Introspection within the IS discipline - Social Cognitive Theory as a Reference Theory for Future Research

A multitude of theoretical models and constructs has been used to investigate individual behavior. We have now reached a point where the IS discipline requires cohesive guidance to make sense of such a large number of theoretical considerations but also to assist future research in identifying theories that have the potential to shed some new light to understand individual behaviour. The aim of this paper is to use Social Cognitive Theory to organize the theoretical models and constructs used in IS and to provide a clear depiction of the state of our knowledge. First, a thorough review of the IS literature which used Social Cognitive Theory yielded 62 papers. Second, the major behavioral theoretical models used in IS research were also reviewed. This vast literature is mapped into the SCT framework, thus highlighting the main successes but also pitfalls of past research. Future research directions are then identified and discussed.