How IT executives create organizational benefits by translating environmental strategies into Green IS initiatives

Abstract

Organizations increasingly recognize that environmental sustainability is an urgent problem. Green information systems (Green IS) initiatives can assist organizations in reaching their environmental goals by providing the ability to reduce the environmental impacts of information technology (IT) manufacturing, operations and disposal; facilitate transparency and enhance the efficiency of organizational resources and business processes; and foster eco‐products through technological innovation. However, the nature and type of benefits such initiatives can accrue remain poorly understood, and accordingly, IT executives struggle to integrate environmental aspects in the corporate strategy and to launch Green IS initiatives. This paper clarifies the mechanisms that link organizational beliefs about environmental sustainability to Green IT and Green IS actions undertaken, and the organizational benefits that accrue from these actions. Using data from a global survey of 118 senior‐level IT executives, we find that Green IS strategies mediate the relationship between environmental orientation and the implementation of Green IT practices and Green IS practices, which in turn lead to organizational benefits in the form of cost reductions, corporate reputation enhancement and Green innovation capabilities. Our findings have implications for the potential of IS to enable organizations' environmental sustainability and also for the differentiation of Green IT and Green IS practices.

Green IS Does Not Just Save Energy – Insights from a Survey on Organizations’ Uses of Sustainable Technologies

“…Further, 34 organizations (61.8%) had an official CIO, 5 (9.1%) a non-official CIO, and 29.1% no CIO. 34.5% (19) reported to have a CGO/CSO.…”

“…Many studies have examined the concept or factors that influence organizations' adoption of Green IS [19]. They, for instance, ascertained that if organizations evaluate their sustainability portfolio, they will also evaluate Green IS [29].…”

“…Hereby, language barriers and misunderstandings could be avoided. We jointly reviewed and then implemented the translations in an online survey tool [19]. The pre-test of the questionnaire took place with a group of four researchers from the IS domain, two practitioners from an IT service provider, and a non-IT-related practitioner.…”

“…eco-efficiency, ecoadvantage, or corporate responsibility), all definitions bring together the underlying paradigm to preserve an ecological but also a socio-economic system for future generations [7]. Research noted that sustainability enables individuals, organizations, governments, and society to transform toward environmentally sustainable practices [19]. Further, implementing green innovation may, especially for organizations, meaningfully contribute to performance, competitiveness, besides being a way to protect the natural environment [39].…”

“…In addition to these academic reasons, we chose to report on outcomes, because many organizations still resist integrating Green IS into long-term strategies [6]. Although there is principally willingness to adopt [34], Green IS adoption is primarily not pursued because organizations seem uncertain about Green IS benefits [19]. This paper hence, seeks to answer the research question: What are the outcomes of Green IS initiatives as part of organizations' general sustainability actions?…”