Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

The Power of a Good Story or the Great Potential of Information Systems History or Some Lessons from a Heroic Journey

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Nordic Contributions in IS Research (SCIS 2015)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 223))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 639 Accesses

Abstract

This paper is an essay about my journey as an information systems (IS) historian. In the paper, I briefly outline the past and the current situation with the environmental circumstances of history writing in the IS research field. I also highlight some lessons I have learned studying and applying the historical method over the past decade and a half. I do this in the context of a four-tiered research framework. I conclude that there continues to be a great need for written IS history and urge IS researchers to take upon themselves this important quest that will benefit future generations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    I am using TAM as an example for no other reason that I happened to have easy access to the numbers of published papers in that area that were useful for making a point. I could have just as well chosen several other similarly popular IS research topics that are over represented in academic journals.

References

  1. Tosh, J.: The Pursuit of History, 3rd edn. Pearson Education Ltd., Essex (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Porra, J., Hirschheim, R., Parks, M.S.: The history of Texaco’s corporate IT function—a general systems theoretical interpretation. MIS Q. 29(4), 721–746 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Porra, J., Hirschheim, R., Parks, M.S.: Forty years of corporate information technology function at Texaco Inc.—a history. Inf. Organ. 16(1), 82–107 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bryant, A., Black, A., Land, F., Porra, J.: What is history? What is IS history? What IS history? … and why even bother with history? J. Inf. Technol. 28(1), 1–17 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Porra, J., Hirschheim, R., Parks, M.S.: The historical research method and IS research. J. Assoc. IS 15(9), 536–576 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Porra, J.: A dialogue with C. West Churchman. Inf. Syst. Front. 3(1), 19–27 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Porra, J., Hirschheim,R.: Enid Mumford’s contribution to IS theory and theoretical thinking – introduction to the special issue. J. Assoc. IS 8(9), 463–466 (2007a)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Porra, J., Hirschheim, R.: A lifetime of ethical use of computers – a dialogue with Enid Mumford. J. Assoc. IS 8(9), 467–479 (2007b)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Montessori, M.: The Absorbent Mind. (Translated from the Italian by Claude A. Claremont). Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Montessori: Montessori – The International Montessori Index. http://www.montessori.edu/index.html (2015)

  11. Davis, F.D.: Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Q. 13(3), 319–340 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Bagozzi, R.P.: The legacy of the technology acceptance model and a proposal for a paradigm shift. J. Assoc. IS 8(4), 244–254 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Mason, R.O., McKenney, J.L., Copeland, D.G.: Developing an historical tradition in MIS research. MIS Q. 21(3), 257–278 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mason, R.O., McKenney, J.L., Copeland, D.G.: An historical method for MIS research: steps and assumptions. MIS Q. 21(3), 307–320 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. McKenney, J.L., Mason, R.O., Copeland, D.G.: Bank of America: the crest and trough of technological leadership. MIS Q. 21(3), 321–353 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Marwick, A.: The Nature of History. MacMillan, London (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Bloch, M.: The Historian’s Craft. Vintage Books, New York (1953)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Cannadine, D. (ed.): What is History Now?. Palgrave Macmillan, New York (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Bagozzi, R.P., Davis, F.D., Warshaw, P.R.: Development and test of a theory of technological learning and usage. Hum. Relat. 45(7), 660–686 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Williams, M.D., Dwivedi, Y.K., Lal, B., Schwartz, A.: Contemporary trends and issues in IT adoption and diffusion research. J. Inf. Technol. 24, 1–10 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Montessori, M.: The Secret of Childhood. Ballantine, New York (1982)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. C.T. Bauer College of Business, Department of Decision and Information Sciences, Management Information Systems, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204, USA

    Jaana Porra

Authors
  1. Jaana Porra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaana Porra .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Harri Oinas-Kukkonen

  2. University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Netta Iivari

  3. University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Kari Kuutti

  4. University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Anssi Öörni

  5. University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Mikko Rajanen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this paper

Cite this paper

Porra, J. (2015). The Power of a Good Story or the Great Potential of Information Systems History or Some Lessons from a Heroic Journey. In: Oinas-Kukkonen, H., Iivari, N., Kuutti, K., Öörni, A., Rajanen, M. (eds) Nordic Contributions in IS Research. SCIS 2015. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 223. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21783-3_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21783-3_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-21782-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-21783-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics