Challenges and Drivers of Green IT Adoption Through Grounded Theory Analysis

Abstract

Climate change, a sluggish global economy, rising energy costs and the emergence of carbon legislation are some of the toughest challenges contemporary companies and institutions around the world must face. This research provides companies and institutions greater insight into how Greening their IT systems can help alleviate some of the aforementioned problems. The literature review will explain Green IT adoption in terms of challenges and drivers of Green products, whereas a technology acceptance framework will be applied to analyze Green IT adoption from a technological point of view. This research is designed to give businesses and institutions a deeper understanding of Green IT solutions that are presently available and a greater appreciation for what the various technologies are capable of, their individual drivers and challenges and forecasted/returns on investment. The research will begin by analyzing Green IT solutions and their challenges and drivers. It will explain why they are experiencing these challenges and what can be done to overcome them. It will provide insight into how their adoption is comparable to other non-IT Green products. It will then analyze challenges Green IT generally faces. These include misguided perceptions, traditional service providers’ lack of appreciation for Green IT, Greenwashing and action gap behavior. It will also discuss how Green IT presently lacks definition and standardization and how this also presents some huge adoption challenges. Finally, it will examine some of the existing and emerging carbon legislation and how legislation was also found to be a challenge as much as it was found to be a driver. Drivers will then be explained and analyzed. According to respondents, despite its various challenges, Green IT still presents a strong business case. Legislation in various countries around the world will be discussed in terms of how it is driving Green IT and how it will continue to gain momentum in driving adoption. Other Green IT drivers included multiple savings, innovative personnel and intrinsic benefits. It will also analyze what some companies are doing to drive Green IT adoption. Finally all these components will be put together to create a Green IT adoption model, specifically designed for individuals looking for guidelines on how to develop and implement a Green IT. This will include advice on communication with the various departments, how to identify particular solutions for various work profiles and other strategies to assist in getting Green IT solutions implemented. It is the author’s intention the research will provide assistance to companies that are seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and energy consumption. It is also hoped that it will create a greater insight in the opportunities that accompany Greening IT systems. Finally, it also intends to share information regarding financial savings and a great variety of other intrinsic benefits companies can receive by adopting these various solutions.