Relevance Versus Rigor in IS Research: Need to Introduce A New Institution

Abstract

The need to improve relevance of IS research has been felt for quite some time. This study looks
at the previous solutions to improve relevance of IS research to practitioners and offers insights
on the reasons as to why they have not been successful. The study proposes introduction of a new
institution to help practitioners access IS research and use it to their advantage. This new
institution calls for IT executives to be trained in IS research so that they can extend the basic IS
theories to fit the context of their organizations. Possessing intimate knowledge of the context,
the executives should be in a position to find the appropriate missing links to add to the core
model to create a new model that suits the needs of their organization.