Author ORCID Identifier
Bettina Distel: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6055-9784
Ralf Plattfaut: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1442-4758
Michael Baumgartner: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1536-2816
Abstract
Information Systems (IS) research deals with increasingly complex phenomena. The artefacts we study offer new affordances and permeate other fields. In this changed environment, additional methodological tools for the analysis of causal relations within socio-technical systems are needed. Recently, configurational comparative methods such as Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) have been increasingly used. In this paper, we introduce Coincidence Analysis (CNA) as a new method for IS research. To this end, we distinguish configurational comparative methods from path-analytical methods in general and, within the field of configurational comparative methods CNA from the more established QCA. In contrast to QCA, CNA allows the analysis of more complex causal chains, fitting the high prevalence of both process theories and mediation-like indirect effect structures. We provide guidelines on using CNA and discuss advantages and potential disadvantages revisiting a published study that originally employed structural equation modeling (i.e., a path-analytical method).
Recommended Citation
Distel, B., Plattfaut, R., & Baumgartner, M. (In press). Coincidence Analysis: An Alternative Method for Studying Causal Complexity in IS Research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 58, pp-pp. Retrieved from https://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol58/iss1/99
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