A Brief History of Information Systems

Boris Kantsepolsky () and Lev Topor ()
Additional contact information
Boris Kantsepolsky: The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, School of Information Systems
Lev Topor: Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP)

Chapter 2 in Managing Information Singularity, 2026, pp 9-32 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Contemporary literature contains a variety of explanations and definitions of the term Information Systems (IS). The primary reason for this diversity lies in the embedded complexity of how IS impacts individuals, organizations, and societies. In this chapter, we explain how the basic human needs to capture, process, store, and disseminate information contributed to the establishment of the modern IS field. Through the historical perspective from early societies to the modern era, we demonstrate how these permanent needs of humankind were addressed using perpetually developing instruments and technologies. The chapter contextualizes the evolution of IS within broader technological, economic, and social changes, underscoring the importance of IS as both a crucial driver of innovation and an academic discipline. Examining the key milestones of the field and understanding the historical progression of IS provide insights into how the discipline has developed and how past innovations have laid the groundwork for the social, managerial, and strategic implications of digital technologies that influence virtually every aspect of modern life.

Keywords: computing history; hardware; software; communication technologies; networking protocols; socio-technical; management; human and organizational needs; schools of thought; academic programs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-26223-3_2

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032262233

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-26223-3_2

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().