THE EVOLVEMENT OF ENERGY INFORMATICS IN THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS COMMUNITY - A LITERATURE ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH AGENDA

This paper analyses the current state of research in the domain of energy informatics. The intention is to provide a structured overview of the existing body of knowledge in the investigated field. To accomplish this, the authors employed a literature analysis including major and relevant outlets from the IS and business study disciplines. In total, 109 papers were found. To illustrate the state of the art of the discipline, the authors develop a concept matrix showing the used methods and investigated units of analysis. On that basis, the agenda for future focused research opportunities is laid out

Road to 2020: IS-Supported Business Models for Electric Mobility and Electrical Energy Markets

Electric mobility is on the rise, as many countries such as the United States of America, Germany, and China intend to bring one million electric cars onto their streets by 2020. This opens up perspectives on new business models, including aggregators for electric vehicles that enter ancillary services energy markets. These intermediaries are of particular interest to the IS discipline, since their market position links research on decision support, electronic markets and energy informatics. In this paper we present a research agenda to analyze IS-supported business models that cover the entire value chain of such an intermediary. We argue that IS can enhance decision making in the auctions for ancillary energy by improving forecasts of maximum energy prices. Additionally, IS facilitates electronic auctions and scheduling mechanisms that enable the intermediary to aggregate numerous electric vehicles

Applying Demand Response Programs for Electric Vehicle Fleets

In this study, we demonstrate the contribution of IS-supported demand response (DR) programs to the development of a sustainable transport sector. Based on the energy informatics framework, we develop an IS artifact that can be used to apply DR programs for electric vehicle (EV) fleets. Furthermore, we quantify one DR program in economic terms by analyzing data gathered in an electric mobility project with a car-sharing provider that uses EVs. The findings indicate that fleet operators can expect significant cost savings when applying DR programs; energy procurement costs can be reduced significantly by adjusting the time of energy use. Applying DR programs therefore has the potential to make EV fleets economically sensible because the already existing operational cost advantage can be further increased. Consequently, DR for EVs can foster sustainable development, as higher profitability could promote the market penetration of eco-friendly vehicles

Will They Die Another Day? A Decision Support Perspective on Reusing Electric Vehicle Batteries

The diffusion of electric mobility suffers from an immature and expensive battery technology. Reusing electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) is a prospective opportunity for lowering the total costs of ownership of electric vehicles and using scarce natural resources more efficiently. However, to determine how to reuse a battery is a complex decision problem. In this study we set out to develop a design theory for a class of decision support systems (DSSs) that implement two main functions: First, a consideration set of feasible reuse scenarios is compiled based on an assess-ment of a battery’s structure and condition. Second, an offering is configured based on bun-dling batteries with customized services. We conclude with an outlook to our ongoing design science project that will, amongst others, explore to what extent systems instantiated from the design theory can remedy adverse effects caused by the ‘lemon market’ properties of the sec-ond-hand battery market

Green Information Systems: Directives for the IS Discipline

Green IS offers the promise for IS scholars to make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the effects of global climate change and other environmental problems. While significant achievements have been made in shaping Green IS as a subfield in the IS discipline, the emergence of Green IS is still by far too slow, given the magnitude of the problem. Against this background a panel was organized at ICIS 2012 in order to discuss future directives for the IS discipline. This article, co-authored by the panelists, reports on the major issues raised by this panel. First, the article gives an account of major achievements in the field of Green IS. Second, it presents five specific directives which we agree are important for the future of our discipline

Too Much of a Good Thing? An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Digital Technology-enabled Business Models on Individual Stress and Future Adoption of Sustainable Services

The pervasive diffusion of digital technologies affords the development of innovative and sustainable business models. With increased connectivity, options arise for enabling sharing-based services with pay-per-use pricing. Besides the merits that these services gather, e.g., concerning sustainability, flexibility and economics, less is known about the potential adverse impacts on individuals. Thus, we employed an experimental research design to examine how digital technology-enabled business models affect individual stress and perception concerning the future usage of these services. Specifically, we investigated the context of car sharing, a service that has recently been advanced by the use of digital technologies and received increasing adoption rates. The empirical results indicate that digital technology-enabled business model designs significantly influence psychological stress in an unfavorable manner, and hence, negatively affect the willingness to use car sharing. Thus, our investigation points to the importance of accounting for potential dysfunctional societal effects of information systems in sustainability transformation

Multi-disciplinary Green IT Archival Analysis: A Pathway for Future Studies

With the growth of information technology (IT), there is a growing global concern about the environmental impact of such technologies. As such, academics in several research disciplines consider research on green IT a vibrant theme. While the disparate knowledge in each discipline is gaining substantial momentum, we need a consolidated multi-disciplinary view of the salient findings of each research discipline for green IT research to reach its full potential. We reviewed 390 papers published on green IT from 2007 to 2015 in three disciplines: computer science, information systems and management. The prevailing literature demonstrates the value of this consolidated approach for advancing our understanding on this complex global issue of environmental sustainability. We provide an overarching theoretical perspective to consolidate multi-disciplinary findings and to encourage information systems researchers to develop an effective cumulative tradition of research