A Personal Perspective on a Conceptual Foundation for Information Systems
Journal of the Association for Information Systems · 2014 · Volume 15 · Issue 8
Abstract
In this paper, I propose a conceptual foundation for information systems based on three propositions: P1: Information systems improve an entity’s ability to attain its goals P2: Information systems improve the ability of entities to cooperate on shared goals P3: Information systems transform entities in intended and unintended ways. I apply an evolutionary-historical analysis, a variation of historical analysis, to the emergence of humans’ major information processing capabilities to trace the development of information systems to establish the propositions. I identify some research questions directly arising from the three propositions and advance a case that these propositions are potentially a sufficient conceptual foundation for IS research.
Keywords
Propositions, Information, Information Systems, Goal, Cooperation, Consequences
Enable JavaScript for citation tools and additional paper interactions.