A Taxonomy of Collusion in Information Systems
Kevin Gerhard Armbruster, Niclas Kannengießer, Mikael Beyene, Gabriela Ciolacu, Ali Sunyaev · Repository KITopen (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) · 2026
Collusion poses a pervasive threat to information systems (IS), undermining fairness, trust, and system integrity. Existing research, however, often focuses narrowly on specific cases or emphasizes either social or technical aspects, resulting in fragmented insights and limited generalizability. This narrow scope hampers the development of broadly effective protection strategies. Recognizing collusion as a sociotechnical phenomenon shaped by the interplay between social actors and technical artifacts, we developed a case-agnostic taxonomy that helps uncover and classify various forms of collusion in IS. Using an iterative approach, we synthesized insights from multidisciplinary academic literature and descriptive legal cases. Grounded in general systems theory, the taxonomy offers a robust structural foundation for analyzing collusion in IS. This taxonomy benefits practice by capturing the structural characteristics of collusion, enabling more systematic analysis, detection, and mitigation.