The concept of mindfulness in information systems research: a multi-dimensional analysis

Abstract

The concept of mindfulness has garnered increasing attention during the last decade. Initially proposed within the scope of information systems (IS) research as a means of creating a deeper knowledge foundation for decision making regarding information technology (IT) innovations, it soon became broadly applied throughout IS research. To gain a better understanding of the evolved diversity of this concept, this paper reviews and analyzes extant IS research by means of (a) the investigated IS themes, (b) the purpose of using the concept, (c) the level of application of the concept, and (d) the tendency to focus either on mindfulness, mindlessness, or both. By synthesizing research findings, we derive a high-level IS mindfulness theory. We then propose future research opportunities, such as the explanation of the relationships between different levels of mindfulness, applying mindfulness to bridge the different phases of the software development process, and the identification of guidelines for designing information systems that facilitate mindfulness. As the first review on the application of mindfulness in IS research, we contribute to the overall understanding of mindfulness and address the four abovementioned dimensions from which mindfulness emerges in order to demonstrate that mindfulness provides a meaningful platform for generating knowledge.

Keywords:

• individual mindfulness
• organizational mindfulness
• mindful organizing
• literature review

Associate Editor: Dr. Sabine Matook

Editor: Prof. Frantz Rowe

Associate Editor: Dr. Sabine Matook

Editor: Prof. Frantz Rowe

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sabine Dernbecher

About the Authors

Sabine Dernbecher is an external Ph.D. candidate at Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany and currently works as a consultant for the financial services industry. Her research interests are in the areas of mindfulness with a focus on cloud computing. Her articles have been published in several conference proceedings such as ECIS, HICSS, or AMCIS.

Roman Beck

Roman Beck is a Full Professor in the area of IT innovation management and leadership at IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His research focuses on the role of IT services sourcing, services management, and services engineering with a special focus on IS outsourcing, social media, and virtualization. He is interested in institutional logics of organizations, organizational mindfulness, and awareness. Beck serves as a Senior Editor for the JITTA and the DATA BASE Journal and as an Associate Editor for BISE and has published over 25 journal and 80 peer-reviewed conference articles in outlets such as MISQ, JIT, CAIS, IT&P, BISE, ICIS, and others.