Information Systems Research in Scandinavia

The IRIS (Information Systems Research in Scandinavia) Association is a non-profit organization aiming to promote research and research education in the use, development, and management of information systems (IS) in the Nordic region, and making sure that research known in the international research community and among practitioners. The Association was formed around the annual IRIS conference which has run since 1978. The IRIS Association was formally registered in 1997. The IRIS Association also represents the Scandinavian chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) serving AIS members in the Nordic region.

The IRIS Association manages the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS) and organizes the IRIS Conference as well as the Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems Conference (SCIS). The current president of the association is Magnus Rotvit Perlt Hansen (2023-2024).

Governance
The IRIS Association is steered by the executive board consisting of four senior members (President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Ordinary member) and two PhD student members. The board members are elected by the members of the association present at the annual business meeting which takes place during the IRIS/SCIS conferences. Senior members are elected for a four-year term, PhD student members are elected for a two-year term. Each senior member represents one of the four IRIS countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark). PhD members represent two alternating IRIS countries.

The executive board is responsible for ensuring the purpose of the association as defined by its bylaws, overseeing the IRIS/SCIS conference arrangements, appointing editorial board members of the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, and running the daily operations of the association.

IRIS and SCIS Conferences
In 1978, the IRIS Association started holding annual conferences, and it is the oldest consecutive IS conference in the world. The initiative came from a group of Finnish computer science professors including Pentti Kerola (University of Oulu), Pertti Järvinen (Tampere University), and Eero Peltola (University of Jyväskylä), who organized the first conference in Tampere. The purpose of the conference was to create a space for Nordic scholars to discuss developments in the research on systems analysis and design. The first nine editions of the conference were known as the Scandinavian Research Seminar on Systemeering. The current name, IRIS, was adopted in 1987. The conference is organized as an annual working seminar for Nordic researchers and PhD students. After the first few meetings in Finland, the locations now alternate between four Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Among the subjects discussed at the IRIS conferences are Information and Communications Technology, Business Process Management and Participatory Design.

In 2006, Judith Molka-Danielsen and her associates published a paper that identified the most prolific authors who had successfully submitted papers to IRIS. The top ten researchers were: Lars Mathiassen, Markku Nurminen, Pertti Järvinen, Carsten Sørensen, Per Flensburg, Karl Heinz Kautz, Peter Axel Nielsen, Lars Svensson, Urban Nuldén, and Ole Hanseth.

In 2010, the IRIS Association launched the Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems (SCIS), which is organized in conjunction with the IRIS conference. SCIS format resembles other major information systems conferences, focusing on a selection of more complete and rigorously reviewed research papers presented during the conference sessions. The conference proceedings are published by the electronic library of the Association for Information Systems.

In 2020-2021, two conferences IRIS43/SCIS11 (Sundsvall) and IRIS44/SCIS12 (Orkanger) were organized online due to restrictions and safety considerations brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next IRIS/SCIS conference will be held in Uddevalla, Sweden in August 2024.

Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS)
The Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems is a peer-reviewed journal of the IRIS Association and one of the official journals of the Association for Information Systems. Currently, SJIS is published by the electronic library of the Association for Information Systems. The journal historically focused on critical studies of information systems development and use and their impact on society. SJIS also emphasizes research methods traditionally associated with the Nordic region, such as participatory research and design science. However, the journal attracts authors and readers from around the world. Over the years, the journal has published several seminal articles on design science research, critical perspectives on information systems development, and IT strategy by prominent information systems scholars including Alan Hevner, Lucy Suchman, Juhani Iivari, and Claudio Ciborra.

The idea to create a journal connected to the IRIS Association was discussed as early as 1984 during the IRIS conference in Helsinki. The inaugural issue of SJIS was published in 1989. SJIS editorial board consists of four rotating editors representing the four IRIS countries. The editors are appointed by the IRIS executive board. The first Editor-in-Chief of the journal was Lars Mathiassen.