Issues in Publishing for MIS Academicians

This paper depicts some of the issues facing the academicians seeking to publish in the field of Management Information Systems (MIS). Several environmental factors or "driving forces" are identified along with the results of their interaction. The resulting situation is troublesome, but some recent developments promise opportunities for minimizing the disadvantages and exploiting the advantages of publishing in this evolving field. INTRODUCTION education of people who can play a creative and active role in developing Several papers in this conference deal and using information systems in with the nature of the dilemma facing the organizations (i.e., for a strong evolving field of MIS. No where is this academic community in MIS). dilemma more critical that in the area of publishing academic manuscripts and 4. A strong academic community will research results. The purpose of this require academic respectability to paper is to identify the nature of the exist within the infrastructure of the dilemma and some of its implications. The American higher education system. other papers in this session offer some Respectability is defined in terms of suggestions or evidence that constitute scholarly output and performance as guidance for academicians seeking to evidenced by tenure and promotion of publish MIS work. its members through a peer review process in the broad academic community. ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES 5. The information technology industry There are a powerful set of continues to produce technical advances environmental "driving forces " which set much more rapidly than they can the stage for the problems faced by a the comfortably assimilate into the MIS academicians. They include the organizational structure. At the same following: time, the information technology industry has become a multibillion 1. The information technology evolution is dollar business with strong market in full swing. The increasing power imperatives that generate a level of and decreasing cost of the technology competition leading to continual is making the computer and related shakeouts and instability. information technology one of the most pervasive forces in modern life. The need for increasing productivity and THE RESULTS effectiveness of organizations in our society make them the most important The interaction of these "driving context for the application of this forces' results in a situation that can be information technology. follows. depicted by Figure 1 and summarized as 2. The technology alone is not sufficient. 1. MIS as an academic field must draw on Advances and improvements in several "source disciplines," organizational structures and coalescing and integrating them to form procedures, and management behavior are a synthesis which, in the true sense of required to properly apply and exploit the word "system," is more powerful and the information technology. just the sum of their individual contributions. Until it is finally 3. The result is a critical need for (a) established as viable academic research on the application of discipline, MIS must seek academic information technology in the respectability from these source organizational setting and (b) disciplines.