Standalone Literature Reviews in IS Research: What Can Be Learnt From the Past and Other Fields?

Literature reviews (LRs) are recognized for their increasing impact in the information systems literature. Methodologists have drawn attention to the question of how we can leverage the value of LRs to preserve and generate knowledge. The panelists who participated in the discussion of ?Standalone Literature Reviews in IS Research: What Can Be Learnt from the Past and Other Fields?? at ICIS 2016 in Dublin acknowledged this significant issue and debated a) what the IS field can learn from other fields and where IS-specific challenges occur, b) how the IS field should move forward to foster the genre of LRs, and c) what best practices are to train doctoral IS students in publishing LRs. This article reports the key takeaways of this panel discussion. Guidance for IS scholars is provided on how to conduct LRs that contribute to the cumulative knowledge development within and across the IS field to best prepare the next generation of IS scholars.

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