Methodological issues in emerging technologies research: experiences and recommendations

The study of emerging technologies is one of the newest areas of IS research. Methods and strategies commonly used in other IS research are also used in studying implementations of emerging technologies. The current proliferation of effectiveness measures points to a set of methodological problems found often in emerging technologies research: lack of underlying theory, inadequate research designs, low measurement validities and confounding due to context diversity. A series of field studies were conducted in 1989-90 as the first wave of a long-term stream of research. The design of the studies, their findings, and their problems are discussed in the context of a 'post-mortem' analysis. The analysis reveals that the field studies illustrate problems of inadequate research design. A new program of linked multiple case studies that pays more careful attention to design issues is introduced. Recommendations are made regarding the specific issues of background research, case selection, development of the study, and finishing the work.<>