with a focus on employees’ security behaviors.
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paper_title: Design science in information systems research

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A silver halide photographic material which contains at least one blocked photographic reagent having in the molecule thereof at least one structure and capable of releasing a photogrpahically useful reagent by cleavage of the bond by a nucleophilic attack of a nucleophilic reagent on the structure and a subsequent intramolecular electron transfer reaction or an intramolecular nucleophilic reaction and which has at least one photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer. There is provided a photogrphic material which includes, in combination, a photographic reagent precursor capable of releasing a photographically useful reagent timely on photographic processing and a photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer.
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paper_title: Efficacy of the Theory of Planned Behaviour: A meta-analytic review

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The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) has received considerable attention in the literature. The present study is a quantitative integration and review of that research. From a database of 185 independent studies published up to the end of 1997, the TPB accounted for 27% and 39% of the variance in behaviour and intention, respectively. The perceived behavioural control (PBC) construct accounted for significant amounts of variance in intention and behaviour, independent of theory of reasoned action variables. When behaviour measures were self-reports, the TPB accounted for 11% more of the variance in behaviour than when behaviour measures were objective or observed (R2s = .31 and .21, respectively). Attitude, subjective norm and PBC account for significantly more of the variance in individuals' desires than intentions or self-predictions, but intentions and self-predictions were better predictors of behaviour. The subjective norm construct is generally found to be a weak predictor of intentions. This is partly attributable to a combination of poor measurement and the need for expansion of the normative component. The discussion focuses on ways in which current TPB research can be taken forward in the light of the present review.
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paper_title: Storylines of research in diffusion of innovation: a meta-narrative approach to systematic review

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Producing literature reviews of complex evidence for policymaking questions is a challenging methodological area. There are several established and emerging approaches to such reviews, but unanswered questions remain, especially around how to begin to make sense of large data sets drawn from heterogeneous sources. ::: ::: Drawing on Kuhn's notion of scientific paradigms, we developed a new method—meta-narrative review—for sorting and interpreting the 1024 sources identified in our exploratory searches. We took as our initial unit of analysis the unfolding ‘storyline’ of a research tradition over time. We mapped these storylines by using both electronic and manual tracking to trace the influence of seminal theoretical and empirical work on subsequent research within a tradition. We then drew variously on the different storylines to build up a rich picture of our field of study. We identified 13 key meta-narratives from literatures as disparate as rural sociology, clinical epidemiology, marketing and organisational studies. Researchers in different traditions had conceptualised, explained and investigated diffusion of innovations differently and had used different criteria for judging the quality of empirical work. Moreover, they told very different over-arching stories of the progress of their research. Within each tradition, accounts of research depicted human characters emplotted in a story of (in the early stages) pioneering endeavour and (later) systematic puzzle-solving, variously embellished with scientific dramas, surprises and ‘twists in the plot’. By first separating out, and then drawing together, these different meta-narratives, we produced a synthesis that embraced the many complexities and ambiguities of ‘diffusion of innovations’ in an organisational setting. We were able to make sense of seemingly contradictory data by systematically exposing and exploring tensions between research paradigms as set out in their over-arching storylines. In some traditions, scientific revolutions were identifiable in which breakaway researchers had abandoned the prevailing paradigm and introduced a new set of concepts, theories and empirical methods. We concluded that meta-narrative review adds value to the synthesis of heterogeneous bodies of literature, in which different groups of scientists have conceptualised and investigated the ‘same’ problem in different ways and produced seemingly contradictory findings. Its contribution to the mixed economy of methods for the systematic review of complex evidence should be explored further.
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paper_title: Using Grounded Theory as a Method for Rigorously Reviewing Literature

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This paper offers guidance to conducting a rigorous literature review. We present this in the form of a five-stage process in which we use Grounded Theory as a method. We first probe the guidelines explicated by Webster and Watson, and then we show the added value of Grounded Theory for rigorously analyzing a carefully chosen set of studies; it assures solidly legitimized, in-depth analyses of empirical facts and related insights. This includes, the emergence of new themes, issues and opportunities; interrelationships and dependencies in or beyond a particular area; as well as inconsistencies. If carried out meticulously, reviewing a well-carved out piece of literature by following this guide is likely to lead to more integrated and fruitful theory emergence, something that would enrich many fields in the social sciences.
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paper_title: Bayesian Structural Equation Models for Cumulative Theory Building in Information Systems―A Brief Tutorial Using BUGS and R

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Structural equation models (SEM) are frequently used in information systems (IS) to analyze and test theoretical propositions. As IS researchers frequently reuse measurement instruments and adapt or extend theories, they frequently re-estimate regression relationships in their SEM that have been examined in previous studies. We advocate the use of Bayesian estimation of structural equation models as an aid to cumulative theory building; Bayesian statistics offer a statistically sound way to incorporate prior knowledge into SEM estimation, allowing researchers to keep a “running tally” of the best estimates of model parameters. ::: ::: This tutorial on the application of Bayesian principles to SEM estimation discusses when and why the use of Bayesian estimation should be considered by IS researchers, presents an illustrative example using best practices, and makes recommendations to guide IS researchers in the application of Bayesian SEM.
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paper_title: BEYOND THE ‘MYTHICAL CENTRE’: AN AFFIRMATIVE POST-MODERN VIEW OF SERVQUAL RESEARCH IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS

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Conventional approaches to literature reviews tend to perform a meta-analysis of previous literature, based on a modernist, normal science paradigm. These reviews typically seek a ‘mythical centre’ based on synthesis and consensus. This is not always appropriate for research areas that have been characterised by heterogeneous and inconsistent studies. In this paper, we examine the discourse associated with SERVQUAL research in information systems and electronic commerce. We identify seven distinct ‘storylines’ that have emerged. We conclude that a discourse-based approach to analysing literature gives a richer and more representative picture of the state of knowledge than conventional meta-analysis.
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paper_title: Incorporating formative measures into covariance-based structural equation models

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Formatively measured constructs have been increasingly used in information systems research. With few exceptions, however, extant studies have been relying on the partial least squares (PLS) approach to specify and estimate structural models involving constructs measured with formative indicators. This paper highlights the benefits of employing covariance structure analysis (CSA) when investigating such models and illustrates its application with the LISREL program. The aim is to provide practicing IS researchers with an understanding of key issues and potential problems associated with formatively measured constructs within a covariance-based modeling framework and encourage them to consider using CSA in their future research endeavors.
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paper_title: Beyond synthesis: re-presenting heterogeneous research literature

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This article examines the nature, role and function of the literature review in academic discourse. Researchers in information systems IS are often advised to espouse a neutral viewpoint and adapt the goal of synthesising previous literature when conducting a literature review. However, since research literature in many areas of IS is diverse and heterogeneous, this synthesis is not value neutral, but is a construction of the researchers. We suggest that other goals and viewpoints for reviewing and presenting previous literature are possible, and in some cases, desirable. Using the example of service quality literature, we use a lens of historical discourse, and techniques of soft systems analysis and rich pictures, to present previous research literature on ServQual-related research in IS and electronic commerce. We identify seven ‘stories’ from service quality research literature and analyse the clients, actors, transformations, world-view weltanschauung, owners and environment in each story. We conclude that alternative presentations of research literature can offer fresh insights, especially in areas where the research literature is diffuse, contradictory and heterogeneous.
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paper_title: Toward a richer diversity of genres in information systems research: new categorization and guidelines

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European Journal of Information Systems (2012) 21, 469–478. doi:10.1057/ejis.2012.38 In this editorial I would like to make a general and effective call for more diversity in information systems research genres. This is a general call that goes beyond a particular journal and attempts to provide some practical guidelines. One can be sympathetic to the vision of opening up to a new wider set of research and presentation genres such as the one developed in my former editorials (Rowe, 2010, 2011), but without some guidelines this call for increasing diversity in IS research genres might hang fire. In other words, to encourage potential authors to be more confident in these endeavors, we need to indicate which lampposts might be worth approaching when building their research. Journals play an important institutional role in signaling and promoting certain categories of research. Hence, the two objectives of this editorial are as follows:
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paper_title: On being ‘systematic’ in literature reviews

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General guidelines for conducting literature reviews often do not address the question of literature searches and dealing with a potentially large number of identified sources. These issues are specifically addressed by so-called systematic literature reviews (SLR) that propose a strict protocol for the search and appraisal of literature. Moreover, SLR are claimed to be a ‘standardized method’ for literature reviews, that is, replicable, transparent, objective, unbiased, and rigorous, and thus superior to other approaches for conducting literature reviews. These are significant and consequential claims that — 2014; despite increasing adoption of SLR — 2014; remained largely unnoticed in the information systems (IS) literature. The objective of this debate is to draw attention of the IS community to SLR’s claims, to question their justification and reveal potential risks of their adoption. This is achieved by first examining the origins of SLR and the prescribed systematic literature review process and then by critically assessing their claims and implications. In this debate, we show that SLR are applicable and useful for a very specific kind of literature review, a meta study that identifies and summarizes evidence from earlier research. We also demonstrate that the claims that SLR provide superior quality are not justified. More importantly, we argue that SLR as a general approach to conducting literature reviews is highly questionable, concealing significant perils. The paper cautions that SLR could undermine critical engagement with literature and what it means to be scholarly in academic work.
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paper_title: Stylized Facts as an Instrument for Literature Review and Cumulative Information Systems Research

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The accumulation of scientific knowledge is an important objective of information systems (IS) research. Although different review approaches exist in the continuum between narrative reviews and meta-analyses, most reviews in IS are narrative or descriptive—with all related drawbacks concerning objectivity and reliability—because available underlying sources in IS do typically not fulfil the requirements of formal approaches such as meta-analyses. To discuss how cumulative IS research can be effectively advanced using a more formalized approach fitting the current situation in IS research, in this paper, we point out the potential of stylized facts (SFs). SFs are interesting, sometimes counterintuitive patterns in empirical data that focus on the most relevant aspects of observable phenomena by abstracting from details (stylization). SFs originate from the field of economics and have been successfully used in different fields of research for years. In this paper, we discuss their potential and challenges for literature reviews in IS. We supplement our argumentation with an application example reporting our experience with SFs. Because SFs show considerable potential for cumulative research, they seem to be a promising instrument for literature reviews and especially for theory development in IS.
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paper_title: Critical Discourse Analysis as a Review Methodology: An Empirical Example

paper_content:

Research disciplines and subdisciplines are steeped in epistemological beliefs and theoretical assumptions that guide and constrain research. These beliefs and assumptions both enable scientific inquiry and limit scientific progress. Theory and review papers tend to be a means for reproducing ideological assumptions. However, review papers can also challenge ideological assumptions by critically assessing taken-for-granted assumptions. Critical review methods are underdeveloped in the management disciplines. The information systems (IS) discipline must do more to improve the critical examination of its scientific discourse. In this paper, we present a method with guiding principles and steps for systematically conducting critical reviews of IS literature based on Habermasian strains of critical discourse analysis. We provide an empirical example of the method. The empirical example offers a critical review of behavioral information security research with a focus on employees’ security behaviors.
---
paper_title: Stylized Facts as an Instrument for Literature Review and Cumulative Information Systems Research

paper_content:

The accumulation of scientific knowledge is an important objective of information systems (IS) research. Although different review approaches exist in the continuum between narrative reviews and meta-analyses, most reviews in IS are narrative or descriptive—with all related drawbacks concerning objectivity and reliability—because available underlying sources in IS do typically not fulfil the requirements of formal approaches such as meta-analyses. To discuss how cumulative IS research can be effectively advanced using a more formalized approach fitting the current situation in IS research, in this paper, we point out the potential of stylized facts (SFs). SFs are interesting, sometimes counterintuitive patterns in empirical data that focus on the most relevant aspects of observable phenomena by abstracting from details (stylization). SFs originate from the field of economics and have been successfully used in different fields of research for years. In this paper, we discuss their potential and challenges for literature reviews in IS. We supplement our argumentation with an application example reporting our experience with SFs. Because SFs show considerable potential for cumulative research, they seem to be a promising instrument for literature reviews and especially for theory development in IS.
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paper_title: Critical Discourse Analysis as a Review Methodology: An Empirical Example

paper_content:

Research disciplines and subdisciplines are steeped in epistemological beliefs and theoretical assumptions that guide and constrain research. These beliefs and assumptions both enable scientific inquiry and limit scientific progress. Theory and review papers tend to be a means for reproducing ideological assumptions. However, review papers can also challenge ideological assumptions by critically assessing taken-for-granted assumptions. Critical review methods are underdeveloped in the management disciplines. The information systems (IS) discipline must do more to improve the critical examination of its scientific discourse. In this paper, we present a method with guiding principles and steps for systematically conducting critical reviews of IS literature based on Habermasian strains of critical discourse analysis. We provide an empirical example of the method. The empirical example offers a critical review of behavioral information security research with a focus on employees’ security behaviors.
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paper_title: VALIDATION GUIDELINES FOR IS POSITIVIST RESEARCH

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The issue of whether IS positivist researchers were validating their instruments sufficiently was initially raised fifteen years ago. Rigor in IS research is still one of the critical scientific issues facing the field. Without solid validation of the instruments that are used to gather data on which findings and interpretations are based, the very scientific basis of the profession is threatened. This study builds on four prior retrospectives of IS research that conclude that IS positivist researchers continue to face major barriers in instrument, statistical, and other forms of validation. It goes beyond these studies by offering analyses of the state-of-the-art of research validities and deriving specific heuristics for research practice in the validities. Some of these heuristics will, no doubt, be controversial. But we believe that it is time for the IS academic profession to bring such issues into the open for community debate. This article is a first step in that direction. Based on our interpretation of the importance of a long list of validities, this paper suggests heuristics for reinvigorating the quest for validation in IS research via content/construct validity, reliability, manipulation validity, and statistical conclusion validity. New guidelines for validation and new research directions are offered.
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paper_title: Qualitative data analysis : an expanded sourcebook

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Matthew B. Miles, Qualitative Data Analysis A Methods Sourcebook, Third Edition. The Third Edition of Miles & Huberman's classic research methods text is updated and streamlined by Johnny Saldana, author of The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Several of the data display strategies from previous editions are now presented in re-envisioned and reorganized formats to enhance reader accessibility and comprehension. The Third Edition's presentation of the fundamentals of research design and data management is followed by five distinct methods of analysis: exploring, describing, ordering, explaining, and predicting. Miles and Huberman's original research studies are profiled and accompanied with new examples from Saldana's recent qualitative work. The book's most celebrated chapter, "Drawing and Verifying Conclusions," is retained and revised, and the chapter on report writing has been greatly expanded, and is now called "Writing About Qualitative Research." Comprehensive and authoritative, Qualitative Data Analysis has been elegantly revised for a new generation of qualitative researchers. Johnny Saldana, The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers, Second Edition. The Second Edition of Johnny Saldana's international bestseller provides an in-depth guide to the multiple approaches available for coding qualitative data. Fully up-to-date, it includes new chapters, more coding techniques and an additional glossary. Clear, practical and authoritative, the book: describes how coding initiates qualitative data analysis; demonstrates the writing of analytic memos; discusses available analytic software; suggests how best to use the book for particular studies. In total, 32 coding methods are profiled that can be applied to a range of research genres from grounded theory to phenomenology to narrative inquiry. For each approach, Saldana discusses the method's origins, a description of the method, practical applications, and a clearly illustrated example with analytic follow-up. A unique and invaluable reference for students, teachers, and practitioners of qualitative inquiry, this book is essential reading across the social sciences. Stephanie D. H. Evergreen, Presenting Data Effectively Communicating Your Findings for Maximum Impact. This is a step-by-step guide to making the research results presented in reports, slideshows, posters, and data visualizations more interesting. Written in an easy, accessible manner, Presenting Data Effectively provides guiding principles for designing data presentations so that they are more likely to be heard, remembered, and used. The guidance in the book stems from the author's extensive study of research reporting, a solid review of the literature in graphic design and related fields, and the input of a panel of graphic design experts. Those concepts are then translated into language relevant to students, researchers, evaluators, and non-profit workers - anyone in a position to have to report on data to an outside audience. The book guides the reader through design choices related to four primary areas: graphics, type, color, and arrangement. As a result, readers can present data more effectively, with the clarity and professionalism that best represents their work.
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Title: Introduction to the Special Issue: The Literature Review in Information Systems

Section 1: A Renaissance of Literature Analysis as A Research Method
Description 1: Discuss the resurgence and increasing importance of literature review and research synthesis approaches and methods.

Section 2: The Motivation for Change
Description 2: Explain the reasons behind challenging the de-facto narrative literature review approach and the need for new methods.

Section 3: Introducing New Approaches
Description 3: Present new methods introduced in the special issue that offer innovative ways to conduct literature analysis.

Section 4: Challenges and Strategies
Description 4: Address the general challenges researchers face when conducting literature reviews and provide strategies to overcome them.

Section 5: Common Themes
Description 5: Highlight recurring themes across the papers in the special issue, emphasizing the importance of diversity, quality, and systematization in literature reviews.

Section 6: Conclusion
Description 6: Summarize the ongoing importance of literature review methods and suggest possible future developments in the field.