Harnessing collective IT resources for sustainability: Insights from the green leadership strategy of China mobile

Abstract

Green information technology (IT) initiatives cannot be implemented in isolation if they are to have a significant and lasting impact on environmental sustainability. Instead, there is a need to harness the collective IT resources of the diverse stakeholders operating in the interorganizational business networks that characterize the contemporary business landscape. This, in turn, demands an appropriate leadership structure. However, the notion of “green leadership” has not received adequate research attention to date. Using a case study of green IT implementation at China Mobile, the world's largest mobile telecommunications provider, this study seeks to shed light on the underlying process through which green leadership is achieved and subsequently enacted to facilitate collective green IT initiatives. With its findings, this study presents a process theory that complements the dominant, internally‐oriented perspective of green IT and provides practitioners with a useful reference for leveraging the collective IT resources of their network partners to contribute toward preserving the environment for future generations.