Beyond the Border – A Taxonomic Analysis of the Adoption of Boundary Objects in Information Systems Research

The concept of boundary objects (BOs) is a frequently used conceptual view in Infor-mation Systems Research (ISR), employed to explain and understand the adoption of In-formation Technology (IT). However, the literature shows that various IT artifacts are re-ferred to as BOs, suggesting that the concept is adopted differently in ISR. To untangle potential disparities and discrepancies, a taxonomic analysis of the concept is necessary to determine differences and similarities in its usage. We identified 13 distinctive dimen-sions and 64 corresponding characteristics among the 26 studies we analyzed. To en-hance comprehension of the BO concept for IT adoption researchers, a taxonomy enables clearer classification and nomenclature and shed light into typical research outputs. The taxonomy in this short paper provided will ignite planned further research on topical clusters in ISR and contribute to a conceptualization of a taxonomic theory of BOs and the BO concept for interested researchers.