Spanning Boundaries between Academia and Practice in Information Systems (IS): A Case Study of a Community and Network of Practice
Abstract
While Information Systems (IS) has strong ties in practice, it is extremely important that academic and practice perspectives share the same ground in research and education. While there are different research communities in IS which are called communities of practice and knowing (CoP&K), there exists a gap between academic CoP&K and practitioner CoP&K in doctoral IS education. This paper describes a working approach on boundary spanning between academic- and practitioner CoP&K’s in doctoral education. In presented case example, a doctoral program has been organized in the field of IS for professionally qualified doctoral students with significant industry experience. This doctoral seminar program has been going on for over twenty years and has produced numerous doctors for the field among other things. Based on this example a research model for studying the exchange of knowing and knowledge between different CoP&K’s in doctoral education in Information Systems and research questions for further research are presented. This article suggests that the gap between academia and practice does not need to be as deep as it appears to be, and that there is an understudied field in the intersection between CoP&K’s in the IS research field. Thus authors propose a research agenda, where focus is on narrowing the gap between academia and practice in IS through proper use of CoP&K’s in doctoral education.
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References
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Benbasat I. & Zmud R. W. (2003). The identity crisis within the IS discipline: De-fining and communication the discipline’s core properties, MIS Quarterly 27, No 2, 183 – 194.
Boland, R. J. & Tenkasi, R. V. (1995). Perspective making and perspective taking in communities of knowing. Organisation Science 6, No 4, 350-372.
Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (2001). Knowledge and organisation: A social-practice perspective, Organisation Science 12, No 2, 198-213.
Cook, S. D. N & Brown, J. S. (1999). Bridging epistemologies: The generative dance between organizational knowledge and organizational knowing. Or-ganization Science 10, No 4, 381-400.
Cunningham, B. (1997). Case study principles for different types of cases. Quali-ty & Quantity 31, 401-423.
Davis, G. B. & Parker, C. (1997). Writing the doctoral dissertation: A Systematic Approach (2nd ed.). New York: Barron's.
Davis, G. B. (2003). Advising and supervising doctoral students, Information Sys-tems PhD Supervisors’ Workshop, June 14 in Athens, Greece.
Duguid, P. (2005). The art of knowing: Social and tacit dimensions of knowledge and the limits of the community of practice. Information Society 21, No 2, 109-118.
Feldman, A., Divoll, K. & Rogan-Klyve, A. (2009). Research education of new scientists: Implications for science teacher education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46, No 4, 442-459.
Fink, D. (2006). The professional doctorate: its relativity to the Ph.D. and rele-vance for the Knowledge economy. International Journal of Doctoral Stud-ies 1, 35-44.
Gill, G. & Bhattacherjee, A. (2009). Whom are we informing? Issues and recom-mendations for MIS research from an Informing Sciences perspective. MIS Quarterly 33, No 2, 217-235.
Gill, G. T. & Hoppe, U. (2009). The business professional doctorate as an inform-ing channel: a survey and analysis. International Journal of Doctoral Stud-ies 4, 27-57.
Hart, C. (1998). Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination. London, UK: Sage Publications.
Hoffman, A. (2004). Reconsidering the role of the practical theorist: on (re)connecting theory to practice in organization theory. Strategic Organiza-tion 2, No 2, 213-222.
Iivari, J. (2003). The IS core – VII: Towards Information Systems as a Science of Meta-Artefacts. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 12, 568-581.
Janson, A., Howard, L. & Schoenberger-Orgad, M. (2004). The odyssey of Ph.D. students becoming a community of practice. Business Communication Quarterly 67, No2, 168-181.
Järvinen, P. (ed.) (2010a). IS Reviews 1991‐ 2009. Tampereen Yliopisto, Tieto-jenkäsittelytieteiden laitos, Julkaisusarja D – Verkkojulkaisut, D‐2010‐6, Toukokuu 2010. Available at: http://www.cs.uta.fi/reports/dsarja/D-2010-6.pdf
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Kettinger, W. J. & Li, Y. (2010). The infological equation extended: towards con-ceptual clarity in the relationship between data, information and knowledge. European Journal of Information Systems 19, 409-421.
Klein, H. K. & Hirschheim, R. (2008). The structure of the IS discipline reconsid-ered: Implications and reflections from a community of practice perspec-tive. Information and Organisation 18, 280-302.
Klein, K. H. & Rowe, F. (2008), Marshaling the professional experience of doctor-al students: A contribution to the practical relevance debate. MIS Quarterly 32 No. 4, 675-686.
Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol29/iss1/7
Lave J. & Wenger E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participa-tion, IRL report 90-0013, Paolo Alto, CA: Institute for Research on Learn-ing, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Levy, Y. & Ellis, J. (2006). A system approach to conduct an effective literature review in support of Information System research. Informing Science Jour-nal 9, 181-212.
Malfroy, J. & Yates, L. (2003). Knowledge in Action: doctoral programmes forg-ing new identities. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 25, No 2, 119-129.
Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Or-ganization Science 5, No 1, 14-37.
Orlikowski, W. J. & Barley, S. R. (2001), Technology and institutions: What can research on information technology and research on organisations learn from each other?. MIS Quarterly 25, No 2, 145-165.
Park, J., Jang, K. & Kim, I. (2009). An analysis of the actual processes of physi-cists’ research and the implications for teaching scientific inquiry in school. Research in Science Education 39, No 1, 111-129.
Parker, R. (2009). A learning community approach to doctoral education in the social sciences. Teaching in Higher Education 14, No 1, 43-54.
Pearson, M. & Brew, A. (2002). Research training and supervision development. Studies in Higher Education 27, No 2, 135-150.
Pearson, M., Evans, T, & Macauley, P. (2004). The working life of doctoral stu-dents: Challenges for research education and training. Studies in Continuing Education 26, No 3, 347-353.
Polanyi, M. (1966), The tacit dimension, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Probst, G. & Borzillo, S. (2008). Why communities of practice succeed and why they fail. European Management Journal 26, 335-347.
Slyke, C. V., Bostrom, R., Courtney, J., McLean, E., Snyder & Watson, R. T. (2003). Experts’ advice to Information Systems doctoral students. Commu-nications of the Association for Information Systems 12, 469-478.
Straub, D. W. & Ang, S. (2008). Readability and the relevance versus rigor debate. MIS Quarterly 32, No 4, iii-x.
Tennant, M. (2004). Doctoring the knowledge worker. Studies in Continuing Ed-ucation 26, No 3, 431-441.
Terrell, S. R., Snyder, M. M. & Dringus, L. P. (2009). The development, validation, and application of the Doctoral Student Connectedness Scale. Internet and Higher Education 12, 112-116.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E & Snyder W. (2000). Communities of practice: The organizational frontier. Harward Business Review, 78, Issue 1, 139-145.
Wilenius, R. (1987). Ihminen filosofisena ongelmana (The human being as a phil-osophical problem). In Wilenius, R. Oksala, P., Mehtonen, L, & M. Juntunen (Eds.) Johdatus filosofiseen ajatteluun, Jyväskylä: Ateena, 9-40.
Whitelock, D., Faulkner, D. & Miell, D. (2008). Promoting creativity in PhD super-vision: Tensions and dilemmas, Thinking Skills and Creativity 3, 143-153.
Wikström, C-E. & Isomäki, H. (2008). Human-centeredness in customer relation-ship management implementation research: Towards a holistic perspective, to be submitted to the International Journal of E-Business Research, http://www.cs.uta.fi/reports/dsarja/D-2008-2.pdf.
Benbasat I. & Zmud R. W. (2003). The identity crisis within the IS discipline: De-fining and communication the discipline’s core properties, MIS Quarterly 27, No 2, 183 – 194.
Boland, R. J. & Tenkasi, R. V. (1995). Perspective making and perspective taking in communities of knowing. Organisation Science 6, No 4, 350-372.
Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (2001). Knowledge and organisation: A social-practice perspective, Organisation Science 12, No 2, 198-213.
Cook, S. D. N & Brown, J. S. (1999). Bridging epistemologies: The generative dance between organizational knowledge and organizational knowing. Or-ganization Science 10, No 4, 381-400.
Cunningham, B. (1997). Case study principles for different types of cases. Quali-ty & Quantity 31, 401-423.
Davis, G. B. & Parker, C. (1997). Writing the doctoral dissertation: A Systematic Approach (2nd ed.). New York: Barron's.
Davis, G. B. (2003). Advising and supervising doctoral students, Information Sys-tems PhD Supervisors’ Workshop, June 14 in Athens, Greece.
Duguid, P. (2005). The art of knowing: Social and tacit dimensions of knowledge and the limits of the community of practice. Information Society 21, No 2, 109-118.
Feldman, A., Divoll, K. & Rogan-Klyve, A. (2009). Research education of new scientists: Implications for science teacher education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46, No 4, 442-459.
Fink, D. (2006). The professional doctorate: its relativity to the Ph.D. and rele-vance for the Knowledge economy. International Journal of Doctoral Stud-ies 1, 35-44.
Gill, G. & Bhattacherjee, A. (2009). Whom are we informing? Issues and recom-mendations for MIS research from an Informing Sciences perspective. MIS Quarterly 33, No 2, 217-235.
Gill, G. T. & Hoppe, U. (2009). The business professional doctorate as an inform-ing channel: a survey and analysis. International Journal of Doctoral Stud-ies 4, 27-57.
Hart, C. (1998). Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination. London, UK: Sage Publications.
Hoffman, A. (2004). Reconsidering the role of the practical theorist: on (re)connecting theory to practice in organization theory. Strategic Organiza-tion 2, No 2, 213-222.
Iivari, J. (2003). The IS core – VII: Towards Information Systems as a Science of Meta-Artefacts. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 12, 568-581.
Janson, A., Howard, L. & Schoenberger-Orgad, M. (2004). The odyssey of Ph.D. students becoming a community of practice. Business Communication Quarterly 67, No2, 168-181.
Järvinen, P. (ed.) (2010a). IS Reviews 1991‐ 2009. Tampereen Yliopisto, Tieto-jenkäsittelytieteiden laitos, Julkaisusarja D – Verkkojulkaisut, D‐2010‐6, Toukokuu 2010. Available at: http://www.cs.uta.fi/reports/dsarja/D-2010-6.pdf
Järvinen, P. (ed.) (2010b). IS Reviews 2010. University of Tampere, Department of Computer Sciences, Series of Publications D – Net Publications, D‐2010‐16, December 2010. Available at: http://www.cs.uta.fi/reports/dsarja/D-2010-16.pdf
Järvinen, P. (ed.) (2011). IS Reviews 2011. Tampereen Yliopisto, Informaatio-tieteiden yksikkö, Informaatiotieteiden yksikön raportteja, 4/2011, Jouluku 2011. Available at: http://www.uta.fi/sis/reports/index/R4_2011.pdf
Järvinen, P. (2012a). On research methods, Tampere: Opinpajan kirja.
Järvinen, P. (ed.) (2012b). IS Reviews 2012. Tampereen Yliopisto, Informaatio-tieteiden yksikkö, Informaatiotieteiden yksikön raportteja, 18/2012, Joulukuu 2012. Available at: http://www.uta.fi/sis/reports/index/R18_2012.pdf
Järvinen, P. (ed.) (2013). IS Reviews 2013. Tampereen Yliopisto, Informaatio-tieteiden yksikkö, Informaatiotieteiden yksikön raportteja, 24/2013, Joulukuu 2013. Available at: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-44-9217-4
Järvinen, P. (ed.) (2014). IS Reviews 2014. Tampereen Yliopisto, Informaatio-tieteiden yksikkö, Informaatiotieteiden yksikön raportteja, 35/2014, Joulukuu 2014. Available at: http://www.uta.fi/sis/reports/index/R35_2014.pdf
Kettinger, W. J. & Li, Y. (2010). The infological equation extended: towards con-ceptual clarity in the relationship between data, information and knowledge. European Journal of Information Systems 19, 409-421.
Klein, H. K. & Hirschheim, R. (2008). The structure of the IS discipline reconsid-ered: Implications and reflections from a community of practice perspec-tive. Information and Organisation 18, 280-302.
Klein, K. H. & Rowe, F. (2008), Marshaling the professional experience of doctor-al students: A contribution to the practical relevance debate. MIS Quarterly 32 No. 4, 675-686.
Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol29/iss1/7
Lave J. & Wenger E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participa-tion, IRL report 90-0013, Paolo Alto, CA: Institute for Research on Learn-ing, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Levy, Y. & Ellis, J. (2006). A system approach to conduct an effective literature review in support of Information System research. Informing Science Jour-nal 9, 181-212.
Malfroy, J. & Yates, L. (2003). Knowledge in Action: doctoral programmes forg-ing new identities. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 25, No 2, 119-129.
Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Or-ganization Science 5, No 1, 14-37.
Orlikowski, W. J. & Barley, S. R. (2001), Technology and institutions: What can research on information technology and research on organisations learn from each other?. MIS Quarterly 25, No 2, 145-165.
Park, J., Jang, K. & Kim, I. (2009). An analysis of the actual processes of physi-cists’ research and the implications for teaching scientific inquiry in school. Research in Science Education 39, No 1, 111-129.
Parker, R. (2009). A learning community approach to doctoral education in the social sciences. Teaching in Higher Education 14, No 1, 43-54.
Pearson, M. & Brew, A. (2002). Research training and supervision development. Studies in Higher Education 27, No 2, 135-150.
Pearson, M., Evans, T, & Macauley, P. (2004). The working life of doctoral stu-dents: Challenges for research education and training. Studies in Continuing Education 26, No 3, 347-353.
Polanyi, M. (1966), The tacit dimension, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Probst, G. & Borzillo, S. (2008). Why communities of practice succeed and why they fail. European Management Journal 26, 335-347.
Slyke, C. V., Bostrom, R., Courtney, J., McLean, E., Snyder & Watson, R. T. (2003). Experts’ advice to Information Systems doctoral students. Commu-nications of the Association for Information Systems 12, 469-478.
Straub, D. W. & Ang, S. (2008). Readability and the relevance versus rigor debate. MIS Quarterly 32, No 4, iii-x.
Tennant, M. (2004). Doctoring the knowledge worker. Studies in Continuing Ed-ucation 26, No 3, 431-441.
Terrell, S. R., Snyder, M. M. & Dringus, L. P. (2009). The development, validation, and application of the Doctoral Student Connectedness Scale. Internet and Higher Education 12, 112-116.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E & Snyder W. (2000). Communities of practice: The organizational frontier. Harward Business Review, 78, Issue 1, 139-145.
Wilenius, R. (1987). Ihminen filosofisena ongelmana (The human being as a phil-osophical problem). In Wilenius, R. Oksala, P., Mehtonen, L, & M. Juntunen (Eds.) Johdatus filosofiseen ajatteluun, Jyväskylä: Ateena, 9-40.
Whitelock, D., Faulkner, D. & Miell, D. (2008). Promoting creativity in PhD super-vision: Tensions and dilemmas, Thinking Skills and Creativity 3, 143-153.
Wikström, C-E. & Isomäki, H. (2008). Human-centeredness in customer relation-ship management implementation research: Towards a holistic perspective, to be submitted to the International Journal of E-Business Research, http://www.cs.uta.fi/reports/dsarja/D-2008-2.pdf.
Published
2017-12-15
How to Cite
NAARMALA, Jyri; KOPONEN, Erkki; RANNILA, Jukka.
Spanning Boundaries between Academia and Practice in Information Systems (IS): A Case Study of a Community and Network of Practice.
International SERIES on Information Systems and Management in Creative eMedia (CreMedia), [S.l.], n. 2017/1, p. 303-328, dec. 2017.
ISSN 2341-5576.
Available at: <https://www.ambientmediaassociation.org/Journal/index.php/series/article/view/268>. Date accessed: 22 sep. 2023.
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Articles
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