Antecedents of Green IT Adoption in South African Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Abstract: Organizations are now increasingly expected to address the sustainability of their information technology (IT) and communication infrastructure. This research investigates the antecedents for the adoption of Green IT in South African higher education institutions (HEI), namely which drivers and readiness factors influence Green IT adoption. Green IT comprises of server virtualization, storage virtualization, storage consolidation, environment‑friendly IT procurement, electronic waste management policies and measuring the environmental impact of IT. For the purpose of this research, Green IT drivers were classified into economic, ethical, response and regulatory drivers as per Mollas (2008) Green IT model. Additionally, we also investigated the role of the following Green IT readiness factors: institutional, organisational and value network Green IT. IT managers at all South Africas HEIs were approached through an online survey. Given the small number of HEIs in South Africa, sample size was necessarily limited but the responses received represent a significant and representative portion of the South African HEIs and encouraging results were found. All Green IT drivers were found to be significant antecedents in the adoption of green IT, although the overall adoption of green IT is relatively low. However, most HEI stakeholders in the HEI value network, i.e. suppliers, investors, competitors and government, do not seem to exert a significant influence on green IT adoption. We condensed these antecedents into a revised Green IT adoption model. Our research instrument and proposed resultant Green IT model should be of interest, not only to HEI stakeholder in South Africa and elsewhere in the world, but also to researchers in the field of sustainability of information technologies and the manufacturers of green and sustainable technologies. ( %FIRSTNAME% %LASTNAME%: I have added this in due to the mention in the conclusion that Economic Drivers seem to be one of the main deciding factors. This would be of interest to manufacturers of the technology for marketing purposes.)