The discourse on tool integration beyond technology, a literature survey

The tool integration research area emerged in the 1980s. This survey focuses on those strands of tool integration research that discuss issues beyond technology. We reveal a discourse centered around six frequently mentioned non-functional properties. These properties have been discussed in relation to technology and high level issues. However, while technical details have been covered, high level issues and, by extension, the contexts in which tool integration can be found, are treated indi erently. We conclude that this indi erence needs to be challenged, and research on a larger set of stakeholders and contexts initiated. An inventory of the use of classi cation schemes underlines the di culty of evolving the classical classi cation scheme published by Wasserman. Two frequently mentioned rede nitions are highlighted to facilitate their wider use. A closer look at the limited number of research methods and the poor attention to research design indicates a need for a changed set of research methods. We propose more critical case studies and method diversi cation through theory triangulation. Additionally, among disparate discourses we highlight several focusing on standardization which are likely to contain relevant ndings. This suggests that open communities employed in the context of (pre-)standardization could be especially important in furthering the targeted discourse.