Research on Data Network Effects: Recommendations for Phenomenon-based Theorising

Abstract

We present a model of phenomenon-driven theorizing that may guide researchers in bridging art and science as they engage in pure theory development. The model seeks to leverage activities related to discovery and prescience (conceiving the theory), imagination and logic (constructing the theory), as well as storytelling and scripting (communicating the theory). We illustrate the model through a reflective inquiry into our recent work on data network effects. The model represents a balanced take on theory development and is useful for tempering the natural tendency in academia to drift toward the science of theorizing at the expense of the art of theorizing.

Biography

Robert W. Gregory is Associate Professor of Business Technology at University of Miami Herbert Business School. He is also Research Fellow with MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) and regular guest professor for executive education at IESE Business School in New York and McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia. He holds a diploma (combined bachelor’s and master’s degree) in Management Information Systems from the University of Cologne, Germany, a master’s degree in International Management from the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS), and a Ph.D. equivalent, Dr. rer. pol., in Business Administration from Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany.

He co-founded and serves as Co-President of the newly formed AIS special interest group on Digital Innovation, Transformation, and Entrepreneurship (SIGDITE). He serves as Associate Editor for Information Systems Research and Senior Editor for Journal of the Association for Information Systems, where he handles the 'theory' paper submissions. He received the Early Career Award from the global Association for Information Systems (2016) and the Best Reviewer Award from Information Systems Research (ISR) and Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ).

Robert's research program focuses on novel management and information systems phenomena related to the diffusion and innovation with digital technologies and the associated transformation of individuals, organizations, and markets. His research has appeared in premier journals, including MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, and Academy of Management Review. His teaching covers digital innovation and disruption, digital transformation, and product and project management across undergraduate, master’s, MBA, and executive levels and spans multiple countries and cultures. He has worked and collaborated with leading blue chip companies across Europe and USA.