Green it practice : model for organisational sustainability in Malaysia

Abstract

Organisational sustainability are viewed from the economic, social, and environmental perspectives. Focusing on organisational sustainability has allowed organisations to accomplish their goal. Green IT practice plays an important role in organisational management. However, at present, Green IT practice and its influence remain equivocal in the field of ICT and sustainability. Regardless, there are voluminous research efforts on the topic in an attempt to minimise compromising the well-being of future generations. In Malaysia, Green IT has been introduced since 2009. Nevertheless, Green IT acceptance among Malaysians is progressing rather slowly and this is alarming. Even though empirical discussions related to Green IT practice are abundant as it is studied around the globe, only limited number of studies have been conducted to investigate the current practice and they hardly focus upon Malaysia specifically. In the absence of previous research on Green IT in Malaysia, the direction and orientation of this study has been significantly influenced by four decades of Green IT research in Western nations. Thus, this study was carried out to identify Green IT practice in organisations in Malaysia and to examine the influence of Green IT practice on organisational sustainability. A new model on Green IT practice for organisational sustainability was proposed. In formulating this model, a sequential exploratory research design was used to explore the influences between variables. The data collection was carried out for a period of two months. In the exploratary study phase, interviews with ten IT executives were conducted to identify Green IT practices in the organisations. 35 Green IT practices were identified in the sample organisations. Meanwhile, on quantitative phase involved the administration of a questionnaire that measured the respondents’ demographic, Green IT knowledge, Green IT belief, institutional pressure, Green IT practice and organisational sustainability. Simple random sampling was used and 323 usable data were gathered from IT executives. Data were analysed using SPSS Statistics version 23.0 and Analysis of Moment Structures - Structural Equation Modelling (AMOS-SEM). The result showed direct influence between Green IT practice and organisational sustainability. On the contrary, insignificant results were found in the influence between Green IT knowledge with Green IT practice, and Green IT belief with Green IT practice. The findings of this study revealed the current implementation of Green IT in Malaysia. From a practical viewpoint, this study will be useful for related government agency to measure the level of Green IT practice in Malaysia. Moreover, it will assist organisations in their strategic planning to fully maximise the advantage of Green IT practice.