Abstract
This research note examines an apparent paradox in Information Systems (IS) research. This paradox relates to the parochial nature of much of the published IS research (both in terms of the chosen journal outlet and the literature cited), notwithstanding the global nature of the phenomena being investigated. It does so by reviewing author 'nationality' in four leading IS journals over a seven-year period (1994-2000), and by reviewing the 'nationality' of the literature cited by these authors. Two of the journals are published in the USA and two are published in Europe. Despite apparent recognition of increasing globalization in our field, brought about - in part at least - by information technology (IT), the data provide firm evidence that the IS discipline is marked by a distinct parochialism along national, or at least, regional lines. A reorientation appears to be required if leading IS journals are not to continue to be the unwitting mouthpieces of unwitting researchers, publishing the results of partial, culturally biased research. The findings also contain profound implications for published material based on citation analyses and on our understanding of what constitutes the appellation 'international' in our discipline.
DOI
10.17705/1CAIS.01105
Recommended Citation
Galliers, R., & Meadows, M. (2003). A Discipline Divided: Globalization and Parochialism in Information Systems Research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 11, pp-pp. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.01105
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