The 2021 impact factor for ISJ was 7.767, for 2022 it was 6.4. These are some of the highest impact factors of any IS Journals. See past ISJ impact factors and the Editor’s comment on impact factors here. The next impact factor (2023) will not be available until around mid June 2024.

Abstract

Westernised paradigms dominate the information systems (IS) field, often overshadowing alternative epistemologies. This study challenges the prevailing hegemonic view and contributes to the decolonization of IS research and practice by proposing a Latin American and decolonial approach to technological development that emphasises community centrality and epistemic justice through recognition of local knowledges and Indigenous traditions. Using design ethnography, we follow the development of a solidarity cryptocurrency in a Brazilian favela. Our paper offers two key contributions. By introducing tecnologia social, an underrepresented perspective in IS, we highlight ecology of knowledges, centrality of the local and decolonial reconfiguration as principles that can enrich the understanding of IS projects from a decolonial perspective. In addition, we propose a new concept—epistemic dialogical tension—as a process wherein different epistemologies coexist and accommodate each other, encouraging a dynamic interplay of distinct human experiences and worldviews. It offers new paths to IS scholars and practitioners in navigating the complexities of epistemic plurality. We argue that tecnologia social and epistemic dialogical tension provide fertile ground for developing reimagined, decolonized approaches where multiple epistemologies can coexist, favouring the often-silenced communities they are intended to benefit.

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Abstract

A growing amount of information systems (IS) research is examining the use of social media to enable effective crisis response. However, existing studies have overlooked the impact of indigenous concepts, which play an important role in crisis response. Our study intends to offer an indigenous perspective to this research stream by examining how social media-enabled crisis response is enacted in Vietnam. We used COVID-19 as the focal crisis and collected a rich set of discussion threads from social media. By analysing the data through the grounded theory method, our study identifies the indigenous theoretical concept of t??ng thân t??ng ái. We further unveil a process model consisting of six mechanisms through which t??ng thân t??ng ái inspires crisis response on social media and three roles assumed by social media during this process. Our study contributes to the literature on social media-enabled crisis response by providing an indigenous perspective and a context-specific explanation. It also enriches IS theory in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by investigating how the indigenous concept of t??ng thân t??ng ái influences Vietnam’s crisis response on social media. Our findings also provide guidelines that can help communities beyond Vietnam to promote the values of t??ng thân t??ng ái during crisis response.

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Abstract

While there is a growing interest in applying decolonial approaches within the field of information systems (IS), effective avenues for engagement remain largely unexplored. To this end, our paper introduces a framework focused on decolonial IS research informed by the notions of the pluriverse and conviviality. These concepts emphasise a focus on ontological, epistemological and methodological dimensions, with a strong orientation to justice. We illustrate the application of the framework through a re-analysis of our own research project, the co-production of the Metropolitan Water Observatory (MWO) in Lima, Peru. Applying the framework to learn new insights about the MWO, this paper contributes to the IS field by providing a framework from which to examine IS interventions from a decolonial perspective. In addition to advancing theoretical understanding, our framework serves as a valuable resource for scholars navigating the complex landscape of decolonial approaches in IS.

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Abstract

The “critical turn” in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) research emphasises a transformative and ethical research practice which can be addressed by developing the critical intent and agency of ICT4D researchers through reflexive practice. There exist, however, limited methodological insights into existing reflexive approaches and a limited understanding of how self-transformation and change can take place through more critically reflexive ICT4D research practice. To address these issues, this paper proposes a reflexive methodology for ICT4D research, labelled “the 4Rs”, which comprises four interrelated reflective and potentially self-transforming processes of Retrospection, Representation, Review and Reinterpretation. We present the explanations and justifications of the methodology in detail with illustrative examples. We also employ a metacognitive process to understand how self-transformation can be realised through the use of this methodology and demonstrate the applicability of the 4Rs for other ICT4D researchers. Our main contribution lies in illustrating how this collective and critical approach can be used to deepen the self-reflexivity of traditional individual confessional accounts. We also demonstrate how the approach can lead to new collective knowledge and contribute to achieving more critical agency.

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Abstract

Deployment of digital crowdfunding platforms, which predominantly are designed in line with Western norms, into Indigenous communities often leads to significant cultural tensions. This study uses the Kenyan Indigenous tradition of Harambee to elucidate how these cultural tensions manifest and are navigated in the context of digital crowdfunding. The study employs a qualitative approach, conducting narrative interviews with individuals experienced in both Harambee and digital crowdfunding within the Kenyan context, to advance our understanding of decolonial digital crowdfunding. The findings reveal significant cultural tensions, including those related to inclusive access, diminished communal engagement and erosion of social capital. These tensions highlight the marginalisation of Indigenous cultures and the reinforcement of colonial tendencies in digital spaces. Additionally, the study uncovers the ingenuity of Indigenous users who are integrating Indigenous knowledge and Harambee norms with digital technologies, to balance cultural sensitivity, strengthen technological inclusivity and preserve their communal values within decolonial digital fundraising. This study advances decolonial scholarship by demonstrating how the integration of both Indigenous and local practices with digital technology not only advances digital decoloniality but also enriches the technology’s cultural responsiveness. The findings have practical implications for designing inclusive digital crowdfunding platforms that acknowledge and align with local cultural norms.

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Abstract

This opinion paper presents two proposed token-based systems to fix the information system academy’s review system. At present, the review system consumes more human resources than the information systems academy has by an order of magnitude. The cost of this overflow is borne entirely by information systems researchers. I argue this is because the review system is based on a gift economy that cannot handle the currently sized market. Both proposals involve the creation of tokens and a central governing body. The first proposal involves a market built around a review bank (central governing body) that issues review tokens that function as a proxy currency. Journals function as intermediaries between authors and reviewers. Authors pay journals for reviews, and journals pay experts such as reviewers and editors for their services. Reviewers exchange their review tokens on the open market or trade review tokens for favours with institutions like universities. The second proposal involves a gift economy where reviewers transfer their allegiance from peers to the information systems academy. In this proposal, each individual token is unique, like a trading card and an affiliation board tracks the transfer of tokens, linking former possessors of a token together in a review ring. As tokens are regifted, they accumulate history, and thereby social worth, captured in the form of messages each possessor writes. Former possession of a large number of tokens and of tokens with particular histories confers status benefits. These benefits in turn lock reviewers into the review ring system encouraging them to do further reviews. Economic, social, and other implications of both policies are discussed and questions are posed for the information systems academy to grapple with. Example issues discussed include the effect of the proposals on the political power of reviewers and shifts in political power in the information systems academy.

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Abstract

Strong interest in digital transformation to increase business value calls for new and improved theorising of the digital transformation process. Traditional perspectives fail to address the complex socio-technological challenges and entanglement of actions at multiple levels that characterise the process. This research adopts a flow-oriented perspective to extend the process frontier of digital transformation. This entails analysing the lines of action that intertwine to form storylines of digital transformation. Drawing on a multilevel longitudinal qualitative study, the research offers three valuable contributions: First, the paper advances the discourse on digital transformation by introducing the heretofore unrecognised phenomenon of transitional moments. Second, by introducing a novel taxonomy for lines of action, the paper demonstrates the evolving nature of the digital transformation process, surpassing conventional rational-system model interpretations. These two contributions broaden the process frontier of digital transformation by underscoring the dynamic and continuous nature of digital transformation, emphasising its non-linear progression, and rejecting the notion of an idealised direct path to a predefined goal. These two additions to the digital transformation discourse lay the foundations for our third contribution, which is a set of proposed research approaches for future investigations into digital transformation, regardless of research focus, phenomena, or domain.

Source

Information Systems Journal, EarlyView. Source

Information Systems Journal, EarlyView. Source

Information Systems Journal, EarlyView. Source