Implementing Green IT Transformation for Sustainability: A Case Study in China
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Sustainability and Green IT
2.2. Green IT and Belief-Action-Outcome Framework
3. Research Methodology
3.1. Method and Case Selection
3.2. Data Collection
3.3. Data Analysis
3.4. Data Coding
4. Case Description and Analysis
4.1. Case Background
4.2. Strategic Belief Formation Phase
4.3. Strategic Action Formation Phase
4.4. Operational Belief Formation Phase
4.5. Operational Action Formation Phase
5. Conclusions
5.1. Theoretical and Practical Contributions
5.2. Limitation
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Source | Terms | Definition |
---|---|---|
Watson Boudreau and Chen (2010) [10] | Green IT and IS | Green IT integrates and cooperates with sets of people, processes, software, and information technologies to support individual, organizational, or societal goals.Green IS incorporates a great variety of possible initiatives to support sustainable business processes. |
Melville (2010) [5] | Environmental sustainability | IS-enabled organizational practices and processes that improve environmental and economic performance. |
Elliot (2011) [11] | EnvironmentallySustainability of IT | Activities to minimize the negative impacts and to maximize the positive impacts of human behavior on the environment through the design, production, application, operation, and disposal of IT and IT-enabled products and services throughout their life cycle. |
Molla and Abareshi (2011) [13] | Green IT | Practice of applying environmental sustainability (including pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development in managing IT) as principles. |
Barney et al. (2014) [14] | Green IT | An integrated and cooperating sets of people, processes, and IT that aims at pollution prevention, product stewardship, or sustainable development, for the purpose of enhancing environmental and economic performance. |
Deng and Ji (2015) [3] | Green IT | The practice of designing, manufacturing, using and disposing of computer, servers and associated subsystems efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment, and with a strong focus on using information systems to enhance sustainability across the economy. |
Key Capability | Data Support |
---|---|
Capability to establish direction | “We know very clearly that the green transformation is full of variables and how to find directions in an intricate market was a key capability. In order to achieve a successful transition, companies must improve the ability to establish direction and adapt to changes. We believed that belief and culture were essential factors in cultivating the ability”. |
Key Actions | Data Support |
Formation of sustainability belief | “We adhere to the sustainability vision which is ‘innovative, coordinated, green, open-minded and shared by all’. We implement sustainability vision from the beginning of product design, and applies rating standard for green manufacturing enterprises throughout the whole manufacturing process”.To unify the top executives’ vision of sustainable development, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation would invite experts on relevant fields to train company managers from time to time. The courses cover the role of green IT, the importance of sustainable business and society, and so on. For example, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation has conducted consulting and training cooperation with Beihang University, targeting on green IT strategies for enterprises. |
Cultivation of green culture | “Developing environment-friendly economy and shouldering social responsibilities are two notions among our design concepts and original intentions. We should create a green atmosphere and culture in all aspects of enterprise management”.“For example, the cooling fluid used in special process line is demanded to go thorough mold test. The test is hard to carry out considering of both production costs and period. However, mold will undermine employees’ health and the deterioration of the cooling fluid in summer will harm the workers. Therefore, to continue to use the cooling fluid, we have made several negotiations with providers, and they finally understood the green culture of sustainability in Shenyang Aircraft Corporation”. |
Key Capability | Data Support |
---|---|
Capability to reshape strategy | “In the past, company focused on maximizing economic benefits in the formulation of strategies. Now in the face of green vision, companies needed to reshape green strategies and build the ability to overcome resistances. And in the process of green IT transformation, it is necessary to cultivate this capability from the green informatization strategy and the establishment of green IT group”. |
Key Actions | Data Support |
Green informatization strategy | “AVIC attached great importance to informatization strategy and we must apply resources to study it. Leaders of the Corporation have made long-term plans based on green IT and they hope to utilize it in daily management by applying it to the practical business of the corporation”.“Thanks to the implementation of green informatization strategy, the amounts of development projects during the eleventh ‘Five-Year Plan’ period have increased by 52.6% over the last period, and during the twelfth ‘Five-Year Plan’ period by 91.8%; the corresponding energy consumption and costs have dramatically decreased over the same period”. |
Establishment of green IT group | “At the request of AVIC’s green IT and environmental protection policies, we established the green IT group. The group included both senior managers and employees at the ground level to ensure the green IT strategy could be implemented effectively”.To support the strategic transformation of the Corporation, the newly-formed green IT group, composed of department heads, then established special Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assure the continuity of Green IT transformation. These KPIs were decomposed into unit-specific KPIs which became mandatory targets and were tied to financial incentives for every business unit. Shenyang Aircraft Corporation also developed a specific performance appraisal system to evaluate the implementation of the strategy in all departments, which motivated the business units towards the enactment of Green IT transformation. |
Key Capability | Data Support |
---|---|
Capability to integrate and engender trust | The implementation of a green transformation requires companies to have the abilities to integrate internal resources, gain the trust of business units, and strengthen their determination to transformation. A combination of production and research facilitated integration effectiveness. Production network implementation promoted the rational allocation of resources. |
Key Actions | Data Support |
Combination of production and research | “When research and manufacture were separated, the working response of the Corporation was rather slow. Besides, lots of our productions lacked manufacturability, resulting in a waste of costs. If the Corporation is granted permission to design, it can seek to combine design with production, that is, to modify the design so that the products meet the manufacturing standard”. |
Production network implementation | “Generally speaking, we have a production network that contains two systems: a submission system and a MES. Next, we will also have 7 visual monitoring panels”.“Through this system we can examine whether our plans are reasonable. We can optimize the investigation, reflecting the different production capacity of various workshops. The system also reflects the problems of various production lines, such as problems concerning facilities, technical quality, and materials and equipment. On visual monitoring panels, we can schedule production and assess production tasks”. |
Key Capability | Data Support |
---|---|
Capability to enact sustainable plan | “All visions and strategies will ultimately be implemented into execution. The completion of the transformation requires the ability to implement plans. Paperless production and balanced production plan were two ways to implement the sustainable plan”. |
Key Actions | Data Support |
Paperless production | “We have broadly employed paperless working procedure on production sites. Workers can check 3D models on production sites; they can also retrieve all data about the parts by entering a valid file number. Now we have applied the technology to all production lines in Shenyang Aircraft Corporation”. |
Balanced production plan | “Balanced production strategy means that products on the production line flow in an orderly manner. Its character is that the defects in assembly can continually decrease or even disappear. Theoretically speaking, production is in a balanced state”.“Balanced production strategy was put forward by our enterprise. Its requirements are rather high so we’re supposed to take advanced management mode to deal with risks and problems existing in the production lines”. |
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Share and Cite
Zeng, D.; Fu, X.; Ouyang, T. Implementing Green IT Transformation for Sustainability: A Case Study in China. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2160. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072160
Zeng D, Fu X, Ouyang T. Implementing Green IT Transformation for Sustainability: A Case Study in China. Sustainability. 2018; 10(7):2160. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072160
Chicago/Turabian StyleZeng, Delin, Xiangfei Fu, and Taohua Ouyang. 2018. "Implementing Green IT Transformation for Sustainability: A Case Study in China" Sustainability 10, no. 7: 2160. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072160