Guest Editors' Introduction: On the Contributions of Applied Science/Engineering Research to Information Systems

The Special Issue of Journal of Management Information Systems focuses on the unique contributions of applied science/engineering research (AS/E) to the information systems (IS) literature. The first paper in this special issue, 'The Last Research Mile: Achieving Both Rigor and Relevance in Information Systems Research,' by Jay F. Nunamaker, Jr., Robert O. Briggs, Douglas C. Derrick, and Gerhard Schwabe, builds the case that researchers who shepherd their scholarly insights about information systems through the last research mile, that is, from conception through successful transition to the workplace, have the potential to produce more scholarly knowledge in all four modes of inquiry than do those who do not traverse the last mile. Shi Ying Lim, Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa, and Holly J. Lanham, in their paper 'Barriers to Interorganizational Knowledge Transfer in Post-Hospital Care Transitions: Review and Directions for Information Systems Research,' focus on systems to create physical value with information, health and well-being. A related paper, 'Anatomy of Successful Business Models for Complex Services: Insights from the Telemedicine Field,' by Christoph Peters, Ivo Blohm, and Jan Marco Leimeister, identifies a variety of factors that make it difficult to develop sustainable business models for widespread provision of telemedicine services. In their paper, 'It Is Not Just About Competition with 'Free': Differences Between Content Formats in Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay,' Benedikt Berger, Christian Matt, Dennis M. Steininger, and Thomas Hess address another pervasive monetization struggle, to wit, the many providers who struggle to monetize the provision of online content.