Paper Type
Complete Research Paper
Description
Human cognition and decision-making related to information systems (IS) is a major area of interest in IS research. However, despite being explored since the mid-seventies in psychology, the phenomenon of cognitive bias has only recently gained attention among IS researchers. This fact is reflected in a comparatively sparse set of mostly disconnected publications, sometimes using inconsistent theory, methodology, and terminology. We address these issus in our scientometric analysis by providing the first review of cognitive bias-related research in IS. Our systematic literature review of 12 top IS outlets covering the past 20 years identifies 84 publications related to cognitive bias. A subsequnt content analysis shows a strong increase of interest in cognitive bias research in the IS discipline in the observed timeframe, yet uncovers a highly unequal distribution across IS fields and industry contexts. While previous research on perception and decision biases has already led to valuable contributions in IS, there is still considerable potential for further research regarding social, memory and interest biases. Our study reveals research gaps in bias-related IS research and highlights common practices in how biases are identified and measured. We conclude with promising future research avenus with the intent to encourage cumulative knowledge-building.
COGNITIVE BIASES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH: A SCIENTOMETRIC ANALYSIS
Human cognition and decision-making related to information systems (IS) is a major area of interest in IS research. However, despite being explored since the mid-seventies in psychology, the phenomenon of cognitive bias has only recently gained attention among IS researchers. This fact is reflected in a comparatively sparse set of mostly disconnected publications, sometimes using inconsistent theory, methodology, and terminology. We address these issus in our scientometric analysis by providing the first review of cognitive bias-related research in IS. Our systematic literature review of 12 top IS outlets covering the past 20 years identifies 84 publications related to cognitive bias. A subsequnt content analysis shows a strong increase of interest in cognitive bias research in the IS discipline in the observed timeframe, yet uncovers a highly unequal distribution across IS fields and industry contexts. While previous research on perception and decision biases has already led to valuable contributions in IS, there is still considerable potential for further research regarding social, memory and interest biases. Our study reveals research gaps in bias-related IS research and highlights common practices in how biases are identified and measured. We conclude with promising future research avenus with the intent to encourage cumulative knowledge-building.