Information systems as a discipline in the making: comparing EJIS and MISQ between 1995 and 2008

This paper aims to shed light on the dynamics of information systems (IS) as a discipline in the making. We use the ideas of the sociologist Abbott to propose three different stages of a discipline's development: differentiation, competition, and absorption. These stages reflect how disciplines go through different cycles and how they acquire, consolidate or lose elements of knowledge. We map these stages using citation and co-citation analyses of two main IS academic journals (EJIS and MISQ) from 1995 to 2008. Our results indicate that IS is currently in a stage of absorption, with research being consolidated around the theme of 'IS acceptance'. Dominant models and frameworks related to this theme are predictive and thus lend themselves usable for positivistic and quantitative research. In this stage there is also a healthy degree of variety in IS including dormant elements which could reignite. Implications derived from our findings aim to help in the consolidation and extension of knowledge about IS in both academia and practice. European Journal of Information Systems (2012) 21, 479-495. doi:10.1057/ejis.2011.58: published online 10 January 2012