Information systems: a “cargo cult” science?

This article seeks to revitalise and add to the debate on the rising and declining fortunes of the field of information systems, to contrast and compare this to computer science, and to argue for a review within the field of the scientific basis of the field in general.

The article draws upon the existing debate within the information systems (IS) field and highlights pertinent IS debate and dogma from the historical past – including the notion of “cargo cult science” as debated by the Nobel laureate, Richard Feynmann, as a vehicle for the viewpoint discussion.

The field of IS is still susceptible to having weak roots in terms of scientific and theoretical formality for its fundamental basis, and those in the field should be warned against complacency in developing the field in an incremental manner.

This article adds to the debate on IS in general.