Special Issue "Sustainable Management of Digital Business and Information Technology"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Uwe Riss
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Information and Process Management, OST - Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, Rosenbergstrasse 59, 9001 St. Gallen, Switzerland
Interests: digital transformation; digital business; business in the context of artificial intelligence; innovation management for business models; value of digital services; digital customer journey

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Digitalization has become one of the new driving forces of economic development in Europe and worldwide (Evangelista 2014). More and more companies are recognizing that information technologies offer them vast new opportunities and that it is dangerous to ignore them. These new economic perspectives go beyond merely increasing efficiency—their influence becomes apparent in the better use of available resources and increased participation of people in value generation via new crowd models or platforms. This not only means potential economic growth but an equally huge potential to increase sustainability. As an example, the crowd or sharing economy provides the means to increase environmental sustainability by making better use of the resources already available (Görög 2014). We can observe a clear connection between the level of digitalization and the level of environmental sustainability, as Isensee et al. (2020) found in an investigation of SMEs.

If we look at the three dimensions of sustainable management, which are the economic, ecological, and social dimensions (Orth et al. 2020), we find the significant influence of digitalization in all three. In economic terms, digitalization leads to longer and more interactive customer relationships, which enhances the long-term perspectives of companies. In environmental terms, digital technologies and business models help us to make better use of our natural and societal resources. In social terms, participation via crowd platforms and co-creation of all kinds can lead to increased social interaction and community behavior if we use them in the right way.

To further develop these dimensions, we invite authors to submit original contributions, either based on thorough theoretical work or analysis of empirical data, that concern the following and related topics:

  • Sustainable business through information technologies
  • Digital business model innovation and sustainability
  • Sustainable business through digitalization
  • Sustainable management via digital platforms and co-creation
  • Digital platforms and ecosystems
  • Saving resources via platforms and sharing
  • Digital resource management

References:

Evangelista, R., Guerrieri, P, Meliciani, V. The economic impact of digital technologies in Europe. Econ. Innov. New Technol. 2014, 23, 802–824.

Görög, G. The Definitions of Sharing Economy: A Systematic Literature Review. Management 2018, 13, 175–89.

Isensee, C., Teuteberg, F., Griese, K. M., Topi, C. The relationship between organizational culture, sustainability, and digitalization in SMEs: A systematic review. J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 122944. Doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122944

Orth, R., Holger K., Mila G. Sustainable corporate development: a resource-oriented approach. In Knowledge, People, and Digital Transformation, Matos F. et al., Eds.; Springer, Cham, 183-206.

Dr. Uwe Riss
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • digital business
  • information technology
  • platform business
  • sharing economy
  • digital sustainability
  • digital participation

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Article
The Individual Dimension of Digital Innovation: The Altered Roles of Innovation Agents and Market Actors
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8971; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168971 - 11 Aug 2021
Viewed by 221
Abstract
Digital innovation entails the employment of new technologies to address business issues and to create practices that lead to the achievement of sustainability. It is observed that digital technology alters the individual dimension of the innovation process, allowing for a set of heterogenous [...] Read more.
Digital innovation entails the employment of new technologies to address business issues and to create practices that lead to the achievement of sustainability. It is observed that digital technology alters the individual dimension of the innovation process, allowing for a set of heterogenous actors to become active engagers in the process. A review of the previous research revealed a lack of focus on the roles these different actors play in the digital innovation process, as well as the mechanisms by which digital technology facilitates actor engagement, calling for research to shed some light on this topic. This phenomenological study undertakes an exploratory investigation of twenty-one Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, with the aim to demonstrate the importance of engaging market actors in each stage of the value co-creation process. Interviews with industry players show the shifted role of market actors in the innovation process—from product receivers to gatekeepers—at different stages of the innovation process. Market actors are extensively engaged in validating and evaluating the progress of ongoing digital innovation projects and, therefore, can modify their direction. Meanwhile, the role of innovation agents changes from an authoritative to reflective one. This study provides evidence that market actors are in a controlling position at certain points of the innovation process. As such, the view of the innovation process as being company-centric is challenged by the findings of this research. We provide new information regarding innovation practices, the roles of key actors, and their value in the digital context, which can serve as valuable knowledge for both academics and practitioners. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Digital Business and Information Technology)
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Article
Human Capital in Digital Economy: An Empirical Analysis of Central and Eastern European Countries from the European Union
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2020; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042020 - 13 Feb 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 783
Abstract
The hypercompetitive global economy of the 21st century is a hub of innovation, technology, talent, skills, speed, efficiency, productivity, and satisfaction. Within this context, the organizations are looking intensely for people with skills and talents that can differentiate themselves in all that noise. [...] Read more.
The hypercompetitive global economy of the 21st century is a hub of innovation, technology, talent, skills, speed, efficiency, productivity, and satisfaction. Within this context, the organizations are looking intensely for people with skills and talents that can differentiate themselves in all that noise. The human capital became slowly but surely a mean of efficiency and growth, especially through the premises of digitization, and a key issue of sustainability. The current research is meant to identify and highlight any correlations that might appear between the population’s welfare of 11 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) which are members of the European Union (EU), and the components of the digitization trend, including the new human cloud industry, ICT, and the connectivity to the Internet of Things. In order to achieve the needed insights, the multiple regression analysis was employed, and the latter tested the panel models with fixed effects, both from a temporal and country perspective. The results showcased a positive connection between the dependent and independent variables, confirming that the digitization of the economy and the developed human capital will ultimately lead to the increase of population’s welfare. Moreover, the findings are consistent with specific insights for each of the 11 CEECs, showing that digitization and the influence of human capital is differentiated across the latter in terms of their overall effect and amplitude. The research is limited by the timeframe and countries included in the study, and it can be furthered by determining the impact of digitization on the economies of the EU28 countries grouped by level of development, and by using other significant indicators for analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Digital Business and Information Technology)
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Article
The Effects of Product Monetary Value, Product Evaluation Cost, and Customer Enjoyment on Customer Intention to Purchase and Reuse Vendors: Institutional Trust-Based Mechanisms
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010172 - 26 Dec 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 827
Abstract
This study develops a model based on perceived effectiveness of e-commerce institutional mechanisms (PEEIM) and trust-based mechanisms to explain how PEEIM, product monetary value (MV), product evaluation cost (PEC), and enjoyment influence trust online vendor (TV) and how they affect purchase intention (IP) [...] Read more.
This study develops a model based on perceived effectiveness of e-commerce institutional mechanisms (PEEIM) and trust-based mechanisms to explain how PEEIM, product monetary value (MV), product evaluation cost (PEC), and enjoyment influence trust online vendor (TV) and how they affect purchase intention (IP) and reuse intention (IR) in e-shopping. The study is based on a survey of 293 online shoppers in Taiwan. Results show that monetary value, product evaluation cost, and customer enjoyment have a positive relationship with trust in online vendors, and a positive indirect and significant relationship on intention to purchase and reuse the products or service in the e-shopping environment. However, PEEIM does not have indirect effects on the customer’s intention to purchase and reuse the products or services through the influence of trust online vendor if the influence of PEEIM on customer trust online vendor is low and no significant effects, but PEEIM does have significant direct effects on a customer’s purchase and reuse intention. In addition, PEEIM has two constantly indirect relationships with a customer to purchase and reuse intention the product or services through the influence of customer enjoyment and customer trust in online vendor relationships. The study contributes important theoretical and practical implications for scholars and e-commerce providers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Digital Business and Information Technology)
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Article
Influences of Reference Group on Users’ Purchase Intentions in Network Communities: From the Perspective of Trial Purchase and Upgrade Purchase
Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10619; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410619 - 18 Dec 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 712
Abstract
Reference group is an important factor influencing users’ purchase in the network communities. The reference group’s influences involve informative influence and normative influence, and users’ purchases are divided into the trial purchase and upgrade purchase. In different purchases, users have different product information, [...] Read more.
Reference group is an important factor influencing users’ purchase in the network communities. The reference group’s influences involve informative influence and normative influence, and users’ purchases are divided into the trial purchase and upgrade purchase. In different purchases, users have different product information, consumer experience, and purchase attitudes, making different responses to the reference group. Thus, a research model of reference groups’ influences on users’ purchase intentions from the perspective of trial purchase and upgrade purchase is constructed. The model and hypotheses are tested by analyzing 349 valid questionnaires. The results indicate that both informative and normative influences have significant positive effects on users’ trial purchase intentions. Informative influence has a significant positive effect on users’ upgrade intentions, while the normative influence on users’ upgrade purchase intentions is not significant. Both informative influence and normative influence have significant positive effects on trust in the product. Trust in the product has a significant positive effect on trial purchase intentions, but its effect on upgrade purchase intentions is not significant. Purchase involvement positively regulates the relationship between informative influence and trial purchase intentions and negatively regulates the relationship between informative influence and upgrade purchase intentions. The results further enrich the theoretical system of users’ purchase behaviors in a virtual environment. The research can also have important implications for network communities wishing to improve online marketing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Digital Business and Information Technology)
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