The Sky Is the Limit : A Review of Drone Research and Future Agenda for the IS Field

The rapid evolution of drone technology has accelerated its introduction into numerous sectors, including healthcare, logistics, agriculture, and construction, with the military experiencing the fastest development. In the future, drones will likely have a significant impact on work and society, but the direction of the impact is not yet clear. To facilitate future research contributions, we conducted a thematic review of 196 IS papers published in the Information Management category of the Academic Journal Guide (AJG)-indexed journals and key IS conferences. Our findings indicate a pressing need for more robust theoretical approaches that reconcile technical innovations with social and ethical considerations to enhance the usability, safety, security, sustainability, and ethicality of drone applications. IS scholars, equipped with a sociotechnical perspective and strong theoretical orientation, are uniquely positioned to address these deficiencies. We propose a novel research agenda that encourages IS scholars to contribute to the balanced and responsible advancement of drone solutions, thereby preventing potential societal and ethical pitfalls.