Enterprise systems: are we ready for future sustainable cities (original) (raw)

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Environmental Enterprise Systems

2019

An increasing number of organizations are shifting from spreadsheet-based tools to enterprise-grade software platforms, which we refer as environmental enterprise systems (EES), to manage environmental data, processes, resources, footprints, and commitments. Despite this trend, and in view of differences in EES modules, form and functions, why organizations choose EES software have not been researched. This is an important issue as it reflects, albeit indirectly, organizations’ commitment to environmental sustainability. Under the technologyorganization-environment (TOE) framework and ecological sustainability context, this study investigated the factors that influence the adoption of EES in four Australian service organizations. The findings indicate limitations of precursor systems, relative advantages and perceived benefits of EES, and software experience of sustainability managers affect the decision to adopt an EES software. Additionally, IT-dependent environmental strategies, ...

Comparing the EMS adopter and EMS non-adopter organizations in achieving sustainable business goals

The corporate sector has paid attention to the concept of sustainable development since the emergence of this concept in the late 1980s and the adoption of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) by many organizations is the initiative of these organizations' exact dimensions. The focus of this research is to compare the status of EMS adopter and EMS non-adopter organizations in terms of Environmental Performance, Occupational health and safety performance, Employee Satisfaction, Operational Improvement and competitive advantage. The overall environmental performance of EMS adopter companies was approximately two times higher than non-EMS adopter companies. EMS adopter organizations' performance was almost two times better than non-EMS adopter organizations regarding occupational health and safety. The overall Employee Satisfaction level at non-EMS adopter organizations was about three times better than at EMS adopter organizations. The EMS adopter organizations were found to have about three times performance regarding operational improvement. Regarding the competitive advantage gained by the EMS adopter companies compared to the non-EMS adopter organizations, no significant difference was observed between these two categories of organizations. However, The EMS adopter organizations seem to have a slight competitive advantage over non-adopter companies.

Sustainability – a new dimension in information systems evaluation

This paper received Outstanding Paper Award 2010, Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce sustainability as a new dimension of information systems (IS) evaluation. Customers, policymakers and business partners increasingly require the monitoring and reporting of the organisational impact on sustainability. However, traditional IS evaluation approaches are not able to capture the impact of information technology (IT)/IS on sustainability, especially in relation to social and environmental dimensions, so the authors want to stimulate discussion and research related to this area. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is conceptual. However, it is based on the results of an existing related research project focussed on supply chain evaluation. Findings – In order to stimulate discussion and research, the authors propose a framework that was originally developed to evaluate supply chain practices, in which IS often play a major role. The framework is built on three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – which are divided further into three sub-dimensions. It can be used as a starting point to develop a framework for sustainability-oriented IS evaluation. Research limitations/implications – The framework was originally developed for supply chain evaluation; however, it has generic features that can be adjusted or modified in order to be applied to a whole range of IT/IS initiatives Practical implications – Sustainability and its new dimensions create new challenges for information systems evaluation. Companies require frameworks and tools that can help them to measure and evaluate the impact of IS on sustainability. The researcher's role is to answer such needs and focus on this emerging research topic; this paper aims to stimulate such research. Originality/value – Sustainability is a new dimension in IT/IS evaluation. Current approaches do not include all sustainability dimensions (environmental aspects are excluded, evaluation of the social impact is limited). This paper is based on the paper submitted by the authors for the European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems EMCIS 2008, 25-26 May, Al Bostan Rotana, Dubai (ISVN 978-1-902316-58-1). For more details about EMCIS, please visit www.emcis.org Emerald: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1817308

Critical factors for implementing and diffusing sustainable product-Service Systems: insights from innovation studies and companies' experiences

Eco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the adoption of such business strategies is still very limited because it often involves significant corporate, cultural and regulatory barriers. An important challenge is not only to conceive eco-efficient PSS concepts, but also to understand the contextual conditions that facilitate their societal embedding, and which strategies and development pathways are the most appropriate. The combination of theoretical insights from innovation studies (in particular Strategic Niche Management and Transition Management) and a case studies research (exploring the innovation journeys made by six companies in introducing their eco-efficient PSS innovations in the market) is used to investigate the factors that influence the implementation and diffusion of this kind of innovations. The article provides a structured overview of these factors, grouping them in four clusters: implementation of socio-technical experiments; establishment of a broad network of actors; building up of a shared project vision; creation of room for broad and reflexive learning processes. Based on these results it is argued that a broader and more strategic system approach should be adopted by companies. Companies should focus not only on the PSS solution and its value chain, but also on the contextual conditions that may favour or hinder the societal embedding of the PSS itself. The article concludes by outlining a key area for future research.

Assessing the use of Product-Service Systems as a strategy to foster sustainability in an emerging context

Product Management & Development, 2014

This paper presents the results of a research project which have investigated the effectiveness of the contribution of Product-Service Systems (PSS) towards sustainability from a business perspective in an emerging context. The focus of this study is on the implications on the achievement of a "distributed economy". The authors have investigated the issue in three case studies, each representing one of the main typologies of PSS: result-oriented, product-oriented, and service-oriented. The companies that participated in these case studies were from three different business sectors: a packaging manufacturer for the automotive sector, an office space provider, and a major manufacturer of pipes and fittings. The results reported in this paper focus on the three initial phases of the data collection protocol developed in each case study: strategic analysis, exploration of opportunities, and development of the PSS concept. The data collection techniques included semi-structured interviews, system maps, Sustainability Design-Orienting Toolkit (SDO/MEPSS), direct observation, and photography and document analysis. The intracase study analysis was carried out through workshops with the partner companies, followed by cross-case study analysis, with the aim of identifying common patterns. The case studies show that PSS can contribute to expand the involvement of local stakeholders and to the achievement of a higher level of customization to local requirements. They also showed that it is not possible to state that a PSS can result in small, decentralized, and flexible production units. Also, although they expand the net of stakeholders, none of the case studies present an explicit intent to search for synergy with their counterparts in the same business sector, despite the benefit that such strategy could bring to scaling up the PSS concepts. Therefore, the authors conclude that, within a business perspective in an emerging context, there is no direct connection between PSS and the full extent of the "distributed economy" concept.

Business Sustainability Through Technology Adoption: Readiness and Acceptance of E-commerce Technology in MSMEs

KnE Social Sciences

The digital economy requires all countries to participate in preparing for digital transformation. As a country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia must prepare for the era of global competition. In 2020, the Indonesian government launched a digital transformation program with the vision of the ”Largest Digital Economy.” The digitalization of micro and small businesses in Indonesia is experiencing a slowdown due to the difficulty in adopting technology by MSME actors, and partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of this research emphasizes the impact of the readiness of micro, small, and medium enterprises as individual decision-makers on the adoption of marketing technology. The Readiness Acceptance Model (TRAM) technology developed by Lin et al. (2007) utilized in this study explains that the impact of individual characteristics and experiences on their use and usefulness dominates the marketing technology decision-making process. The population of this study includes the micro...

Sustainability and the Reasons for Its Adoption in the Companies

Proceedings of CBU in Economics and Business

Sustainable development is all around us nowadays. Every day we are poured in with initiatives and information related to sustainable development. The world leaders talk about the green economy, circular economy, green deals, and sustainable development. However, what actually drives the companies to apply sustainable development principles in their business operations? Whether these are the different legislative requirements at the national and international level or the pure economic interest of the companies to earn additional income from their sustainable actions? The present paper highlights the key results of the project "International Business and Sustainable Practices" and attempts to summarize the motivations for the business to be sustainable. The research focuses on the three key dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) and the sustainable development practices of internationally operating companies. The main objectives of the study ar...

Green Initiatives Adoption: Perspective of E&E Manufacturing SMEs Sustainability

2017

In recent years, the importance of the environmental agenda for the industry has been rising exponentially at the international level. Additionally, increasing consumers' awareness on the environmental impact of their consumption choices and their willingness to reduce their ecological footprint has created new market opportunities for manufacturers. Sustainable green practices have become the conscientious imperative expected from all manufacturing industries due to rising environmental awareness among today's society. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to determine the extent of green initiatives implementation in Electrical and Electronics (E&E) manufacturing SMEs as well as to examine the relationship between those practices and sustainable green practices. The quantitative data was obtained through a survey of 260 E&E manufacturing SMEs located throughout Malaysia. Analysis of the findings showed that there is an encouraging level of sustainable green pract...

Steps Towards the Implementation of Sustainable Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Chemical engineering transactions, 2018

A number of organisations are beginning to embed sustainability into the business processes in order to contribute to reducing environmental problems. They need to align the sustainability strategy with the business value chain. To achieve effective strategic alignment between sustainability and business processes, organisations require Sustainable Enterprise Resource Planning (S-ERP) systems to integrate all sustainable business activities. This integrated system helps practitioners collect, process, evaluate, and report data and information. However, the implementation of the S-ERP systems is very complex and needs an integrated approach to its implementation. The practitioners need guidelines that provide details of the process for implementing the S-ERP systems. The literature search revealed just limited guidelines that provide various steps to implement S-ERP systems. This stimulates the present study to develop S-ERP implementation guidelines using conceptual research methods...

Effect of E-Commerce on Organization Sustainability

This paper establishes the relationship between e-commerce and sustainability factors in the business organizations. The author has also shown the medium to the high positive effect of e-commerce on a clear majority of twenty sustainability factors belonging to environmental, economic, social and general domains as per the opinion survey. Given the effect of e-commerce on sustainability factors, with an overall mean score of 3.61 out of the maximum rating of 5 in an opinion survey, consequently the respondent generally believesthat the e-commerce does have a positive effect on the overall sustainability of an organization. The author suggests e-commerce as one the sustainability development measures that can be implemented by business organizations. The sustainability factors are arranged in the metrics, that can be adopted by a business manager for measuring the extent of the e-commerce effect on the sustainability of a business organization. E-commerce managers may also use the findings of this study to gain further insight into sustainability aspects of e-commerce activities. The author urges businesses to leverage e-commerce to create sustainable solutions that address customer, environmental and societal value expectations. The author has shown in the statistical analysis, that overwhelming majority of the sustainability factors (economic, environmental, social) is positively correlated with each other. Therefore, business practice shall be congruent and compatible with the business initiatives for environmental and social responsibility. Furthermore, the author urges businesses to leverage e-commerce not only for economic reasons, but these activities will also help meet environmental compliance.