Generating impactful situated explanations through digital trace data

Authors

Thomas Grisold, School of Management, University of St Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland
Waldemar Kremser, Institute of Strategic Management, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
Jan Mendling, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria, Weizenbaum Institute, Berlin, Germany
Jan Recker, Hamburg Business School, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Jan vom Brocke, ERCIS - European Research Center for Information Systems, University of Münster, Germany
Bastian Wurm, LMU Munich School of Mangement, Munich, Germany

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

Progressively, information systems (IS) researchers draw on digital trace data to capture the emergent dynamics of today’s digitalized world. Digital trace data enable researchers to generate highly context-specific insights into the features and dynamics of socio-technical phenomena. We suggest how IS researchers can use digital trace data to develop situated explanations, that is, explanations that capture the idiosyncratic features of real-world problems in order to generate impactful solutions to these problems. We outline five key principles to build situated explanations based on digital trace data. We make several suggestions on how the information system field can adjust its research and publication practices to embrace the development and dissemination of situated explanations.

DOI

10.1177/02683962231208724

Recommended Citation

Grisold, Thomas; Kremser, Waldemar; Mendling, Jan; Recker, Jan; vom Brocke, Jan; and Wurm, Bastian (2024) "Generating impactful situated explanations through digital trace data," Journal of Information Technology: Vol. 39: Iss. 1, Article 1.
DOI: 10.1177/02683962231208724
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jit/vol39/iss1/1