Speaker: Dr. Timo Strohmann

Abstract: Design theory plays a foundational role in Information Systems research by providing prescriptive knowledge that guides the purposeful design of digital artifacts. While design science research continues to generate rich and contextually grounded insights, much of this knowledge remains fragmented across isolated projects. As a result, many promising design contributions struggle to achieve lasting theoretical impact and actionable relevance beyond their original setting. This challenge is particularly visible when trying to advance from nascent, context-specific design knowledge (e.g., design principles) toward well-developed design theories that support cumulative scientific progress and stronger practice impact.

In this talk, I introduce abductive design theorizing as a systematic approach to address this gap. Building on the complementary strengths of inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning, the approach enables researchers to accumulate, structure, and synthesize scattered design knowledge chunks into coherent, cross-contextual design theories. I outline a structured process—from inductively collecting and organizing atomic design knowledge, to deductively synthesizing cross-context mechanisms and boundary conditions—culminating in the emergence of integrated theory. To illustrate the approach, I showcase its application in synthesizing a mid-range design theory for persuasive conversational agents in sustainability contexts, drawing on 800+ extracted design knowledge chunks.

This talk presents the current status of an ongoing journal-manuscript project and shares emerging insights, methodological choices, and conceptual contributions, inviting discussion and feedback as the work progresses toward submission.

Short Bio: Timo Strohmann is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Systems at the Chair of Information Systems and Business Process Management (University of Münster) and part of the Flow Factory. There, he leads the AI & Product flow field, which focuses on designing novel AI applications for the financial industry. His primary research interests are centered on human-machine collaboration , the design of conversational agents and virtual companions, and the design science research (DSR) paradigm. Within DSR, his work specifically explores the creation, synthesis, and practical application of design knowledge and design theories. He has authored 30+ peer-reviewed publications and his research has been published in journals such as Human-Computer Interaction, Electronic Markets and Communications of the Association for Information Systems, where he was a recipient of the 2024 Paul Gray Award for Most Thought Provoking Paper.