UNDERSTANDING THE PAYOFFS FROM SUSTAINABILITY

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

IT Readiness, ICT Usage, and National Sustainability Development: Testing the Source-Position-Performance Framework

Utilizing the Source-Position-Performance (SPP) framework of competitive advantage and the literature on information technology (IT) and sustainability as the guiding theoretical lenses, we posit that the government and business IT readiness (i.e., sources of advantage) leads to differentiation in government and business ICT usage (i.e., positional advantage), which in turn affects the national sustainability (i.e., performance) in terms of economic, environmental, and social developments. Based on secondary data from 108 countries, our results generally supported the hypothesized model. Specifically, government and business IT readiness in a country appeared to be a significant enabler of government and business ICT usage respectively, which in turn led to enhancement of national sustainability development. Post hoc mediation analysis indicates that government ICT usage (1) fully mediated the effect of government IT readiness on environmental and social developments; and (2) partially mediated the effect of government IT readiness on economic development. On the other hand, business ICT usage (1) fully mediated the effect of business IT readiness on economic development; (2) did not mediate the effect of business IT readiness on environmental development; and (3) partially mediated the effect of business IT readiness on social development. Our findings contribute to the theoretical discourse on “IT and sustainability” by identifying the role of IT readiness among government and businesses in a country and provide indications to practice on enhancing its sustainability by increasing the levels of ICT usage among them

Energy Efficiency Research And Development: Consumption- And Environment-Centric Perspectives

The quest to develop technologies with minimal adverse environment impact has led to investments in research and development (R&D) targeted at developing energy-efficient technologies or improving the energy efficiency of existing technologies. Despite the increased focus on energy efficiency R&D, studies that examine their impact on environmental performance over time are lacking. Invoking the rebound effect and the ecological modernization theory, we hypothesize relationships between energy efficiency R&D with energy consumption, and emissions, and test them using panel data for OECD countries from 1987 to 2009. Econometric analysis suggests that energy efficiency R&D is negatively associated with per capita emission only. This suggests that any investment in energy efficiency achieves the objective of reducing the adverse environmental impact, thus positively contributing to the environment. The results further suggest that concerns about energy efficiency R&D may be misplaced as it is reducing adverse environmental impact without any significant association with energy consumption. Thus, the rebound effect, which postulates that increased energy efficiency results in more energy consumption, is not valid in the present context. We further examine the growth of improvement in environmental performance over time and show that the effectiveness of energy efficiency R&D remains consistent over time. This suggests that carbon neutral policies are plausible. Implications for research and practice are discusse

Do Shareholders Value Green Information Technology Announcements?

Using the natural resource-based view (NRBV) and signaling theory, we conducted an event study using the Fama-French four-factor (FFM4) model to determine how shareholders react to company announcements about adopting information technology (IT) to address environmental issues. We found that green IT announcements generate positive abnormal returns and increase share trading volume. Initiatives that use IT to support decision making (ITDSS) cause positive stock market reactions. Firms with good environmental performance records enjoy positive market returns from ITDSS and direct IT assets and infrastructure (ITASSETS) announcements. In contrast, shareholders react negatively to announcements regarding sustainable products and services (SPDTSVC). Combining the NRBV with signaling theory provides deeper theoretical insights than either theory alone. The findings could serve as the basis for further research and theory development on the different types of green IT and impacts on market value. The results help explain how firm characteristics and different types of green IT announcements impact market value, and they have significant implications for how firms plan and allocate their resources to support green initiatives

Does Virtualization Capability Maturity Influence Information Systems Development Performance? Theorizing The Non-Linear Payoffs

Firms are increasingly relying on digital transformation and virtualization of physical IT assets to develop information systems projects. However, the assessment of this virtualization on the performance of information systems development (ISD) projects is still unclear. Drawing upon the theories of radical innovation and process virtualization, we develop and empirically test a research model describing the relationships of virtualization capability maturity (VCM) with ISD project performance. Our findings show inverted U-shaped relationships of VCM with both ISD process and product performance. Interestingly, ISD projects achieve performance improvements as they progress incrementally from VCM levels of 0 to 2, but at VCM level 3 performance declines. Also, we observe that at higher levels of VCM, ISD process performance declines more rapidly than ISD product performance and the resources spent on ISD project execution increases non-linearly with increasing levels of VCM. Implications of these results are discussed

Sustainable Information Systems: Does It Matter?

Using the Natural Resource Based View (NRBV) as our theoretical lens, green IS or sustainable IS is conceptualized as comprising the different dimensions of sustainability practices that can create competitive advantage for the organization. This study examines (i) the impact of adoption of sustainable IS on organizational performance; and (ii) the impact of the extent of adoption of sustainable IS on organizational performance. Analyzing secondary data on sustainable IS and performance measures of 115 global organizations, we find that the adoption of sustainable IS is positively associated with market valuation and innovativeness but not with profitability. However, sustainable IS organizations that have greater extent of adoption realize better profitability, market valuation and innovativeness. Implications of results for research and practice are discussed

Understanding the Effectiveness of Carbon Management System (CMS): An Empirical Study

Despite increasing emphasis on corporate sustainability and green IS, empirical research on the relationships between specific green IS artifacts and intended outcomes (such as various resource consumption) are relatively scant. In addition, research is silent on the firm-specific factors that could influence the benefits from such artifacts. This paper seeks to fill this research gap by examining the relationship between carbon management system (CMS) and energy consumption. The paper also explores the role of the environmental management system (EMS) and human capital development (HCD) in influencing the relationship between CMS and energy consumption. The study utilizes data from secondary sources and proprietary databases. Findings from this study empirically demonstrate the environmental value of specific green IS artifacts and the role of facilitating factors

Branching through sustainable supply chain management theories: the tree perspective

Alongside Sustainability’s emergence as a pressing issue for discussion, it is concerning that there exists no unanimity pertaining to its definition and underpinning principles. Especially with it being addressed from various organizational functions, research disciplines and theoretical lenses. Building on the research gap realized through a Systematic Literature Network Analysis (SLNA) of the theoretical utilization of research within the SSCM domain, accompanied with the text mining of top organizations’ sustainability reports, the most influential theories to Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) are identified and their interrelationships and interactions presented in a tree model setting the precedent for future research

Modeling Residential Energy Consumption:An application of IT-based solutions and big data analytics for sustainability

Smart meters that allow information to flow between users and utility service providers are expected to foster intelligent energy consumption. Previous studies focusing on demand-side management have been predominantly restricted to factors that utilities can manage and manipulate, but have ignored factors specific to residential characteristics. They also often presume that households consume similar amounts of energy and electricity. To fill these gaps in literature, the authors investigate two research questions: (RQ1) Does a data mining approach outperform traditional statistical approaches for modelling residential energy consumption? (RQ2) What factors influence household energy consumption? They identify household clusters to explore the underlying factors central to understanding electricity consumption behavior. Different clusters carry specific contextual nuances needed for fully understanding consumption behavior. The findings indicate electricity can be distributed according to the needs of six distinct clusters and that utilities can use analytics to identify load profiles for greater energy efficiency

Application of Handheld Tele-ECG for Health Care Delivery in Rural India

Telemonitoring is a medical practice that involves remotely monitoring patients who are not at the same location as the health care provider. The purpose of our study was to use handheld tele-electrocardiogram (ECG) developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) to identify heart conditions in the rural underserved population where the doctor-patient ratio is low and access to health care is difficult. The objective of our study was clinical validation of handheld tele-ECG as a screening tool for evaluation of cardiac diseases in the rural population. ECG was obtained in 450 individuals (mean age 31.49 ± 20.058) residing in the periphery of Chandigarh, India, from April 2011 to March 2013, using the handheld tele-ECG machine. The data were then transmitted to physicians in Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, for their expert opinion. ECG was interpreted as normal in 70% individuals. Left ventricular hypertrophy (9.3%) was the commonest abnormality followed closely by old myocardial infarction (5.3%). Patient satisfaction was reported to be ~95%. Thus, it can be safely concluded that tele-ECG is a portable, cost-effective, and convenient tool for diagnosis and monitoring of heart diseases and thus improves quality and accessibility, especially in rural areas