The specificities of the French-speaking community of teacher-researchers in the Information System in terms of prestige of journals and publications

Abstract

To respond to the identity crisis of the Information Systems (IS) disciple and agreeingwith Hirsheim and Klein (2003), we believe that a “reflective analysis” can contribute to afavorable evolution of the discipline. Within the French-speaking community, such reflec-tive analysis is needed to evaluate the journals in the IS field and their rankings in orderto understand the production of the French-speaking researchers. The publishing process(how and where?) are fundamental components of the identity of the French-speakingcommunity, as it reflects the community’s value systems, paradigms, cultural practices, sys-tems of valuation, organizational structure and aspirations.This article analyzes the results of a scientometric study conducted on the InformationSystems journals, targeting the French-speaking academic community. Unsurprisingly,Management Information Systems Quarterly(MISQ), which is considered the most presti-gious journal in the IS world community, is also the most prestigious journal in the French-speaking community. In addition, this study allows us to rank the most prestigious journalsfrom the point of view of French-speaking community. It shows a strong polarization ofFrench researchers, unlike their colleagues in Quebec, toward publishing largely in jour-nals whose the main editor-in-chief is or was European.