Citation classics from the information systems literature

An analysis of 118,364 references from 3752 articles published in top IS journals during the 10 years from 1986 to 1995 is presented. Ninety-one ‘citation classics’ were identified by combining the results of this analysis with previous findings. Within this group of 91 publications, 13 ‘super classic’ publications were identified. These classics and super classics can be categorized along any of several dimensions to gain a better understanding of the IS field. These findings can be used, among other things, for developing reading lists and identifying the characteristics that make a publication ‘classic’.