From misq-skills
Guides theoretical contribution development for MIS Quarterly manuscripts across behavioral, design science, economics, and organizational traditions. Produces hypotheses, design propositions, or mechanisms before analysis.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/misq-skills:misq-theory-developmentThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
- Your claims are descriptive ("A is associated with B") with no IS mechanism
MISQ is pluralistic, so "develop theory" means different things. Pick the row that matches your tradition.
| Tradition | What "theory" means here | What you must produce |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral | A causal mechanism linking IT to cognition, behavior, or outcomes | A priori hypotheses with an explicit mechanism, boundary conditions, and any mediation/moderation logic |
| Design science | A design theory: the principles that make the artifact work | Justificatory (kernel) theory, design principles/requirements, and testable propositions about the artifact's utility |
| Economics of IS | An economic mechanism (incentives, information, matching, network effects) | A model or argument yielding signed, falsifiable predictions and an identification logic |
| Organizational | A process or variance theory of IT in context | Constructs, their relations, and the contextual conditions that govern them |
State the mechanism in words before the math: what is the IT-enabled force, on whom, through what channel, and when does it reverse? Then write hypotheses (behavioral) or comparative-statics predictions (economics) that follow from that mechanism. For mediation, theorize the channel; for moderation, theorize why the IT effect strengthens or weakens. Avoid HARKing — predictions precede results.
A MISQ design-science contribution is not "we built a system." Anchor it in the Hevner, March, Park & Ram (2004) tradition: state the problem and its relevance, the kernel theory that justifies your design choices, the design principles that generalize beyond this one instantiation, and falsifiable propositions about utility you will later evaluate. The artifact is the vehicle; the prescriptive design knowledge is the contribution.
IS effects are often contingent on the artifact, the user, the task, and the context. Name where the theory holds and where it breaks — reviewers reward a theorized scope condition over an over-claimed universal law.
【Tradition & theory form】behavioral mechanism / design theory / economic model / process theory
【Core mechanism】IT-enabled force → on whom → through what channel
【Claims】H1..Hn / design propositions P1..Pn / signed predictions
【Boundary conditions】where it holds / reverses
【Next step】misq-literature-positioning or misq-methods
npx claudepluginhub brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills --plugin misq-skillsGuides theory building for ISR manuscripts: derive behavioral hypotheses or analytical propositions centered on the IT artifact and sociotechnical interplay across levels of analysis.
Builds theoretical engine for JMIS manuscripts covering IT-business-value logic, platform/network-effects mechanisms, economic models, or behavioral IS theory.
Builds the theoretical engine of a JAIS manuscript — original theory, behavioral or economic mechanism, design theory, or pre-theoretical framing for a novel digital phenomenon.