conference paper published yes Philipp zur Heiden author 64394 Daniel Beverungen author 59677 Christian Bartelheimer author Christoph Breidbach author 195 department DESRIST 2026 Information systems (IS) research is increasingly exploring the potential of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), such as large language models (LLMs). For design science research (DSR), such technologies foster entirely new vistas for the design of IT artifacts that make use of their generative capabilities, but also influence DSR methodology. This shift is much more profound than it has been discussed so far. To identify existing implications of GenAI for design-oriented research in IS, we report results from an integrative literature review of recent DSR publications in leading IS outlets. Thereby, we synthesize five major theoretical challenges that arise when using GenAI in DSR projects: (1) an obscure composition of the artifact, (2) an opaque contextualization of the LLM, (3) a fragile internal consistency of the artifact, (4) a rapid erosion of prescriptive knowledge, and (5) missing methodological guidance. We investigate these challenges and conceptualize a set of three guidelines that inform DSR in the rising era of GenAI. These guidelines support researchers in designing and justifying GenAI-related DSR processes and in precisely articulating the theoretical grounding of their design decisions and evaluation strategies. Springer Nature Switzerland2026Muenster eng 0302-9743 1611-3349 9783032283122 978303228313910.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22 16606 P. zur Heiden, D. Beverungen, C. Bartelheimer, and C. Breidbach, “Design Science Research in an Era of Generative AI—Challenges and Theoretical Guidelines,” in <i>Lecture Notes in Computer Science</i>, Muenster, 2026, vol. 16606, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22">10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22</a>. zur Heiden, P., Beverungen, D., Bartelheimer, C., &#38; Breidbach, C. (2026). Design Science Research in an Era of Generative AI—Challenges and Theoretical Guidelines. <i>Lecture Notes in Computer Science</i>, <i>16606</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22</a> Heiden, Philipp zur, Daniel Beverungen, Christian Bartelheimer, and Christoph Breidbach. “Design Science Research in an Era of Generative AI—Challenges and Theoretical Guidelines.” In <i>Lecture Notes in Computer Science</i>, Vol. 16606. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22</a>. P. zur Heiden, D. Beverungen, C. Bartelheimer, C. Breidbach, in: Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2026. zur Heiden, Philipp, et al. “Design Science Research in an Era of Generative AI—Challenges and Theoretical Guidelines.” <i>Lecture Notes in Computer Science</i>, vol. 16606, Springer Nature Switzerland, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22">10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22</a>. @inproceedings{zur Heiden_Beverungen_Bartelheimer_Breidbach_2026, place={Cham}, series={ Lecture Notes in Computer Science}, title={Design Science Research in an Era of Generative AI—Challenges and Theoretical Guidelines}, volume={16606}, DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22">10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22</a>}, booktitle={Lecture Notes in Computer Science}, publisher={Springer Nature Switzerland}, author={zur Heiden, Philipp and Beverungen, Daniel and Bartelheimer, Christian and Breidbach, Christoph}, year={2026}, collection={ Lecture Notes in Computer Science} } zur Heiden P, Beverungen D, Bartelheimer C, Breidbach C. Design Science Research in an Era of Generative AI—Challenges and Theoretical Guidelines. In: <i>Lecture Notes in Computer Science</i>. Vol 16606. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer Nature Switzerland; 2026. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22">10.1007/978-3-032-28313-9_22</a> 657642026-06-03T09:20:18Z2026-06-03T09:25:50Z