Abstract
Sustainable development is a widely debated issue around the world and there has been increasing pressure on firms to adopt practices that are more environment-friendly. Among the most crucial practices are Green Information Technology (IT) practices, as most firms use some form of IT to perform their daily transactions. This paper examines the factors that affect the adoption intensity of Green IT practices and their subsequent influence on the firm’s performance in the context of a developing country, Iran. The data were collected using survey questionnaires administered online to 277 managers who handled IT adoption in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Results obtained using structural equation modeling (SEM) reveal a positive relationship of Green IT practices with institutional pressure, Consideration for Future Consequences (CFC) and openness. We also found a positive relationship between Green IT practices and organizational performance. A discussion of these findings, future research directions and limitation of this study are presented.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anthony, L., Clarke, M., Anderson, S.: Technophobia and personality subtypes in a sample of South African university students. Comput. Hum. Behav. 16(1), 31–44 (2000)
Ashkanasy, N., Bowen, P.L., Rohde, F.H., Wu, C.Y.A.: The effects of user characteristics on query performance in the presence of information request ambiguity. J. Inform. Syst. 21(1), 53–82 (2007)
Atlas, M., Florida, R.: Why Do Firms Adopt Green Design? Organizational Opportunity, Organizational Resources, Costs, or Regulations. Organizational Opportunity, Organizational Resources, Costs, or Regulation (May 1997) (1997)
Benitez-Amado, J., Nieves Perez-Arostegui, M., Tamayo-Torres, J.: Information technology-enabled innovativeness and green capabilities. J. Comput. Inform. Syst. 51(2), 87–96 (2010)
Butler, T.: Compliance with institutional imperatives on environmental sustainability: building theory on the role of Green IS. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 20(1), 6–26 (2011)
Campbell, J.L.: Why would corporations behave in socially responsible ways? An institutional theory of corporate social responsibility. Acad. Manag. Rev. 32(3), 946–967 (2007)
Chen, Y.S.: Towards green loyalty: driving from green perceived value, green satisfaction, and green trust. Sustain. Dev. 21(5), 294–308 (2013)
Chen, A. J., Watson, R. T., Boudreau, M. C., & Karahanna, E. Organizational adoption of green IS & IT: an institutional perspective. Paper presented at the 30th international conference on information systems, Phoenix, Arizona (2009). Retrieved from http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2009/142
Chen, Y.S., Chang, C.H., Yeh, S.L., Cheng, H.I.: Green shared vision and green creativity: the mediation roles of green mindfulness and green self-efficacy. Qual. Quant. (2014). doi:10.1007/s11135-014-0041-8
Chen, A.J., Watson, R.T., Boudreau, M.C., Karahanna, E.: An institutional perspective on the adoption of IT for Green and IT. Australas. J. Inform. Syst. 17(1), 23–44 (2011)
Choon, T.G., Sulaiman, A., Mallasi, H.: Intention to use Green IT among students. Int. J. Res. Bus. Technol. 4(2), 439–445 (2014)
Chow, W.S., Chen, Y.: Intended belief and actual behavior in green computing in Hong Kong. J. Comput. Inform. Syst. 50(2), 136 (2009)
Christmann, P.: Effects of “best practices” of environmental management on cost advantage: the role of complementary assets. Acad. Manag. J. 43(4), 663–680 (2000)
Colquitt, J.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Ilgen, D.R., LePine, J.A., Sheppard, L.: Computer-assisted communication and team decision-making performance: the moderating effect of openness to experience. J. Appl. Psychol. 87(2), 402 (2002)
Cooper, V., Molla, A.: Conceptualizing Green IT organizational learning (GITOL). Green IT Working Paper Series. Paper No. 3/2010. School of Business Information Technology and Logistics, RMIT University, Melbourne (2010)
Dao, V., Langella, I., Carbo, J.: From green to sustainability: information technology and an integrated sustainability framework. J. Strateg. Inf. Syst. 20(1), 63–79 (2011)
Dardan, S.L., Kumar, R.L., Stylianou, A.C.: The diffusion of customer-related IT among large and mid-sized companies. Inform. Res. Manag. J. 20(4), 12–24 (2007)
Dedrick, J.: Green IS: concepts and issues for information systems research. Commun. Assoc. Inform. Syst. 27(1), 11 (2010)
Denis-Rémis, C., Codou, O., Lebraty, J.-F.: Relation of Green IT and affective attitude within the technology acceptance model: the cases of France and China. Manag Avenir 39(9), 371–385 (2011)
Devaraj, S., Easley, R.F., Crant, J.M.: Research note—how does personality matter? Relating the five-factor model to technology acceptance and use. Inform. Syst. Res. 19(1), 93–105 (2008)
Ebreo, A., Vining, J.: How similar are recycling and waste reduction? Future orientation and reasons for reducing waste as predictors of self-reported behavior. Environ. Behav. 33(3), 424–448 (2001)
Egri, C., Herman, S.: Leadership in the North American environmental sector: values, leadership styles and contexts of environmental leaders and their organizations. Acad. Manag. J. 43(4), 571–604 (2000)
Elkington, J.: Partnerships from cannibals with forks: the triple bottom line of 21st-century business. Environ. Qual. Manag. 8(1), 37–51 (1998)
Enkvist, P., Vanthournout, H.: How Companies Think About Climate Change. McKinsey & Company, New York (2007)
Epstein, M.J.: Making Sustainability Work: best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental, and Economic Impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc, San Francisco (2008)
Gallivan, M.J.: Examining IT professionals’ adaptation to technological change: the influence of gender and personal attributes. ACM SIGMIS Database 35(3), 28–49 (2004)
Gholami, R., Sulaiman, A., Ramayah, T., Alemayehu, M.: Managers’ perception on Green Information Systems (IS) adoption and business value: results from a field survey. Inf. Manag. 50(7), 431–438 (2013)
Gimenez, C., Sierra, V., Rodon, J.: Sustainable operations: their impact on the triple bottom line. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 140(1), 149–159 (2012)
Greening, D.W., Gray, B.: Testing a model of organizational response to social and political issues. Acad. Manag. J. 37(3), 467–498 (1994)
Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., Anderson, R.E.: Multivariate Data Analysis, 7th edn. Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River (2010)
Hanne, F.Z.: GREEN-IT: why developing countries should care? IJCSI 8, 147–153 (2011)
Hart, S.: Beyond greening: strategies for a sustainable world. Harvard Bus. Rev. 75, 66–77 (1997)
Hevey, D., Pertl, M., Thomas, K., Maher, L., Craig, A., Ni Chuinneagain, S.: Consideration of future consequences scale: confirmatory factor analysis. Personal. Individ. Differ. 48(5), 654–657 (2010)
Hosseini, S.E., Andwari, A.M., Wahid, M.A., Bagheri, G.: A review on green energy potentials in Iran. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 27, 533–545 (2013)
Joireman, J., Balliet, D., Sprott, D., Spangenberg, E., Schultz, J.: Consideration of future consequences, ego-depletion, and self-control: support for distinguishing between CFC-Immediate and CFC-Future sub-scales. Personal. Individ. Differ. 45(1), 15–21 (2008)
Korukonda, A.R.: Differences that do matter: a dialectic analysis of individual characteristics and personality dimensions contributing to computer anxiety. Comput. Hum. Behav. 23(4), 1921–1942 (2007)
Li, Y., Tan, C.-H., Teo, H.-H., Tan, B.C.: Innovative usage of information technology in Singapore organizations: do CIO characteristics make a difference? Eng. Manag. IEEE Trans. 53(2), 177–190 (2006)
Liang, H., Saraf, N., Hu, Q., Xue, Y.: Assimilation of enterprise systems: the effect of institutional pressures and the mediating role of top management. MIS Q. 31(1), 59–87 (2007)
Lindsay, J.J., Strathman, A.: Predictors of recycling behavior: an application of a modified health belief model 1. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 27(20), 1799–1823 (1997)
Malhotra, A., Melville, N.P., Watson, R.T.: Spurring impactful research on information systems for environmental sustainability. MIS Q. 37(4), 1265–1274 (2013)
Melville, N.P.: Information systems innovation for environmental sustainability. MIS Q. 34(1), 1–21 (2010)
Mithas, S., Khuntia, J., Roy, P.K.: Green information technology, energy efficiency, and profits: evidence from an emerging economy. In: 30th International Conference on Information Systems Saint Louis, Missouri, Dec 12–15 2010. Association for Information Systems
Molina-Azorín, J.F., Claver-Cortés, E., Pereira-Moliner, J., Tarí, J.J.: Environmental practices and firm performance: an empirical analysis in the Spanish hotel industry. J. Clean. Prod. 17(5), 516–524 (2009)
Molla, A., Abareshi, A.: Organizational green motivations for information technology: empirical study. J. Comput. Inform. Syst. 52(3), 92–102 (2012)
Molla, A., Cooper, V.: Green IT readiness: A framework and preliminary proof of concept. Australas. J. Inf. Syst. 16(2), 140–160 (2010)
Molla, A., Cooper, V., Pittayachawan, S.: IT and eco-sustainability: developing and validating a green IT readiness model. In: Thirtieth International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Phoenix, USA 2009, pp. 1–17. AIS Electronic Library
Montalvo, C.: General wisdom concerning the factors affecting the adoption of cleaner technologies: a survey 1990–2007. J. Clean. Prod. 16(1), S7–S13 (2008)
Murugesan, S.: Harnessing green IT: principles and practices. IT Prof. 10(1), 24–33 (2008)
Naqshbandi, M.M., Kaur, S., Ma, P.: What organizational culture types enable and retard open innovation? Qual. Quant. (2014). doi:10.1007/s11135-014-0097-5
Nidumolu, R., Prahalad, C.K., Rangaswami, M.: Why sustainability is now the key driver of innovation. Harvard Bus. Rev. 87(9), 56–64 (2009)
Porter, M., Kramer, M.R.: Strategy and society: the link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Bus. Rev. 84(12), 78–92 (2006)
Qi, G., Shen, L., Zeng, S., Jorge, O.J.: The drivers for contractors’ green innovation: an industry perspective. J. Clean. Prod. 18(14), 1358–1365 (2010)
Russo, M.V., Fouts, P.A.: A resource-based perspective on corporate environmental performance and profitability. Acad. Manag. J. 40(3), 534–559 (1997)
Sharma, S., Nguan, O.: The biotechnology industry and strategies of biodiversity conservation: the influence of managerial interpretations and risk propensity. Bus. Strategy Environ. 8(1), 46–61 (1999)
Strathman, A., Gleicher, F., Boninger, D.S., Edwards, C.S.: The consideration of future consequences: weighing immediate and distant outcomes of behavior. JPSP 66(4), 742 (1994)
Thong, J.Y., Hong, S.-J., Tam, K.Y.: The effects of post-adoption beliefs on the expectation-confirmation model for information technology continuance. Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud. 64(9), 799–810 (2006)
Trimi, S., Park, S.-H.: Green IT: practices of leading firms and NGOs. Service Business, pp. 1–17 (2012)
Tushi, B., Sedera, D., Recker, J.: Green it segment analysis: an academic literature review. In: 20th Americas Converence on Information Systems, Savannah, Georgia (2014)
Unruh, G., Ettenson, R.: Growing green. Three smart paths to developing sustainable products. Harvard Bus. Rev. 88(6), 94–100 (2010)
Vijande, M.L.S., Sánchez, J.Á.L., Mieres, C.G.: Organizational learning, innovation, and performance in KIBS. J. Manag. Organ. 18(6), 870–904 (2013)
Vykoukal, J.: Grid technology as Green IT strategy? Empirical results from the financial services industry. In: 18th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS) 2010, pp. 1–15
Watson, R.T., Boudreau, M.-C., Chen, A.J.: Information systems and environmentally sustainable development: energy informatics and new directions for the IS community. MIS Q. 34(1), 23–38 (2010)
Zhu, K., Kraemer, K.L., Xu, S.: The process of innovation assimilation by firms in different countries: a technology diffusion perspective on e-business. Manag. Sci. 52(10), 1557–1576 (2006)
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank University of Malaya for providing the support and facilities to conduct the research under the RP004-13ICT grant.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ainin, S., Naqshbandi, M.M. & Dezdar, S. Impact of adoption of Green IT practices on organizational performance. Qual Quant 50, 1929–1948 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-015-0244-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-015-0244-7