(Re)considering the Concept of Reproducibility of Information Systems Literature Reviews Completed Research

Literature reviews play a key role in information systems (IS) research by describing, understanding, testing, and explaining the constructs and theories within a particular topic area. In recent years, various commentaries, debates, and editorials in the field's top journals have highlighted the importance of systematicity and transparency in creating trustworthy literature reviews. Although also recognized as being important, the characteristic of reproducibility of IS literature reviews has not received nearly the same level of attention. This paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussion on the elements required for high quality IS literature reviews by clarifying the role of reproducibility. In doing so, we find that the concept of reproducibility has been misunderstood in much of the guidance to authors of IS literature reviews. Based on this observation, we make several suggestions for clarifying the terminology and identifying when reproducibility is desirable and feasible within IS literature reviews.