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Information Systems

Information Systems support individuals in organizations with information for better or faster decisions. They enable new business processes and business models, altering the competitive arena in which a company is embedded. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are utilized for corporate activities from the perspective of distinct user roles. The nature of the Information Systems discipline is both, theoretical and technological. While theoretic-empirical contributions focus on the management and use of Information Systems and Information Infrastructures in organizations, technological-constructivist contributions aim at the design of Information Systems for facilitating new business processes and models.

Fields of research

The area is following a complementary research approach, combining a theoretic-empirical and technological-constructivist perspective. The fields of research can be grouped into the following major areas:

  1. Development of Information Systems and Infrastructures
  2. Innovative Information Systems
  3. Management of Information Systems and Infrastructures, as well as
  4. Electronic Business and Government

In the context of Information Systems and Infrastructure Design, a variety of interconnected themes is covered. Software Product Management and Usability Engineering investigate development processes with specific focus on customer and end-user integration. Component-based Software Development and Object Data Management offer the instruments to design and to develop specific business functions on the application layer as well as to manage the underlying data. The productivity and impact of Information Systems and Infrastructure Development Processes is investigated in order to improve the respective collaboration activities.

In the realm of Innovative Information Systems and Infrastructures, new systems concepts and solutions are designed and evaluated. Distributed Systems and Context-Aware Computing lay the foundation of inter-organizational Information Systems and Infrastructures that facilitate new forms of the value chain. The middleware layer allows for a modular and flexible design of contemporary application functions. Enterprise Information Systems, relying on enterprise software packages such as Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management or Business Intelligence, are the backbone and – in some instances – a differentiator of corporations outperforming their competitors. We take an end-user perspective on Enterprise Information Systems and conduct research in the areas of social augmentation, information security, and flexibility.

In the domain of Information Systems and Infrastructure management, the full potential of these research objects is explored. Investigations in the areas of Information Management and Business Process Management are persued. On an information systems level, the “fit” between tasks, processes, technologies, and people is investigated. On an infrastructure level, complex arrangements of IS Governance and IS Sourcing are scrutinized. Complementary to these issues, the Business Value of Information Systems are investigated to gain a better understanding of how Information Systems can be deployed effectively to support a corporations value creation.

Information Systems and infrastructures facilitate new forms of Electronic Business and Electronic Government. Within behavioristic empirical research, the key drivers for leveraging efficient utilization of such systems are investigated. Specific research areas are the adoption of system standards, electronic business models, cloud computing, process virtualization, online pricing and smart metering solutions.