Green IT capability and sustainable development

Abstract

The concept of Green Information Technology (Green IT) has been widely discussed in recent times, but the question of how a firm can afford to implement Green IT in both IT and other business operations has yet to be examined. In addition, the question of whether Green IT has made any significant contributions towards sustainable development in organizations has not yet been studied. This study attempts to bridge this gap by viewing Green IT capability from the lens of Natural Resource-Based View. The two constructs derived from this theory, namely, as pollution prevention and product stewardship are discussed in this paper. Its application is extended into the IT context with reference to Green IT literature. This occurs among an early review of the utilisation of these constructs particularly for Green IT process management. The implications of the outcome of this study, both for the IS researchers and for the practicing managers, are discussed.