8. Theory in IS - Gregor

Question 1

What is social theory?

Answer 1

› Social theory is a system of interconnected ideas. It condenses and organizes knowledge about the social
world

› We can also think of if it as a type of systematic ”story telling” that explains us some aspect of the social world
works and why

› Useful metaphor: Theory is what helps us to see the forest instead of just a single tree
(Neuman 2014: 57, 86):

› The word theory will be used here rather broadly to encompass what might be termed elsewhere
conjectures, models, framework, or body of knowledge
(Gregor 2006: 614):

Question 2

Name the taxonomy of theory types in IS research

Answer 2

Analysis - says what it is

Explanation - says what is, how, why, when and where

Prediction - says what is and what will be

Explanation and prediction (EP) - says what is, how, why, when, where, and what will be

Design and action - says how to do something

Question 3

What is the paradigmatic point of departure?

Answer 3

› The paper is multi paradigmatic, however mainly focused on positivism and interpretivism, but also touching other
paradigms (critical theory, pragmatism) as follows:
› Positivism: Logical positivism are mentioned many places (e.g. 614, especially 615 discuss this position in depth,
Type III and Type IV theories includes prediction with propositions, hypothesis, which is positivistic
› Interpretivism: Type II “theory of explaining” “can be seen that forms of this type of theory correspond reasonably
closely to some views of theory in the interpretivist paradigm”, page 624
› Critical theory: Very briefly mentioned page 622 “Critical theory seeks to bring about improvements in the lives of
human actors. Theory labeled normative has an ethical or moral dimension in addressing what should be done…
Again, all of the theory types depicted here could have social or political implications”
› Pragmatism: Not mentioned in paper, but it could be argued that theory type V about “Design and action”
implicitly subscribe to a pragmatic view

Question 4

What is in the managerial view?

Answer 4

Business processes
People
Information systems

Question 5

What is in IS-centered view of information systems?

Answer 5

Data
Hardware
People
Software
Procedures

Question 6

What should you be aware of then selecting and using theories?

Answer 6

› Select theories which fit your study or let the theories help you design your study
› Do literature review(s) – it is an iterative process – to get relevant theories
› You might use different theories for QUAN and QUAL studies even in MIXED METHODs studies
› Limit the number of theories used as main theories in your research project due to maximum 55,000
characters (incl. spaces) per report ( 23 pages)