Walton College Information Systems Researcher Among Most Highly Cited in Business

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Viswanath Venkatesh

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Viswanath Venkatesh, Distinguished Professor and the George and Boyce Billingsley chair in information systems in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, is again being recognized among the most highly cited scholars in business research.

Venkatesh has studied the diffusion of technologies in organizations and society for over two decades. His current favorite project focuses on using technology to help the poorest of the poor people living in remote villages in India, a project whose findings he presented at the United Nations in 2010. His work continues to appear in leading journals, including a paper published in each of the issues of MIS Quarterly in 2013 — a first for an author in the nearly 40-year history of that journal.

He is among the 95 researchers worldwide included in the business and economics category in the list “Highly Cited Researchers 2014,” compiled by Thompson-Reuters. To make the list, researchers must rank among the top 1 percent most cited in their field for papers published between 2000 and 2012, earning them the mark of exceptional impact. The recognition is another of many that Venkatesh has received for the impact of his research. For instance, he was listed as the 27th most influential researcher in management in a 2012 article in the Academy of Management Perspectives.

“It is a great honor,” Venkatesh said. “It is one thing for journals to like and publish a paper. But it is truly flattering to see that the scientific community has embraced the body of work over a period of time and is leveraging the papers to move forward.”

"Dr. Venkatesh is one of the most prolific scholars in business across the world,” said Rajiv Sabherwal, department chair and the Edwin & Karlee Bradberry Chair in Information Systems. “Moreover, he is a rare researcher who effectively combines being highly productive in terms of the rate of publication as well as the tremendous impact those publications have on the field of business in general, and information systems in particular. Dr. Venkatesh’s research excellence is clearly demonstrated by this latest recognition.”

Venkatesh’s articles have been cited about 35,000 times according to Google Scholar, 10,000 times as measured by Web of Science, and are among the most cited in many journals. An article he published in 2000 is the second most cited in Information Systems Research; one he published in 1996 is the most cited in Decision Sciences Journal, and a 2003 article is the second most cited in MIS Quarterly. Venkatesh’s 2008 article in Decision Sciences Journal is among the 50 papers to receive Emerald’s Citations of Excellence award for 2012. In 2008, his paper published in MIS Quarterly in 2003 was identified as a current classic by Science Watch, and since 2009, that article has been rated as the most influential article in one of the four Research Front Maps identified in business and economics.

He also has published the book Road to Success: A Guide for Researchers in the Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Venkatesh has been on the Walton College faculty since June 2004. Prior to coming to Arkansas, he was on the faculty at the University of Maryland. Venkatesh graduated with a doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota in 1998.