Communicating to Practitioners through IS Research: a Descriptive Review

Though IS researchers are continuously being encouraged to make their research more relevant for practitioners, there are still relatively few studies that have empirically assessed how relevant, and thus useful, IS research is to practitioners. The goal of this study is to assess the practical relevance of IS research now and over time to understand how contributions are presented to practitioners and whether the field has improved in addressing practitioner needs for consumable research. This descriptive review assesses 258 empirical studies published in MISQ and EJIS across three periods (1993–94, 2003–04, and 2013–14) to answer three research questions: (i) What are the major types of practical contributions in IS research; (ii) How are practical contributions structured in IS research; and (iii) Has the nature of practical recommendations changed over time? This study provides four learning lessons for IS researchers, reviewers and journals on communicating effectively to practitioners