Recognizing the Relevance of IS Research and Broadening the Appeal and Applicability of Future Publications

Highly applicable research is done not only by some IS faculty members, but also by software firms, consulting firms, and other organizations whose products and services depend on IS research they perform. The applicability of IS research done by academics is evident in the concepts and explanations in many textbooks. There should be little surprise, however, that practitioners who expect readability and direct applicability have little patience for IS publications shaped by the concerns and expectations of academia. It might be possible to broaden the acceptance and relevance of IS research publications by distributing them in both a short version designed to demonstrate relevance and a long version designed to demonstrate rigor and provide supporting details.