The European Information Systems Academy
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GUEST EDITORIAL
The European Information Systems Academy Robert D. Galliers, Edgar A. Whitley and Ray J. Paul European Journal of Information Systems (2007) 16, 3–4. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000669
In this issue, we have three papers that provide complimentary accounts on the European Information Systems Academy. Two of the papers are on separate analyses of the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), and the third examines the dominant North American view of IS scholarship and uses European scholarly journals to show the benefits of a more inclusive approach to IS scholarship. Considerable attention has been paid over the years in the literature to an analysis of the relative standing of Information Systems journals, and citation patterns. For example, starting with Mary Culnan’s (1986) cocitation analysis right up to more recent analyses such as that by Chen & Hirschheim (2004), which considered paradigmatic and methodological issues, we have been provided with rich accounts of the Information Systems research community. However, and as pointed out by Galliers & Meadows (2003), much of this analysis has been focused on the North American tradition. There is much less known regarding Information Systems research in Europe – the work of Avgerou and colleagues being an exception (Avgerou et al., 1999). This special section fills this gap by publishing three papers, two of which help in the development of a profile of the European Information Systems Academy. The first, of these by Bob Galliers and Edgar Whitley, considers the first 10 years of ECIS and provides data concerning ECIS authors, their institutions, research topics and citation patterns. Particular attention is drawn to the greater use made by European authors of social theories, than is certainly the case in North America. The paper also provides a useful historical context to the establishment of ECIS, and indeed, the European Journal of Information Systems. The second profile paper is by Richard Vidgen, Stephan Henneberg and Peter Naude´. While also focusing on ECIS, their approach is different in that they examine patterns based on co-authorship, in relation to the research papers presented at ECIS over the years, and conference panel membership. Using social network analysis (SNA), which has its roots in sociology and anthropology (Degenne & Forse, 1994; Wasserman & Faust, 1994) as their analytical lens, they highlight the wide network of coauthorship associated with ECIS research papers, in contrast to the greater social cohesion associated with the ECIS panels network. Their analysis concludes with a discussion of the range of possible interventions that might aid the continued development of the ECIS community, and also reflects on the utility of SNA in support of Information Systems research. Taken together, the two papers provide a fascinating account of what characterizes the European Information Systems research community, in contrast to other traditions elsewhere in the world. If the first two papers take a European view that loo
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