Looking Beyond the Pointing Finger: Ensuring the Success of the Scholarly Capital Model in the Contemporary Academic Environment

Abstract

The currently predominant method of counting articles in ranked venues (CARV) to assess one’s academic achievements has had a deleterious impact on the state of the IS field, which points to a need for a paradigm shift. In this rejoinder to Cuellar, Truex, and Takeda’s (2019) article, I extend the scholarly capital model that they propose and comment on its applicability, adoption, and potential misuse. I propose that the model would benefit if it included a new component – practical capital, which comprises three dimensions: knowledge outreach (a scholar’s direct contribution to professional forums), knowledge impact (a scholar’s indirect contribution to professional forums), and community engagement (a scholar’s connections with the non-academic sector). I strongly recommend that the Association for Information Systems accept a formal stewardship role and facilitate further development, testing, and promotion of the scholarly capital model.