There Is Nothing So Practical as Good Theory: Exploring the Conjecture

A special issue edited by Mike Metcalfe A general theory of IS What is Theory? Design Theory (3 articles) Pragmatism: looking at problems with multiple perspectives The seven papers that make up this special issue (6:2) are the result of much hard work and some visionary thinking by its special issue editor, Mike Metcalfe. Prof. Metcalfe has long sought to push the boundaries of IS research thinking. He was one of JITTA 's early authors and one of its early editors. In the role of editor, he helped to bring to the journal a number of interesting papers. In this issue, Metcalfe has organized the review of many submissions, winnowing them to seven very special papers about theory in IS research. As a group the papers ask each of us to pause briefly from our work-a-day efforts to understand phenomena in our focused domains to think broadly about the theory that many of us are trying to create, expand, challenge, test and practice. In the lead paper, Hamilton (2004) argues for the need for a general theory of information systems, a broad set of umbrella concepts that would define the discipline. Such a theory could provide the mechanism through which the discipline's audience could understand it and come to appreciate its value. Marxism, for example, has been such a but not the only one, that has provided this role for the sociology discipline. Marxism has been a foundation for much social thinking, particularly in Europe and Asia, for more than 130 years, in spite of its manifestations in several of the world's most brutal regimes and in spite of the manifest foolishness of several of its major component concepts. This may be because of the comprehensiveness of Marxism and its ability to be extended, modified, and adapted to suit a variety of cultures and environments. Also Marxism follows from two plausible assumptions: all social processes are based on economic value and people are naively rational in their decision making. Could IS be the focal point of a major social theory? Certainly IS structures permeate society and are beginning to form the structure through which much of individual and organizational work and play is performed. Hence, they're very comprehensive. Clearly IS structures evolve to allow their adaptation to a variety of cultures and environments. Could we develop a theory of IS based on bounded rationality and the centrality of information to human behavior? IS academics are well placed to make use of a general theory to increase the discipline's influence on society, the economy, and business. More effort should be invested into theory-oriented research on the social impacts and implications of IS developments, Hamilton claims. What is theory? Metcalfe (2004) seeks to define the concept of 'theory.' He starts with the meaning of the word theory, finding many alternative current and historical meanings in dictionaries, among professions, and for various purposes. Then he turns his attention to research, mostly in the management research literature, but also in other disciplines, such as the natural sciences. With so many definitions, he asks, perhaps the meaning of the term, 'theory', is so diffuse that that it is no longer useful. Everything is not lost, however; Metcalfe is able to discern a common meaning among all of these definitions that lead to an understanding of what theory is. He explains this understanding in terms of six concepts: perspective, explanation, argument, evidence, generalizability, and in-theory. With the third paper, we reach the core of the functional objective of the special issue: the practicality of theory. Information systems research is naturally applied research, says Martin (2004), so our discipline is a very good context in which to understand the relationship between theory and practice. Theory and practice should produce the same or similar results. Isn't that the purpose of theory? …