Communication in the IS Community: A Call for Research and Design

Abstract

Many in the IS community are aware of the importance of communication practices in building a sustainable community. Yet, surprisingly, little is known about the practices and perceptions of communication within our field. In this study, members of the ISWorld listserv were surveyed for their patterns of use and involvement, their opinions on the roles and management of the listserv, and their recommendations for design. A complementary archival analysis, which includes an analysis of the 9-11 aftermath and an analysis of how people respond to requests for information, corroborated some of the survey results. The survey results suggest that members are generally satisfied with the listserv but much more can still be done to improve its conduct and design. Moreover, more research can and should be conducted on the listserv and on other forms of communication within the IS community. We enumerate several research topics that emerged from this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]