Ethics and CSR Research in Top Ranked IS Journals, 1980-2013: A Developing Trend or Anomaly?

This study analyzes scholarly research on ethics and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in selected top ranked journals in the Information Systems field from 1980-2013. The purpose is to identify and examine the salience of ethics and CSR concepts and approaches in IS journals. Eighty-six articles were analyzed using bibliometric methods. Results show an increase in the use of ethics and CSR concepts from 1.24 to 2.23 percent of articles published during this period; the topics of privacy and principles were used in the sample of most cited articles; quantitative methods were more prevalent than qualitative methods; and non-normative (descriptive) ethical and CSR approaches slightly exceeded the use normative ('ought'/'should') orientations, which may indicate an integrative or fragmented state of development of IS as a developing field. We discuss whether or not these results signal a developing trend or an anomaly regarding the inclusion of ethics and CSR in the evolving field of IS research.