
Abstract
In this historical perspective, I share my thoughts and experiences working with companies to engage and support academic research. I show the process from finding the right topic to deciding when it is time to move on to something new. As I go through my experiences, I will introduce 10 lessons learned to help in your research efforts. I also introduce three example professors who operate in different academic environments, have different academic and personal goals, and take different paths in working with the business community. I close by exploring the four evolutionary stages of academic IS research. The latest stage, big data/machine learning/artificial intelligence, offers new opportunities for engaging the business community, as well as impacting what academic IS research is and how it is conducted.
Recommended Citation
Watson, H. J. (in press). Reflections on Engaging the Business Community to Support Academic Research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 53, pp-pp. Retrieved from https://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol53/iss1/27
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