Research Commentary: An Agenda for Information Technology Research in Heterogeneous and Distributed Environments

Application-driven, technology-intensive research is critically needed to meet the challenges of globalization, interactivity, high productivity, and rapid adaptation faced by business organizations. Information systems researchers are uniquely positioned to conduct such research, combining computer science, mathematical modeling, systems thinking, management science, cognitive science, and knowledge of organizations and their functions. We present an agenda for addressing these challenges as they affect organizations in heterogeneous and distributed environments. We focus on three major capabilities enabled by such environments: Mobile Computing, Intelligent Agents, and Net-Centric Computing. We identify and define important unresolved problems in each of these areas and propose research strategies to address them.