Business informatics

Business informatics as an integrative discipline

Business informatics shares similarities with information systems (IS), a well-established discipline originating in North America. However, there are a few differences that make business informatics a unique discipline:

1. Business informatics includes information technology, along with relevant portions of applied computer science, to a significantly greater extent than information systems do.
2. Business informatics includes significant construction and implementation-oriented elements. Another thing is that one major focus is on developing solutions to business problems rather than on the ex post investigation of their impact.

Information systems (IS) focuses on empirically explaining real-world phenomena. Information systems are said to have an "explanation-oriented" focus, in contrast to the "solution-oriented" focus that dominates business informatics. Information systems researchers make an effort to explain the phenomena of acceptance and influence of IT in organizations and society by applying an empirical approach. To do that, usually qualitative and quantitative empirical studies are conducted and evaluated. In contrast to that, business informatics researchers mainly focus on the creation of IT solutions for challenges they have observed or assumed, and thereby they focus more on the possible future uses of IT.

Tight integration between research and teaching, following the Humboldtian ideal, is a major goal in business informatics. Insights gained from actual research projects quickly become part of the curriculum, since most researchers are also lecturers. The pace of scientific and technological progress in business informatics is quite rapid; therefore, subjects taught are under permanent reconsideration and revision. In its evolution, the business informatics discipline is fairly young. Therefore, significant hurdles must be overcome to establish its vision further.