Creating Theories in IS

1. Creating Theories in IS Detmar Straub Georgia State University Editor-in-Chief, MIS Quarterly Graphics available at: detmar straub.com Australian National University March 2012

2. Agenda • What is a theory? • Do we have native theories in IS? • How did a recent theory, Virtual Space and Place Theory (VSP), evolve? • How can you create your own theories? • The role of grounded theory or case studies • Practitioner interviews • Deductive, inductive, abductive approaches • Publishability of new theories?

3. Main Takewaays The term “theory” differs from research paradigm to paradigm, but in the social sciences, it generally means a lawlike statement that explains why certain phenomenon (natural or artificial) occur. We do have a host of native theories in the information systems discipline, in spite of assertions to the contrary. Looking at some of these theories can give us insight into how they were created. Theories should fill a gap; if there is no gap, then the theory may not be needed.

4. Main Takewaays Grounded theory and case studies have a debatable role in the process of creating theory from the perspective of a blank slate. Either deduction or induction (or abduction) or a combo can be used in theory creation; there is no standard formula. How publishable are new theories? Very. JAIS, MISQ, and the list goes on.

5. 1. What is a theory? • What are variables? • Variables are research constructs or abstractions/generalizations of real world things that can take on “variable” values. • In many social sciences, theories are lawlike statements that express a causal relationship between one or more variables. Gregor Type IV)

6. 1. What is a theory? • This narrower view is widely adopted in the social sciences, although less so in econometric studies, for instance, where predicting the gross domestic product (GDP) is the goal rather than showing why each of the Wharton econometric model’s 1500 variables are theoretically sound. SOURCE: Gregor, S. (2006). "The Nature of Theory in Information Systems." MIS Quarterly 30(3, September): 611-642. • This is a narrower perspective than Gregor’s 6 types of theory where theories can also be predictive (alone) or oriented toward action (design science theories), etc.

7. 1. What is a theory? Sales Trust + • The relationship between the variables is known as a “direction” and directionality can be either positive or negative. • Arrowed lines express the nature of the causality so that trust is the cause and sales the effect. • In the theoretical model below, trust is a variable or construct that can take on high or low values. • Likewise, sales is another generalization that can take on high or low values.

8. 1. What is a theory? Weight Height + (Contingency: up to the age of about 18) • Theories in the social sciences also articulate underlying reasons for why the cause influences the effect. • Without this reasoning, we have simply a statement of correlation or correspondence. • Without a theory, correlations alone can give the false impression that constructs are causally related.

9. 1. What is a theory? Weight Height Hormones

10. 1. What is a theory? Source: Campbell and Stanley (1966); Cook, T.D., and Campbell, D.T. 1979. Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Cook and Campbell (1979) also refer to John Stuart’s Mill’s criterion for active manipulation of the IVs. • Theoretical causation is proven via the following criteria: • Temporal precedence of cause before effect, • Covariation in posited relationships, • Rival causes (IVs) are not better explanations than theoretical IVs, and • Active manipulation of the IVs produces the effect against anon-manipulated condition(s) (control group).

11. 1. What is a theory? Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA (1902 – 1994) was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics. He is regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of science of the 20th century; • Karl Popper (1902-1994) and theory: • Theories must be falsifiable via empirical evidence. • A single item of evidence against a hypothesis disproves the entire theory. • The truth content of our theories, even the best of them, cannot be verified by scientific testing, but can only be falsified.

12. 1. What is a theory? Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Lakatos Imre Lakatos (November 9, 1922 – February 2, 1974) was a Hungarian philosopher of mathematics and science, known for his thesis of the fallibility of mathematics and its 'methodology of proofs and refutations' in its pre-axiomatic stages of development. • Imre Lakatos (1922-1974) and theory: • A'theory' may actually be a succession of slightly different theories and experimental techniques developed over time, that share some common idea, or what Lakatos called their ‘hard core’. • He called such changing collections 'Research Programmes'. • Scientists involved in a programme will attempt to shield the theoretical core from falsification attempts behind a protective belt of auxiliary hypotheses.

13. 1. What is a theory? Recreated by Mingers & Willcocks (2004) Source: Mingers, J., & Willcocks, L. (2004). Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems. John Wiley series in information systems. Chichester, West Sussex, England: J. Wiley. • Critical realism theory is an example of a theory that is a conceptual framework, but not a causal model. • “Critical realism theory states that the theory of knowledge, or epistemology, is different form a theory of being, or ontology. There is a reality which exists independent of its human conception. Critical realists believe that there are unobservable events which cause the observable ones; as such, the social world can be understood only if people understand the structures that generate such unobservable events.” (from: http://www.fsc.yorku.ca/york/istheory/wiki/index.php/Critical_realism_theory). • The arguments above are not testable, and therefore, according to Popper, NOT theoretical.

14. 2. Native Theories in IS Do we have any? But first, what are “native” theories? Daniel Moody, University of Twente Source: Moody, D.L., Iacob, M.-E, Chintan, Amrit. 2010. "In Search of Paradigms: Identifying the Theoretical Foundations of the IS Field," in: Proceedings of the 18th European Conference on Information Systems. “A native (indigenous) theory is a theory specifically developed to describe, explain, predict, or design IS phenomena” (page 2). “An imported (exotic, introduced) theory is a theory borrowed from an external (reference) discipline to describe, explain, predict, or design IS phenomena” (page 2).

15. 2. Native Theories in IS Do we have any? Source: Moody, D.L., Iacob, M.-E, Chintan, Amrit. 2010. "In Search of Paradigms: Identifying the Theoretical Foundations of the IS Field," in: Proceedings of the 18th European Conference on Information Systems. “There is a widely-held perception that the theoretical foundations of the IS field are inadequate. For example, that IS lacks substantive theories of its own and survives largely by feeding off its reference disciplines” (page 2).

16. 2. Native Theories in IS Do we have any? Ron Weber Source: Weber, R. A. (2003). "Theoretically Speaking (Editor's Comments)." MIS Quarterly 27(3): iii-xii. “As a discipline we have a reputation for using and adapting theories developed in other disciplines. Little wonder, that we see few high-quality standalone theory papers in our discipline, in spite of the significant insights that such papers can provide about information systems-related phenomena” (Weber 2003, p. iii).

17. 2. Native Theories in IS Do we have any? The overwhelming impression would be “NO” if one knew only of the (excellent) website found on the AIS wiki: Source: http://www.fsc.yorku.ca/york/istheory/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

18. 2. Native Theories in IS Börje Langefors(May 21, 1915 – December 13, 2009) Theoretical Analysis of Information Systems. Studentlitteratur, Lund. 1966 (translated into many languages).

19. 2. Native Theories in IS Phillip Ein-Dor Eli Segev A Paradigm for Management Information Systems , Praeger, New York, (1981).

20. 2. Native Theories in IS Ron Weber Towards a Theory of Artifacts: A Paradigmatic Base for Information System Research (monograph, Department of Commerce, University of Queensland, 1985). Published (in part) later as: Weber, R.A. (1987). "Toward a Theory of Artifacts: A Paradigmatic Base for Information Systems Research,“ Journal of Information Systems, 1(2).

21. 2. Native Theories in IS TAM Fred Davis Source: Davis, F. "Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use and User Acceptance of Information Technology," MIS Quarterly (13:3, September), 1989, 319-340.

22. 2. Native Theories in IS TAM Fred Davis Source: Davis, F. "Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use and User Acceptance of Information Technology," MIS Quarterly (13:3, September), 1989, 319-340.

23. 2. Native Theories in IS Media richness theory Task characteristics: ambiguity/equivocality Firm performance Richard Daft Media richness: low cues to high cues (computer-mediation) Linda Trevino Robert Lengel Source: Daft, R.L., Lengel, R.H., and Trevino, L.K. "The Relationship among Message Equivocality, Media Selection and Manager Performance," MIS Quarterly (11:3) 1987, 355-366.

24. 2. Native Theories in IS Accessibility and Use of Advanced IT Organizational Design Changes George Huber George Huber, “A Theory of the Effects of Advanced Information Technologies on Organizational Design, Intelligence, and Decision Making,”Academy of Management Review, Vol. 15, No. 1. (Jan., 1990), pp. 47-71.

25. 2. Native Theories in IS

26. DeLone & McLean Models

27. 2. Native Theories in IS “Move to the Middle” Hypothesis (Theory) This theory argues that IT lowers coordination costs without lowering transaction costs!! Therefore, this effect will lead to more outsourcing and less vertically integrated organizations. Eric Clemons Source: Clemons, E.K., Sashidhar, P.R., and Row, M.C. 1993. "The Impact of Information Technology on the Organization of Economic Activity: The Move to the Middle Hypothesis," Journal of Management Information Systems (10:2), pp 9-35.

28. 2. Native Theories in IS AST argues that users adapt systems to their use, and so one of their key constructs measures the extent to which use diverges from that intended by the system designers…. Or “appropriateness of use” DeSanctis, G., & Poole, M. S. (1994). “Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: Adaptive structuration theory,” Organization Science, 5(2), 121-147

29. 2. Native Theories in IS Task Closure Theory D. Straub Elena Karahanna Source: Straub, D.W., and Karahanna, E. 1998. "Knowledge Worker Communications and Recipient Availability: Toward a Task Closure Explanation of Media Choice," Organization Science (9:2, March), 160-175.

30. 2. Native Theories in IS Net-Enhanced Business Innovation Cycle Theory Brad Wheeler Source: Wheeler, B.C. 2002. "The Net-Enabled Business Innovation Cycle: A Dynamic Capabilities Theory for Assessing Net-Enablement," Information Systems Research (13:2, June), 125-146.

31. 2. Native Theories in IS Media Synchronicity Theory (MST) (Dennis, et al., 2008) looks beyond Daft & Lengel’s media richness to media synchronicity as a predictor of communication performance. Synchronicity is defined as a “state in which individuals are working together at the same time with a common focus.” MST focuses on the capability of media to support synchronicity. It posits that communication will be enhanced when the synchronicity a given medium can support appropriately matches the synchronicity that a communication process requires. Alan Dennis Joe Valacich Rob Fuller Source: Dennis, A.R., Fuller, R.M., and Valacich, J.S. 2008. "Media, Tasks, and Communication Processes: A Theory of Media Synchronicity," MIS Quarterly (32:3), 575-600. (Best paper of the year, 2008)

32. 2. Native Theories in IS Media Synchronicity Theory (MST)

33. 2. Native Theories in IS Embodied Social Presence (ESP) theory (Mennecke, et al., 2011) suggests that most, if not all, interactions in virtual worlds are carried out in an embodied context. Collaborative interaction SP Embodiment Context Spatial proximity Task accomplishment Brian Mennecke Source: Mennecke, B., Triplett, J.L., Hassall, L.M., Heer, R., and Conde, Z.J. "Embodied Social Presence Theory," Decision Sciences (42:2, May) 2011, 413-450.

34. 2. Native Theories in IS Sequential Adoption Theory: A Theory for Understanding Herding Behavior in Early Adoption of Novel Technologies, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2009.(JAIS Best paper, 2009). By Eric Walden and Glenn Browne Abstract: Technology adoption often occurs sequentially, so that later potential adopters can see the decisions (adopt or not adopt) of earlier potential adopters. In this paper we review the literature on observational learning, in which people use information gained by observing the behavior of others to inform their decisions, and note that little prior research has used an observational learning perspective to understand the adoption of information technology. Based on theory and previous literature, we suggest that observational learning is likely to be common in adoption decisions. We develop a model that extends existing observational learning models and use simulation to test the model. The results suggest that following the behavior of other similarly-situated decision makers can be a very useful strategy in adoption situations in which there is a great deal of uncertainty. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Glenn Browne Eric Walden

35. 2. Native Theories in IS Coping Model of User Adaptation Ann Beaudry Alain Pinsonneault Source: Beaudry, A., and Pinsonneault, A. Understanding User Responses to Information Technology: A Coping Model of User Adaptation. MIS Quarterly, 29, 3 (2005) 493-524.

36. Espoused UA Espoused IC H3a,b H2a,b Control over the situation Coping Preference1 H1a,b IT ‘Event’ Threat / opportunity 1Preference for a Benefits Maximizing strategy over Benefits Satisficing in an opportunistic environment; Preference for a Disturbance Handling strategy over Self-Preservation in a threatening environment. IC = Individualism-Collectivism, UA = Uncertainty Avoidance 2. Native Theories in IS Beaudry and Pinsonneault’s Coping Model of User Adaptation (as tested by Elie-dit-cosaque and Straub, 2011) Christophe Elie-dit-cosaque D. Straub

37. 2. Native Theories in IS Technostress theory (Ayyagari, R., Grover, V., and Purvis, R. "Technostress: Its Antecednets and Implications," MIS Quarterly (35:4, December) 2011, 831-856). RamakrishnaAyyagari Varun Grover Russell Purvis

38. 2. Native Theories in IS Virtual Space and Place theory (VSP) Michiel van Genuchten Carol Saunders Julio Orrega Doug Vogel Source: Saunders, Carol, A.F. Rutkowski, Miciel van Genuchten, Doug Vogel, and Julio Molina Orrega, “Virtual Space and Place: Theory and Test,” MIS Quarterly, forthcoming, 2012. Anne Rutkowski

39. 2. Native Theories in IS

40. 2. Native Theories in IS http:secondlife.com

41. 2. Native Theories in IS

42. 2. Native Theories in IS

43. 2. Native Theories in IS Virtual Space and Place theory (VSP)

44. 2. Native Theories in IS Virtual Space and Place theory (VSP) Theoretical lawlike statement: User experiences with virtual worlds will be highly influenced by perceptions of space and place. Proposition 1a: Objects in virtual space that have high directionality are perceived to be easier to use than those that have low directionality. Proposition 1b: Objects in virtual space that have high directionality are perceived to be more enjoyable than those that have low directionality. Proposition 2a. Users who have a heightened experience of place when using a virtual object find it significantly easier to use than those who have a diminished experience of place when using a virtual object. Proposition 2b. Users who have a heightened experience of place when using a virtual object find it significantly more enjoyable than those who have a diminished experience of place when using a virtual object. Proposition 3a. Users who have a heightened experience of place when using a virtual object attribute more social presence to the VW than do those who have a diminished experience of place when using a virtual object.

45. 3. How did VSP theory evolve? • It started as a design theory, describing the background for how the IT artifact was created and how it functioned. • Later, the major constructs and their relationships were sorted out by both the authors and the MISQ review team. • The theory was greatly strengthened by using great philosophers and scientists as sources of ideas for place and space: • Aristotle • Newton • Einstein • This was unusual as most sources of intellectual inspiration typically come from social science reference disciplines.

46. The Technology Acceptance Model I love 'em! I hate 'em! 4. How to create your own theories TAM

47. + + + + PU Attitudes Intentions USE + + PEOU 4. How to create your own theories PU = Perceived Usefulness (of IT) PEU = Perceived Ease of Use (of IT) • -adapted from Davis' Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1986, 1989)

48. 4. How to create your own theories • TAM is an inductive model (or theory). • It is based on Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action [Fishbein, Martin and Icek Ajzen, Beliefs, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1975]. • This theory is an empirically-derived theory whereby researchers study specific beliefs that lead to certain attitudes, that lead to certain intentions, that lead to certain behaviors (originally, a marketing theory).

49. 4. How to create your own theories • Beliefs in this case are cognitive elements that relate to the extent to which a system is perceived to be (or believed to be) useful or easy-to-use Boy, is it useful! I think it is easy to use!!

50. 4. How to create your own theories • As it has developed, the TAM has gained the status of theory • It has propositions, which are corollaries of the main theoretic assertion which is that the use of IT has antecedents in certain belief structures • More simply stated, use of IT varies with the strength of positive beliefs that people hold about it