Abstract
Over the past four decades, scholars in information systems (IS) have explored the intricacies of social inclusion/exclusion within IS (SI/E in IS). Despite 40 years of investigation, there remains a notable absence of a systematic analysis of the accumulated knowledge in SI/E within IS research. Addressing this gap, our research aims to organise the literature, identify trends and gaps and propose future research directions for SI/E within IS. Recognising SI/E as an umbrella concept, we employ ontological analysis, offering a comprehensive depiction of the domain's scope, boundaries, key constructs and relationships. We construct an ontology of SI/E within IS and employ it to compare literature from 20 established IS journals with a broader range of publications—from this analysis, we examine 4211 articles and code 897. This analysis unveils potential research avenues and highlights the distinctive focus of IS scholarship in SI/E compared with other fields. The ontology aids in conceptualising the research landscape and guiding future investigations in SI/E in IS.
