Paper Number
1009
Paper Type
Complete Research Paper
Abstract
The demand for greater societal impact and participation of science in public discourse is at odds with the current “publish or perish” culture. A major factor why such a culture could be established in the first place is the excessive desire for complaisance, recognition, and status, which at some point turns into greed. There are two forms of greed that we will explore. Personal greed refers to short-term self- maximization behaviours that researchers engage in to secure academic positions and maintain a certain status within their community. Vicarious greed is rooted in the desire to please corporations by conducting research that helps extend surveillance capitalism, over-consumerism, and other harmful practices to civil society. The objective of this article is to catalyse a discourse on strategies to mitigate the influence of greed on IS research and careers. This discourse is crucial for the IS discipline to uphold its positive influence on society.
Recommended Citation
Mettler, Tobias, "Research, Careers, and Greed: An IS Perspective on a Human Failing and How IT Threatens the Future of the Discipline" (2024). ECIS 2024 Proceedings. 1.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2024/track25_futures/track25_futures/1
Research, Careers, and Greed: An IS Perspective on a Human Failing and How IT Threatens the Future of the Discipline
The demand for greater societal impact and participation of science in public discourse is at odds with the current “publish or perish” culture. A major factor why such a culture could be established in the first place is the excessive desire for complaisance, recognition, and status, which at some point turns into greed. There are two forms of greed that we will explore. Personal greed refers to short-term self- maximization behaviours that researchers engage in to secure academic positions and maintain a certain status within their community. Vicarious greed is rooted in the desire to please corporations by conducting research that helps extend surveillance capitalism, over-consumerism, and other harmful practices to civil society. The objective of this article is to catalyse a discourse on strategies to mitigate the influence of greed on IS research and careers. This discourse is crucial for the IS discipline to uphold its positive influence on society.
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