The IS field prides itself on its closeness to practice and, in recent years, has found itself\ud
under growing pressures from government and business for the improved utilisation of\ud
research results. This thesis is concerned with the beliefs and behaviours of IS researchers\ud
in UK universities with respect to the dissemination of their results. An underlying\ud
assumption of the thesis is the potential interest and relevance of IS research results to those\ud
working in organisations, based on the author's experience as an IS practitioner. The work\ud
is the first phase of a longer research programme which aims to encourage the\ud
empowerment of those engaged in IS activity through improved awareness of, and access\ud
to, such results. Both the choice of research issue and the research approach itself were\ud
informed by the IS literature, in particular Stakeholder Theory, Multiview 2 and the variety\ud
of literature based on the Multiple Perspectives approach to problem solving. A critical\ud
stance is taken throughout the work, with an holistic consideration of dissemination within\ud
the IS research. The critical perspective is promoted in the thesis through the surfacing of\ud
assumptions about the activity of IS research and the influence of its stakeholders. Insights\ud
into the area of dissemination are presented from in-depth interviews with IS leaders in UK\ud
universities, supported by the findings from a broader survey of the IS academic\ud
community. The analysis and discussion of findings explore issues from Resource-\ud
Dependence and Ethical Theory within IS research, as well as the role of the researcher and\ud
dissemination routes to IS practice. The thesis provides an evaluation of the author's\ud
learning during the research project, and the contribution of the work to IS theory and\ud
practice