IT Artifacts and the State of IS Research

摘要

To understand the state of IS research is, to a large extent, to understand (1) what are considered IT artifacts by IS scholars, and (2) how do IS scholars approach IT artifacts in their studies. This study addresses these two questions by providing a conceptual model of five types of core IT artifacts and a five-facet framework of IS scholars' approaches to studying IT artifacts. Using a critical literature review, the conceptualizations are tested with the collective wisdom by IS scholars in the most recent IS studies published in the 2009 and 2010 ICIS proceedings. The findings shed light on where the IS discipline is standing in terms of its focus on IT artifacts. Implications for research and practice are discussed. This study contributes to our continued understanding of the development and evolution of the IS discipline and the potential directions it may take.