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Home / Regular Issue / JST Vol. 29 (3) Jul. 2021 / JST-2343-2020

Factors in Adopting Green Information Technology: A Qualitative Study in Malaysia

Siti Aishah Ramli, Boon Cheong Chew and Adi Saptari

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, Volume 29, Issue 3, July 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47836/pjst.29.3.12

Keywords: Green and sustainable practices, green IT, Malaysia

Published on: 31 July 2021

Abstract

Green Information Technology (IT) has emerged as a crucial topic for environmentally and sustainability development. At the same time, Green IT impacts the organisation as well. Studies show there is a lack of a proposed framework in the Green IT literature. As the IT industry is one of the significant sectors supporting the Green Technology Policy, this study objective is to identify the factors rendered in the Green IT adoption and examine the factors that drive the adoption of Green IT in Malaysia. The study referred to the case study to show the most important factors rendered in Green IT adoption in the public sector and the private sector in Malaysia. A qualitative method was applied through a semi-structured interview by using open-ended questions as a guideline with five organisations from the public sector and the private sector. This study prioritises the explanation building as a specific approach to analysis. Results show that there are five factors rendered in Green IT adoption in Malaysia: environmental factor, cost factor, organisational factor, technological factor, and business opportunity factor. This study benefits policymaker, organisations, and other researchers to support Malaysia’s pledge to reduce its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by up to 45% by 2030.

References

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Asadi, S., Pourhashemi, S. O., Nilashi, M., Abdullah, R., Samad, S., Yadegaridehkordi, E., Aljojo, N., & Razali, N. S. (2020). Investigating influence of green innovation on sustainability performance: A case on Malaysian hotel industry. Journal of cleaner production, 258, Article 120860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120860
Asadi, S., Razak, A., Hussin, C., & Mohamed, H. (2017). Telematics and informatics organizational research in the field of green IT: A systematic literature review from 2007 to 2016. Telematics and Informatics, 34(7), 1191-1249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2017.05.009
Asadi, S., Yadegaridehkordi, E., Nilashi, M., & Samad, S. (2019). Green information technology adoption: A systematic literature review. Journal of Soft Computing and Decision Support Systems, 6(3), 8-17.
Azis, S. S. A. (2021). Improving present-day energy savings among green building sector in Malaysia using benefit transfer approach: Cooling and lighting loads. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 137, Article 110570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110570
Brinkmann, S. (2013). Qualitative interviewing. Oxford university press.
Chen, H., & Ma, T. (2014) Technology adoption with limited foresight and uncertain technological learning. European Journal of Operational Research, 239(1), 266-275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2014.03.031
Cobos, L. M., Mejia, C., Ozturk, A. B., & Wang, Y. (2016). A technology adoption and implementation process in an independent hotel chain. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 57, 93-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2016.06.005
Dalvi-Esfahani, M., Alaedini, Z., Nilashi, M., Samad, S., Asadi, S., & Mohammadi, M. (2020). Students’ green information technology behavior: Beliefs and personality traits. Journal of Cleaner Production, 257, Article 120406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120406
Dash, P., Pattnaik, S., & Rath, B. (2016). Technology adoption process under internal uncertain environment in financial institutions: A case study with reference to public sector banks in India. International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, 11(1), 162-172.
De Zoysa, M., & Wijayanayake, J. (2013). The influential factors of green IT adoption in data centres of Sri Lankan banks. Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences, 4(12), 908-915.
Dibra, M. (2015). Rogers theory on diffusion of innovation-the most appropriate theoretical model in the study of factors influencing the integration of sustainability in tourism businesses. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Science, 195, 1453-1462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.443
Esfahani, M. D., Rahman, A. A., & Zakaria, N. H. (2015). Green IT/IS adoption as corporate ecological responsiveness: An academic literature review. Journal of Soft Computing and Decision Support Systems, 2(1), 35-43.
Fernando, Y., & Wah, W. X. (2017). The impact of eco-innovation drivers on environmental performance: Empirical results from the green technology sector in Malaysia. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 12, 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2017.05.002
Gazzola, P., Del Campo, A. G., & Onyango, V. (2019). Going green vs going smart for sustainable development: Quo vadis? Journal of Cleaner Production, 214, 881-892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.234
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Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.234
Gupta, S., & Kumar, V. (2012). Sustainability as corporate culture of a brand for superior performance. Journal of World Business, 48(3), 311-320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.07.015
Junior, B. A., Majid, M. A., & Romli, A. (2018). Green information technology for sustainability elicitation in government-based organisations: An exploratory case study. International Journal of Sustainable Society, 10(1), 20-41. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSSOC.2018.092648
Kasbun, R., Adnan, A. S., Khalid, N., & Jaafar, H. (2016). Green ICT practices and challenges: Electronic waste disposals steps awareness in overcoming environmental erosion. International Conference on Information Technology and Multimedia 2016, 1, 34-40.
KeTTHA & Green Computing Initiative. (2012). The green data centre: Achieving the true potential of sustainable computing. A Joint Research Report by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water Malaysia and The Green Computing Initiative. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.
Khan, H., & Faisal, M. N. (2015). A grey-based approach for ERP vendor selection in small and medium enterprises in Qatar. International Journal of Business Information System,19(4), 465-487. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBIS.2015.070205
Lee, S. G., Trimi, S., & Kim, C. (2013). The impact of cultural differences on technology adoption. Journal of World Business, 48(1), 20-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.06.003
Letlonkane, L., & Mavetera, N. (2014). An investigation of factors that inform green IT practices in the North West Provincial Government of South Africa. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), Article 163. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p163
Malik, S. A., & Ayop, A. R. (2020). Solar energy technology: Knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of B40 households in one district of Malaysia towards government initiatives. Technology in Society, 63, Article 101416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101416
Managi, S., Hibiki, A., & Shimane, T. (2014). Efficiency of technology adoption: A case study in waste-treatment technology. Resource and Energy Economics, 36(2), 586-600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reseneeco.2013.09.002
Martínez-Mesa, J., González-Chica, D. A., Duquia, R. P., Bonamigo, R. R., & Bastos, J. L. (2016). Sampling: How to select participants in my research study? Anais brasileiros de dermatologia, 91(3), 326-330. https://doi.org/10.1590/abd1806-4841.20165254.
Mergel, I., & Bretschneider, S. I. (2013). A three stage adoption process for social media use in government. Public Administration Review, 73(3), 390-400. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12021
Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water. (2017). Green Technology Master Plan Malaysia 2017 - 2030. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.
Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water Malaysia. (2009). National Green Technology Policy (1st Ed.). Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.
Mohammed, M. A., Muhammed, D. A., & Abdullah, J. M. (2015). Green computing beyond the traditional ways. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research, 3, 787-792.
Molla, A., & Abareshi, V. C. A. (2014). Green IT beliefs and pro-environmental IT practices among IT professionals. Information Technology & People, 27(2), 129-154. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-10-2012-0109
Murugesan, S., & Gangadharan, G. R. (2012). Harnessing green IT: Principles and practices. Wiley Publishing.
MyHijau. (2017). Green incentive. Retrieved July 10, 2019, from https://www.myhijau.my/green-incentives/
Ojo, A. O., Raman, M., & Downe, A. G. (2019). Toward green computing practices: A Malaysian study of green belief and attitude among information technology professionals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 224, 246-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.237
Rad, M. S., Nilashi, M., & Dahlan, H. M. (2018). Information technology adoption: A review of the literature and classification. Universal Access in the Information Society, 17(2), 361-390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-017-0534-z
Rahim, R. E. A., & Rahman, A. (2013). Resource-based framework of green IT capability toward firms’ competitive advantage. In Proceedings of the 17th Pacific Asia Conference on Information System (pp. 18-22). Association for Information Systems.
Saha, B. (2014). Green computing. International Journal of Computer Trends and Technology (IJCTT), 14(2), 46-50.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, R. (2016). Research methods for business student (7th Ed.). Pearson Education Ltd.
Shameer, A. P., Haseeb, V. V., & Mol, V. K. M. (2015). Green approach for reducing energy consumption-A case study report. International Journal, 5(1), 1-10.
Shibly, A. (2015). Green computing – Emerging issues in IT. ResearchGate, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1729.4248
Simon, C. (2013). Driving new technology adoption in South Africa’s energy sector. Retrieved July 10, 2019, from http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/17178IIED.pdf
Singh, J. V., & Vatta, S. (2016). Green computing: Eco friendly technology. International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science, 4(1), 280-283.
Taruna, S., Singh, P., & Joshi, S. (2014). Green computing in developed and developing countries. International Journal in Foundations of Computer Science & Technology (IJFCST), 4(3).
Unhelkar, B. (2016). Green IT strategies and applications: Using environmental intelligence. CRC Press.
Zailani, S., Govindan, K., Iranmanesh, M., Shaharudin, M. R., & Chong, Y. S. (2015). Green innovation adoption in automotive supply chain: The Malaysian case. Journal of Cleaner Production, 108, 1115-1122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.06.039
Zhang, Y., Sun, J., Yang, Z., & Wang, Y. (2020). Critical success factors of green innovation: Technology, organization and environment readiness. Journal of Cleaner Production, 264, Article 121701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121701
Adnan, N., Nordin, S. M., Bahruddin, M. A., & Tareq, A. H. (2019). A state-of-the-art review on facilitating sustainable agriculture through green fertilizer technology adoption: Assessing farmers behavior. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 86, 439-452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2019.02.040
Asadi, S., Pourhashemi, S. O., Nilashi, M., Abdullah, R., Samad, S., Yadegaridehkordi, E., Aljojo, N., & Razali, N. S. (2020). Investigating influence of green innovation on sustainability performance: A case on Malaysian hotel industry. Journal of cleaner production, 258, Article 120860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120860
Asadi, S., Razak, A., Hussin, C., & Mohamed, H. (2017). Telematics and informatics organizational research in the field of green IT: A systematic literature review from 2007 to 2016. Telematics and Informatics, 34(7), 1191-1249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2017.05.009
Asadi, S., Yadegaridehkordi, E., Nilashi, M., & Samad, S. (2019). Green information technology adoption: A systematic literature review. Journal of Soft Computing and Decision Support Systems, 6(3), 8-17.
Azis, S. S. A. (2021). Improving present-day energy savings among green building sector in Malaysia using benefit transfer approach: Cooling and lighting loads. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 137, Article 110570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110570
Brinkmann, S. (2013). Qualitative interviewing. Oxford university press.
Chen, H., & Ma, T. (2014) Technology adoption with limited foresight and uncertain technological learning. European Journal of Operational Research, 239(1), 266-275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2014.03.031
Cobos, L. M., Mejia, C., Ozturk, A. B., & Wang, Y. (2016). A technology adoption and implementation process in an independent hotel chain. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 57, 93-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2016.06.005
Dalvi-Esfahani, M., Alaedini, Z., Nilashi, M., Samad, S., Asadi, S., & Mohammadi, M. (2020). Students’ green information technology behavior: Beliefs and personality traits. Journal of Cleaner Production, 257, Article 120406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120406
Dash, P., Pattnaik, S., & Rath, B. (2016). Technology adoption process under internal uncertain environment in financial institutions: A case study with reference to public sector banks in India. International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, 11(1), 162-172.
De Zoysa, M., & Wijayanayake, J. (2013). The influential factors of green IT adoption in data centres of Sri Lankan banks. Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences, 4(12), 908-915.
Dibra, M. (2015). Rogers theory on diffusion of innovation-the most appropriate theoretical model in the study of factors influencing the integration of sustainability in tourism businesses. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Science, 195, 1453-1462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.443
Esfahani, M. D., Rahman, A. A., & Zakaria, N. H. (2015). Green IT/IS adoption as corporate ecological responsiveness: An academic literature review. Journal of Soft Computing and Decision Support Systems, 2(1), 35-43.
Fernando, Y., & Wah, W. X. (2017). The impact of eco-innovation drivers on environmental performance: Empirical results from the green technology sector in Malaysia. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 12, 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2017.05.002
Gazzola, P., Del Campo, A. G., & Onyango, V. (2019). Going green vs going smart for sustainable development: Quo vadis? Journal of Cleaner Production, 214, 881-892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.234
GreenTech Malaysia. (2011). Green ICT – The Malaysia’s perspectives green technology corporation Malaysia. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from https://home.jeita.or.jp/greenit-pc/activity/asia/file/Green_ICT___The_Malaysias_Perspectives.pdf
GreenTech Malaysia. (2013). National green technology policy: Cleantech made in Germany industry symposium Malaysian green technology corporation green technology corporation Malaysia. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from http://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Content/EN/Meta/Events/Invest/2013/Reviews/Powerhouse/Downloads/presentation-130409-malaysia-ismail-malaysian-green-tech-corp.pdf?v=2
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.234
Gupta, S., & Kumar, V. (2012). Sustainability as corporate culture of a brand for superior performance. Journal of World Business, 48(3), 311-320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.07.015
Junior, B. A., Majid, M. A., & Romli, A. (2018). Green information technology for sustainability elicitation in government-based organisations: An exploratory case study. International Journal of Sustainable Society, 10(1), 20-41. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSSOC.2018.092648
Kasbun, R., Adnan, A. S., Khalid, N., & Jaafar, H. (2016). Green ICT practices and challenges: Electronic waste disposals steps awareness in overcoming environmental erosion. International Conference on Information Technology and Multimedia 2016, 1, 34-40.
KeTTHA & Green Computing Initiative. (2012). The green data centre: Achieving the true potential of sustainable computing. A Joint Research Report by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water Malaysia and The Green Computing Initiative. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.
Khan, H., & Faisal, M. N. (2015). A grey-based approach for ERP vendor selection in small and medium enterprises in Qatar. International Journal of Business Information System,19(4), 465-487. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBIS.2015.070205
Lee, S. G., Trimi, S., & Kim, C. (2013). The impact of cultural differences on technology adoption. Journal of World Business, 48(1), 20-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2012.06.003
Letlonkane, L., & Mavetera, N. (2014). An investigation of factors that inform green IT practices in the North West Provincial Government of South Africa. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), Article 163. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p163
Malik, S. A., & Ayop, A. R. (2020). Solar energy technology: Knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of B40 households in one district of Malaysia towards government initiatives. Technology in Society, 63, Article 101416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101416
Managi, S., Hibiki, A., & Shimane, T. (2014). Efficiency of technology adoption: A case study in waste-treatment technology. Resource and Energy Economics, 36(2), 586-600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reseneeco.2013.09.002
Martínez-Mesa, J., González-Chica, D. A., Duquia, R. P., Bonamigo, R. R., & Bastos, J. L. (2016). Sampling: How to select participants in my research study? Anais brasileiros de dermatologia, 91(3), 326-330. https://doi.org/10.1590/abd1806-4841.20165254.
Mergel, I., & Bretschneider, S. I. (2013). A three stage adoption process for social media use in government. Public Administration Review, 73(3), 390-400. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12021
Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water. (2017). Green Technology Master Plan Malaysia 2017 - 2030. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.
Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water Malaysia. (2009). National Green Technology Policy (1st Ed.). Putrajaya, Malaysia: Author.
Mohammed, M. A., Muhammed, D. A., & Abdullah, J. M. (2015). Green computing beyond the traditional ways. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research, 3, 787-792.
Molla, A., & Abareshi, V. C. A. (2014). Green IT beliefs and pro-environmental IT practices among IT professionals. Information Technology & People, 27(2), 129-154. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-10-2012-0109
Murugesan, S., & Gangadharan, G. R. (2012). Harnessing green IT: Principles and practices. Wiley Publishing.
MyHijau. (2017). Green incentive. Retrieved July 10, 2019, from https://www.myhijau.my/green-incentives/
Ojo, A. O., Raman, M., & Downe, A. G. (2019). Toward green computing practices: A Malaysian study of green belief and attitude among information technology professionals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 224, 246-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.237
Rad, M. S., Nilashi, M., & Dahlan, H. M. (2018). Information technology adoption: A review of the literature and classification. Universal Access in the Information Society, 17(2), 361-390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-017-0534-z
Rahim, R. E. A., & Rahman, A. (2013). Resource-based framework of green IT capability toward firms’ competitive advantage. In Proceedings of the 17th Pacific Asia Conference on Information System (pp. 18-22). Association for Information Systems.
Saha, B. (2014). Green computing. International Journal of Computer Trends and Technology (IJCTT), 14(2), 46-50.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, R. (2016). Research methods for business student (7th Ed.). Pearson Education Ltd.
Shameer, A. P., Haseeb, V. V., & Mol, V. K. M. (2015). Green approach for reducing energy consumption-A case study report. International Journal, 5(1), 1-10.
Shibly, A. (2015). Green computing – Emerging issues in IT. ResearchGate, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1729.4248
Simon, C. (2013). Driving new technology adoption in South Africa’s energy sector. Retrieved July 10, 2019, from http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/17178IIED.pdf
Singh, J. V., & Vatta, S. (2016). Green computing: Eco friendly technology. International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science, 4(1), 280-283.
Taruna, S., Singh, P., & Joshi, S. (2014). Green computing in developed and developing countries. International Journal in Foundations of Computer Science & Technology (IJFCST), 4(3).
Unhelkar, B. (2016). Green IT strategies and applications: Using environmental intelligence. CRC Press.
Zailani, S., Govindan, K., Iranmanesh, M., Shaharudin, M. R., & Chong, Y. S. (2015). Green innovation adoption in automotive supply chain: The Malaysian case. Journal of Cleaner Production, 108, 1115-1122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.06.039
Zhang, Y., Sun, J., Yang, Z., & Wang, Y. (2020). Critical success factors of green innovation: Technology, organization and environment readiness. Journal of Cleaner Production, 264, Article 121701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121701