CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 3,306Information Systems Theories and ImplementationBusiness Strategies and Management ResearchScientific Research and Philosophical Inquiry

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 105 of the 106 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The Nature of Theory in Information Systems1

Open access
Gregor, Shirley·2006·MIS Quarterly
DOI 10.2307/25148742
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

The aim of this research essay is to examine the structural nature of theory in Information Systems. Despite the importance of theory, questions relating to its form and structure are neglected in comparison with questions relating to epistemology. The essay addresses issues of causality, explanation, prediction, and generalization that underlie an understanding of theory. A taxonomy is proposed that classifies information systems theories with respect to the manner in which four central goals are addressed: analysis, explanation, prediction, and prescription. Five interrelated types of theory are distinguished: (1) theory for analyzing, (2) theory for explaining, (3) theory for predicting, (4) theory for explaining and predicting, and (5) theory for design and action. Examples illustrate the nature of each theory type. The applicability of the taxonomy is demonstrated by classifying a sample of journal articles. The paper contributes by showing that multiple views of theory exist and by exposing the assumptions underlying different viewpoints. In addition, it is suggested that the type of theory under development can influence the choice of an epistemological approach. Support is given for the legitimacy and value of each theory type. The building of integrated bodies of theory that encompass all theory types is advocated.

Overview

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.2307/25148742

Cites

105 of 105 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Citations

Cites

Show all 106 references

Research works printed but not linked: 39

  1. Achinstein, 1983, The Nature of Explanations
  2. Audi, 1999, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
  3. Benbasat, 2001, Editorial Notes, Information Systems Research, 12, iii, 10.1287/isre.12.3.3.9707 · DOI
  4. Cushing, 1990, Frameworks, Paradigms and Scientific Research in Management Information Systems, Journal of Information Systems, 4, 38
  5. Denzin, 1994, Handbook of Qualitative Research
  6. Dubin, 1978, Theory Building
  7. Fawcett, 1986, The Relationship of Theory and Research
  8. Foucault, Les Mots et les Choses. Une Archeologie des Sciences Humaines
  9. Freese, 1980, Formal Theorizing, Annual Review of Sociology, 187, 10.1146/annurev.so.06.080180.001155 · DOI
  10. Glaser, 1967, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research
  11. Gregor, 2004, The Formulation of Design Theories, 83, 10.1007/978-1-4757-4852-9_4 · DOI
  12. Habermas, 1984, Theory of Communicative Action, Volume 1: Reason and the Rationalization of Society
  13. Huber, 1995, Longitudinal Field Research Methods
  14. Hume, 1748, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 190
  15. Iivari, 1983, Contributions to the Theoretical Foundations of Systemeering Research and the Picoco Model
  16. Kant, 1781, Critique of Pure Reason, 7
  17. Kaplan, 1964, The Conduct of Enquiry
  18. Kerlinger, 1973, Foundations of Behavioural Research
  19. Kim, 1999, Causation, 125
  20. Kuhn, 1996, The Structure of Scientific Revolution, 10.7208/chicago/9780226458106.001.0001 · DOI · Paper page
  21. Lee, 2001, Editorial, MIS Quarterly, 25, iii
  22. Little, 1999, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 704
  23. Locke, J. “Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” 1689. Reprinted in Introduction to Philosophy Classical and Contemporary Readings (3rd ed.), J. Perry and M. Bratman (eds.), Oxford University Press, New York, 1999, pp. 139-144.
  24. Merton, 1968, Social Theory Social Structure
  25. Merton, 1967, Theoretical Sociology
  26. Miles, 1978, Organization, Strategy, Structure and Process
  27. Norton, 1999, Hume, 398
  28. OED (Oxford English Dictionary) Online, August 10 2004 (https://dictionary.oed.com).
  29. Passmore, 1967, Logical Positivism, 52
  30. Rogers, 1995, Diffusion of Innovations
  31. Simon, 1996, The Sciences of the Artificial
  32. Sommerville, 2001, Software Engineering
  33. Turban, 2001, Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems
  34. Watson, 2001, Research in Information Systems: What We Haven’t Learned, MIS Quarterly, 25, v
  35. Weber, 1987, Toward a Theory of Artifacts: A Paradigmatic Base for Information Systems Research, Journal of Information Systems, 1, 3
  36. Weber, 2003, Editor’s Comments, MIS Quarterly, 27, iii, 10.2307/30036526 · DOI
  37. Weber, 2004, Editor’s Comments, MIS Quarterly, 28, iii, 10.2307/25148621 · DOI
  38. Wordsworth, 1994, Wordsworth Dictionary of Biography
  39. Yin, 1994, Case Study Research Design and Methods

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 901–1,000 of 1,004

Related

See all

Metadata

Authors
Gregor, S.
Affiliations
Australian National University (AU)
Corresponding author
Gregor, Shirley
ORCID
Gregor, Shirley
Venue
MIS Quarterly
Publisher
MIS Quarterly
Published
2006-09-01
Volume
30
Issue
3
Pages
611-642
ISSN
  • 0276-7783 (ISSN-L)
  • 2162-9730
DOI
10.2307/25148742
OpenAlex
W2151020819
Cited by
3,306
References
106
Citations by year
2026: 158 · 2025: 142 · 2024: 137 · 2023: 171 · 2022: 208 · 2021: 208 · 2020: 184 · 2019: 189 · 2018: 178 · 2017: 163 · 2016: 153 · 2015: 229 · 2014: 207 · 2013: 209 · 2012: 195
FWCI
288.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • MIS Quarterly (publishedVersion)
  • ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
  • Journal of the Association for Information Systems (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Information Systems Theories and Implementation
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Business Strategies and Management Research
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Scientific Research and Philosophical Inquiry
Keywords
information systems theory, nature of theory, causality, explanation, prediction, generalization, epistemology

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review