Research Directions in Information Systems Field, Current Status and Future Trends: A Literature Analysis of AIS Basket of Top Journals

Abstract

Information systems, as an emerging discipline which is dynamic and interdisciplinary, is constantly undergoing rapid changes; therefore, one of the most critical issues is to study the topics and methodological trends in this field. This study aimed to thoroughly investigate the topics and methodologies used in information system throughout a twelve-year period (2007-2018). In the present study, all the articles published in the top eight information system journals were investigated based on their topics and methodologies using a literature analysis approach, and the most common topics and methodologies in such studies were then detected. The main topics addressed in this filed were electronic commerce/business, information system research, and IS usage/adoption, and the survey was the dominant research methodology in this regard. Furthermore, an increase in the use of the mathematical models indicates that more accurate quantitative research methods have made this field more mature. The research findings also show that the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, social media, bitcoin and block chain, digital transformation, sharing economy, digital platform, methodology of machine learning, data mining, and text mining are the main research topics and methods which should be further studied.