Greater IT Research Articles

An International Comparison of Green IT Diffusion

This paper provides a preliminary insight into the status of the diffusion and maturity of 'Green IT' as well as some of the driving and inhibiting factors that influence it. The paper is largely descriptive and is based on a survey of 143 organisations from Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Overall, the findings indicate that organisations are developing the 'right mind-set', taking a number of 'softer actions', and investing in new technologies to use IT as part of the solution to pursue both eco-efficiency and eco-sustainability objectives. Nevertheless, the state of Green IT among the surveyed organisations can be considered at the early stage of maturity. In particular, the results indicate that the disposal of IT in an environmentally friendly manner is the most relevant organisational concern about Green IT. It is therefore not surprising that there is significantly more attention paid to the policy and practice in the end-of-IT-life management aspect of Green IT. On the other hand, attention to Green IT sourcing is the least adopted. The need for greater IT efficiency and the pursuit of tangible cost savings from IT operations are the primary drivers for adopting Green IT which have to be articulated in the strategy of an organisation. Likewise, the cost of greening IT and unclear business values from greening IT top the list of the factors that inhibit Green IT adoption. Limitation of the small sample size withstanding, the findings of this study hint at differences in Green IT initiatives among US, New Zealand and Australian organisations. In Australia and New Zealand, environmental consideration is the primary concern. In US the primary concern appears to be energy efficiency and cost reduction. Thus, while Australian and New Zealand organisations are leading the 'softer' side of Green IT policies and practices to reduce the environmental impact of IT, US organisations are far more advanced in the adoption of technologies and practices that reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency.

Determinants of Government Bureaucrats' New PMIS Adoption

This study examines factors that influence adoption of new public management information systems (PMIS) by bureaucrats in the Korean government. The author proposes a theory that public bureaucrats' adoption of new PMIS depends on their power within the hierarchical structure, their ability to use existing computer applications, their administrative role, and their attitude toward the effect of information and telecommunication technologies (IT) on managerial values and on the interaction between organizational power and IT capability. The author uses 1998 survey data on electronic approval systems (EAS) of central government agencies and local governments in Korea and finds that at the early stage, public bureaucrats with less power adopted new EAS. However, public bureaucrats with more power adopted new EAS when they had greater IT capability. Public bureaucrats' organizational power influences their adoption of EAS but depends on their IT capability. Also, in central agencies, program professionals adopt EAS earlier, and in local government, IT staff do.

Assimilation patterns in the use of electronic procurement innovations: A cluster analysis

Electronic procurement innovations (EPI) have been adopted by many firms as a means of improving their procurement efficiency and effectiveness, but little research has been conducted to determine whether the assimilation of EPI really increases procurement productivity and which factors influence its assimilation. Drawing on data from 166 firms, we conducted an exploratory study to address these questions, using cluster analysis that revealed four different clusters or patterns of EPI assimilation: none, focused niche, asymmetric, and broad-based deployment. The level of EPI assimilation was closely related to procurement productivity. Greater levels of EPI assimilation were associated with higher levels of top management support and greater IT sophistication. Also, interesting patterns emerged between the various elements of EPI infrastructure capability, specifically flexibility and comprehensiveness of standards, EPI security, and the level of EPI assimilation.

Measuring the Financial Benefits of IT Investments on Coordination

We know from the information processing perspective within the theory of organizations that IT can reduce coordination costs by increasing an organization's information processing capacity. Purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between greater investments in information technology and lower coordination costs on firm-level data. Two high-level measures of coordination costs are defined based on the information processing perspective within the theory of organizations. Our hypothesis that greater IT investments should be correlated with lower coordination costs is tested with both measures on longitudinal data from a cross-sectional sample of 18 large Italian companies over an 8-year period between 1988 and 1995. Results on this sample seem to support our hypothesis by showing a significant and negative correlation both aggregately and on sub-samples of data clustered by industry.

Factors facilitating the use of Information Technology for competitive advantage: An exploratory study

A content analysis of fourteen published cases showed the importance of an organization's existing systems in the use of information technology for competitive advantage. Such uses were often precipitated by threatening external events. There were little support for the literature's assertions that competitive pressure is a key factor motivating strategic uses of IT. There were indications that understanding the potential strategic processes may lead to greater IT utilization. Finally, the study confirms the importance of customer needs and management support as factors facilitating the use of IT for competitive advantage.