Digitainability: The Combined Effects of the Megatrends Digitalization and Sustainability

Ulrich Lichtenthaler

doi:10.24840/2183-0606_009.002_0006

Abstract

The concept of digitainability has recently been suggested to underscore potential cross-fertilization effects between digitalization and sustainability, which have often been neglected. This article draws on an innovation-based view to develop a conceptual framework for combining digitalization and sustainability in firms’ strategic initiatives. It distinguishes four settings depending on whether firms pursue either digitalization or sustainability – or both or none of them to a strong degree. Beyond the individual importance of the two megatrends, their potential positive and negative interdependencies will gain further importance, and this article underscores the need for overcoming a potential dark side of digital solutions in terms of their carbon footprint and energy consumption to enable a sustainable digital transformation. In addition, digitainability offers the opportunity to move beyond optimization and cost savings due to digitalization and sustainability initiatives in order to capture the cross-fertilization potential of these two megatrends for innovation and new business development.

Highlights

In reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous governments worldwide have set up recovery plans and investments initiatives to reduce the negative economic consequences and to help firms and economies recover from the crisis (Carlsson-Szlezak, Reeves, & Swartz, 2020; Reeves, Lang, & Carlsson-Szlezak, 2020)
By optimizing energy consumption and decreasing costs based on an intelligent digital solution, its successful implementation is an example for the opportunities from digitainability (Gupta et al, 2020) and sustainable design (Thackara, 2006) because it combines high levels of digitalization and sustainability
The framework goes beyond prior work about digitalization (Andriole, 2017; Hänninena et al, 2020) by highlighting that the focus of most firms’ digitalization initiatives as well as public policy programs about digitalization in recent years have been relatively independent from sustainability initiatives

Summary

Introduction

In reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous governments worldwide have set up recovery plans and investments initiatives to reduce the negative economic consequences and to help firms and economies recover from the crisis (Carlsson-Szlezak, Reeves, & Swartz, 2020; Reeves, Lang, & Carlsson-Szlezak, 2020). This conceptual article draws on the recent concept of digitainability (Gupta et al, 2020) and on an innovation-based approach (Lichtenthaler, 2016; Rodrigues-Alves, 2018) as well as research into sustainable design (Sherwin, 2004; Thackara, 2015) in order to bridge the gaps in prior research by developing a conceptual framework for combining digitalization and sustainability in the strategic initiatives of companies across various sectors On this basis, it highlights three key trends how firms may address the combination of these two megatrends. This article generates new knowledge for research about strategic renewal (Baumgartner & Mangematin, 2019; Zahra, Sapienza, & Davidsson, 2006) because it underscores the relevance of transforming and reconfiguring a firm’s innovation processes in light of the long-term impact that the megatrends of digitalization and sustainability along with their interdependencies will have on most firms’ business activities

Sustainability and Digitalization

Towards Digitainability

Findings

Discussion