The Theory of Identity Management Extended to the Authentication of Identity Assertions

Abstract

At the 35th Bled eConference, a previously-published pragmatic metatheoretic model was articulated in the context of identity management. The present paper extends that theory to the authentication of the various categories of assertions that arise in identity management activities. The extended theory reflects the important distinction between the concepts of identity and entity. It deals with the fundamental categories, in which a particular data-record is claimed to relate to a particular physical entity or virtual identity; but it also encompasses claims about the properties of real-world things, and assertions that records in two different data-sets apply to the same (id)entity. The analysis has important implications for the practice of IS, and for IS researchers whose work is intended to influence IS practice.