Crisis! what crisis?

Abstract

There is a crisis discussed in the discipline of Information Systems. Those who perceive such a crisis to exist are by no means agreed, as to its nature and origins. Our inquiry shows that there are a three distinct "crises" being debated. The first of these relates to the substance and boundaries of the discipline itself and if it is even a discipline at all. Another "crisis" relates to higher education and a fall in demand for IS courses from new students. Commentators perceive this to threaten the existence of IS departments in Universities, and to have potentially serious consequences for both research strategies and career paths of academics. Thirdly, there is perception of a crisis in the wider world, characterised by fewer vacancies in IS-relevant occupations whilst, at the same time, employers complain of a shortage of suitably skilled applicants for the vacancies available. This paper examines evidence for the three "crises," real or imagined, suggested above, in the Information Systems field. © Springer Physica-Verlag 2010.