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IS8004 SEMINAR 9

Theory, Theorising and Theory Development

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Purpose

To sensitize you to theoryWhat it is good forWhat are the problems with theory

To explore how theories are developedTheorisingTheory construction

To present a process model for theory building

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Introduction

The critical importance of theory in our research is well recognised

Much has been written about what theories are – and are not

Yet the process of crafting a new theory is seldom documented or explained

Further, there are concerns that we are too focused on theory and insufficiently reflective about this

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Journal Perspectives MISQ: SEs require a large theoretical

contribution ISJ: Need to emphasise the theoretical

implications of findings AMJ: All articles must make strong

theoretical contributions ASQ: “If manuscripts contain no theory,

their value is suspect”

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Theoretical Contributions This is a major expectation for journals Here is a typical reject letter (Hambrick, 2007) “The reviewers all agree that your paper

addresses an important topic and is well argued; moreover, they find your empirical results convincing and interesting. At the same time, however, the reviewers believe the paper falls short in making a theoretical contribution. Therefore, I’m sorry . . . etc., etc., etc.”

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Theories in IS In IS, we have a reputation for borrowing! Notably, we borrow theories, from

Marketing, Psychology, Economics, Sociology,… For example

Transaction Cost EconomicsAdaptive Structuration TheoryTheory of Planned BehaviourTransactive Memory TheoryPunctuated Equilibrium Theory

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Theories Developed in IS

There are a few…TAMISSMMST

Straub, in an MISQ editorial, claims that there are a number of native IS theories

But still, most theoretical work is incremental, not radical

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Thoughts on Theories 1 “Many nice things can be said about theory.

Theories help us organize our thoughts, generate coherent explanations, and improve our predictions. In short, theories help us achieve understanding” (Hambrick, 2007).

“Nothing is so practical as a good theory” (Lewin, 1945)

“Nothing is so dangerous as a bad theory”(Ghoshal, 2005)

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Thoughts on Theories 2 “Good theory is practical precisely because it

advances knowledge in a scientific discipline, guides research toward crucial questions, and enlightens the profession of management.”

“Whetten suggests that the essential ingredients of a value-added theoretical contribution are explicit treatments of: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? And the greatest of these is Why”.Van de Ven, 1989.

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Thoughts on Theories 3 But theory must always serve the goal of

achieving understanding. Theory is not a goal in itself.Hambrick, 2007

“Theorists often write trivial theories because their process of theory construction is hemmed in by methodological strictures that favor validation rather than usefulness”Weick, 1989

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Thoughts on Theories 4 “Theory cannot be improved until we improve

the theorizing process, and we cannot improve the theorizing process until we describe it more explicitly, operate it more self-consciously, and decouple it from validation more deliberately”

“By theory we mean "an ordered set of assertions about a generic behavior or structure assumed to hold throughout a significantly broad range of specific instances" (Sutherland, 1975, p. 9).” Weick, 1989

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Thoughts on Theories 5 “A good theory is a plausible theory, and a

theory is judged to be more plausible and of higher quality if it is interesting rather than obvious, irrelevant or absurd, obvious in novel ways, a source of unexpected connections, high in narrative rationality, aesthetically pleasing, or correspondent with presumed realities”Weick, 1989.

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Theory and Laws

Theories are most unlikely to be laws in the social sciences (unlike pure sciences), since there are too many conditions that may affect any outcome.

This means that any theory must have some social boundaries – yet we still expect some degree of generalisation.

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Gregor’s Types of Theory

Grand theoriesWith sweeping generalisations relatively

unbounded in space and time Meta theories

Written at a very high level of abstraction and providing a way of thinking about other theories (e.g. structuration theory)

Substantive theoryDeveloped for a specific area: programmers,

students

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Types of Theory

Formal theoryDeveloped for a broad social area

○ Power, deviance, socialisation

Mid-range theoriesModerately abstractLimited scopeCan lead to testable hypotheses

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Aspects of Theory

CausalityWhat is the cause? What was the result?

Explanation and PredictionWhy did it happen? May be causal.What will happen next?

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Gregor’s Classification of Theories Analysis and Description Explanation Prediction Explanation and Prediction Design and Action

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Analysis and Description

“Says what is. The theory does not extend beyond

analysis and description. No causal relationships among

phenomena are specified and no predictions are made.”

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Explanation

“Says what is, how, why, when, and where.

The theory provides explanations but does not aim to predict with any precision. There are no testable propositions.”

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Prediction

“Says what is and what will be. The theory provides predictions and has

testable propositions but does not have well-developed justificatory causal explanations”.

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Explanation and Prediction “Says what is, how, why, when, where,

and what will be. Provides predictions and has both

testable propositions and causal explanations”.

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Design and Action

“Says how to do something. The theory gives explicit prescriptions

(e.g., methods, techniques, principles of form and function) for constructing an artifact”.

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Theory Selection 1

DeSanctis (1993) “believes that researchers' assumptions about organizations, concerning the role of people, management and technology in organizational change, influence the choice of theories which researchers use in their work”.Olesen and Myers, 1999

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Theory Selection 2

If one takes an individualist perspective, and one views the organisation as being made up of individuals, then one tends also to assume that technology is designed for individuals – and then to select a theory that is premised on this focus on individuals.

The same is true for the collectivist perspective.

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Individualist or Collectivist or…? TRA, TPB, TAM? Social Network/Capital/Exchange

Theory, Transactive Memory Theory Adaptive Structuration Theory Institutional Theory? Resource Based

Theories? Media Richness Theory? Punctuated

Equilibrium Theory? Task Technology Fit?

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So,… When selecting a theory, it is important that

its basic assumptions are appropriate for the research context and your units of analysis.

Some theories may not be specific to individuals or groups at all

But theory selection must be handled carefully. Perhaps several theories could apply, but which one is better? Also, we need to be aware of the need to theorise, to develop our own theories.

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Theorisation

The process of generating theoretical ideas, of thinking about cause and effect and relationships, of identifying parsimonious explanations to describe, analyse, predict or explain, or design for action.

A good start is a set of theoretical propositions – which can later be developed into formal hypotheses

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Propositions A good source of propositions is

unexpected findingsThe theory did not predict as expectedYou found something strangeAn interesting and novel phenomenon was

revealed – that cannot be explained by existing theory

But to realise this, you must have an open mind

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The Theorising Process

In recent work, I theorised how Chinese employees share knowledge – in ways different to those encountered in the literature

We had a lot of qualitative data, some new ideas, and evidence that existing theories did not explain employee behaviour well.

We developed propositions, and refined them – with feedback

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A Process Model of Theorising

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1. Abstract

First we have to abstract an interesting research question based on pre-theorising experiences – so as to address a problem or mystery

To build a new theory, we don’t just add a few bricks to an existing one – that’s theory refinement

Instead a new theory requires a new overarching architecture (cf. Mintzberg, 2005).

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2. Identify

After abstraction, we need to identify which variables are relevant to the phenomenon of interest. This requires talking to stakeholders as well

as examining the literature.It is good to identify a long list of possible

constructs at this stage

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3. Select Now we had to fine-tune the scope of

the theory, which constructs to include This is a process full of serendipity and

guess-work, especially in early iterations. Chance conversations sparked ideas.

Not all made it into the final theory, but all played a role in the theorising

We did want to include Chinese constructs

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4. Explain

The selected constructs/variables need to be defined precisely

They also need to be supported by existing theory, by strong sources of evidence or both

The pillars of the theory should be clear by later iterations of this stage

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5. Synthesise

The variables now need to be connected together logically

First create propositions, later hypotheses

Cause and effect relationships are critical

A formal structural model (diagram) can be created as a pictorial guide to the emerging theory

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6. Validate Early stage validation may involve expert

feedback from academics, practitioners Thorough debates of contentious issues

are preferred – silent acquiescence brings little value

In later stages, the theory will be stronger and better able to resist criticisms – if the researchers reflect carefully on feedback

Later stage validation will require more thorough testing with detailed data collection, not simply thought experiments based on subjunctive reasoning

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An Iterative Process Model

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Continuous Reflection We can’t emphasise this too much We need to engage in constant

challenges of our assumptions and biases, and invite challenges from others

A new theory will struggle to be accepted – humans resist change

Some early ideas won’t make it into the final theory – but they were still important sparks and should be acknowledged

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The Limits of Theory In the 1930s, smoking was perceived to be

fashionable, stylish – even healthy! A German epidemiologist (Dr Franz Müller) found,

through a series of matched-sample studies, that smoking is associated with a number of serious diseases.

He had no theory. He was not a biologist, so he did not fully understand all the underlying cause and effect relationships. But he was very concerned.

So, can he publish? Is there any benefit to publishing? Or does he have to wait a few years – and how many people will die in the meantime?

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Data before Theory? Yes, sometimes we need to publish the

data first – and the theory will emerge later. The effort – to find the cause and effect –

may require the efforts of many researchers

It may be a lifetime’s work But the data, if carefully presented and

analysed, does have value. So, the journals have to be open-minded

enough to accept theory-free research.

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The Value of Theory? Theory must always serve the goal of

achieving understanding. Theory is not a goal in itself.Hambrick, 2007

Theory must add value, not take it away The path to understanding can be a long

and tortuous one – and so the path to the appropriate theory as well.

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References Avison, D.E. and Malaurent, J. (2014) Is Theory King? Questioning the Theory Fetish in

Information Systems, Journal of IT, 29, 4, 327-336. DeSanctis, G. (1993) Shifting Foundations in Group Support Systems Research, in Jessup, L.M.

and Valacich, J.S. (Eds), Group Support Systems: New Perspectives, Macmillan, New York. Ghoshal, S. (2005) Bad Management Theories are Destroying Good Management Practices,

Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4, 1, 75-91. Gregor, S. (2006) The Nature of Theory in Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, 30, 3, 611-642. Hambrick, D.C. (2007) The Field of Management’s Devotion to Theory: Too Much of a Good

Thing?, Academy of Management Journal, 50, 6, 1346-1352. Lewin, K. (1945) The Research Center for Group Dynamics at Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, Sociometry 8, 2, 126-136. Mintzberg, H. (2005) Developing Theory about the Development of Theory, In K.G. Smith and

M.A. Hitt (Eds.), Great Minds in Management: The Process of Theory Development, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 355-372.

Olesen, K. and Myers, M.D. (1999) Trying to Improve Communication and Collaboration with Information Technology, Information Technology & People, 12, 4, 317-332.

Sutherland, J. W. (1975) Systems: Analysis, Administration, and Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand.

Van de Ven, A. (1989) Nothing is Quite so Practical as a Good Theory, Academy of Management Review, 14, 4, 486-489.

Weick, K.E. (1989) Theory Construction as Disciplined Imagination, Academy of Management Review, 14, 4, 516-531.