Sustainability Evaluation of IT/IS Projects

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert Silvius
Keyword(s):  
Business Processes ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Corporate Communications ◽  
Sustainability Evaluation ◽  
It Productivity Paradox ◽  
Is Evaluation ◽  
Is Projects ◽  
It Productivity

Sustainability is without doubt one of the most important challenges of our time. How can one develop prosperity without compromising the life of future generations? Companies are integrating concepts of sustainability in their marketing, corporate communications, annual reports and in their actions. Information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) provide organizations with the ability to change and improve business processes to better support sustainable practices. IT/IS evaluation methods should therefore reflect this ability and include criteria for the assessment of sustainability aspects of IT/IS projects. However, IT/IS evaluation methods are today still dominated by the economical perspective that resulted from the infamous IT productivity paradox. This paper aims to broaden the perspective on IT/IS evaluation, by exploring the integration of indicators that reflect the concepts of sustainability into IT/IS evaluation methods. Based on an identification IT/IS evaluation methods and an overview of frameworks for sustainability indicators, an analysis is made of the inclusion of the indicators and principles of sustainability assessment in IT/IS evaluation methods. The analysis will conclude that integrating sustainability considerations in IT/IS evaluation requires far more than a set of additional criteria to be considered.

Sustainability Evaluation of IT/IS Projects

2017 ◽  
pp. 26-40
Author(s):  
Gilbert Silvius
Keyword(s):  
Business Processes ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Corporate Communications ◽  
Productivity Paradox ◽  
It Productivity Paradox ◽  
Is Evaluation ◽  
Is Projects

Sustainability is without doubt one of the most important challenges of our time. How can one develop prosperity without compromising the life of future generations? Companies are integrating concepts of sustainability in their marketing, corporate communications, annual reports and in their actions. Information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) provide organizations with the ability to change and improve business processes to better support sustainable practices. IT/IS evaluation methods should therefore reflect this ability and include criteria for the assessment of sustainability aspects of IT/IS projects. However, IT/IS evaluation methods are today still dominated by the economical perspective that resulted from the infamous IT productivity paradox. This paper aims to broaden the perspective on IT/IS evaluation, by exploring the integration of indicators that reflect the concepts of sustainability into IT/IS evaluation methods. Based on an identification IT/IS evaluation methods and an overview of frameworks for sustainability indicators, an analysis is made of the inclusion of the indicators and principles of sustainability assessment in IT/IS evaluation methods. The analysis will conclude that integrating sustainability considerations in IT/IS evaluation requires far more than a set of additional criteria to be considered.

Integrating Sustainability Into IT/IS Project Evaluation Methods

2018 ◽  
pp. 17-39
Author(s):  
Gilbert Silvius
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Productivity Paradox ◽  
It Productivity Paradox ◽  
Is Evaluation ◽  
Is Projects ◽  
It Productivity

Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. How can we develop prosperity without compromising the lives of future generations? Information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) provide organizations with the ability to change and improve business processes to better support sustainable practices. IT/IS evaluation methods should therefore reflect this ability and include criteria for the assessment of sustainability aspects of IT/IS projects. However, IT/IS evaluation methods are still dominated by the economical perspective that resulted from the infamous IT productivity paradox. This chapter aims to broaden the perspective on IT/IS evaluation by exploring the integration of indicators that reflect the concepts of sustainability into IT/IS evaluation methods. The analysis will conclude that integrating sustainability considerations in IT/IS evaluation requires far more than a set of additional criteria to be considered.

Unraveling the IT Productivity Paradox — Lessons for Health Care

2012 ◽  
Vol 366 (24) ◽  
pp. 2243-2245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer S. Jones ◽  
Paul S. Heaton ◽  
Robert S. Rudin ◽  
Eric C. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Productivity Paradox ◽  
It Productivity Paradox ◽  
It Productivity

scholarly journals Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Text of Annual Reports—The Case of the IT Services Industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 4119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renáta Myšková ◽  
Petr Hájek
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Word List ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
It Services ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Word Lists ◽  
Services Industry ◽  
Corporate Social

Annual reports are an important source of qualitative information about a company’s strategic areas, including sustainability. However, previous work on sustainability assessment has been limited to quantitative indicators that are difficult to obtain. Here, we address this issue by analyzing a company’s strategic documents, with the specific aim of demonstrating the role of sustainability and social responsibility in the text of the annual reports of companies in the IT services industry. We demonstrate that this information is a significant determinant of future economic outcomes. Specifically, here we evaluate sentiment in managerial communication in the area of sustainable business by using collocation analysis of topic and sentiment word lists. Several domain-specific word lists were used for each category monitored. Specifically, Loughran and McDonald’s word list was used to measure sentiment in the context of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. The word list that was developed by Pencle and Malaescu was used for CSR, while novel word lists are proposed for sustainability topics. The results of experiments show that the sentiment of sustainability topics (environmental and social in particular) in the annual reports may be a significant indicator of future profitability and thus represent an important information for corporate stakeholders.

Beyond the IT productivity paradox

1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Willcocks ◽  
Stephanie Lester
Keyword(s):  
Productivity Paradox ◽  
It Productivity Paradox ◽  
It Productivity

scholarly journals Information technology (IT) productivity paradox in the 21st century

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Hajli ◽  
Julian M. Sims ◽  
Valisher Ibragimov
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Factor Productivity ◽  
It Investment ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
High Positive Correlation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Productivity Paradox ◽  
It Productivity Paradox ◽  
It Productivity

Purpose – Since the 1970s productivity growth in most economies slowed, while information and communication technology expenditures increased: the “information technology (IT) productivity paradox.” Some researchers reported an end to the paradox, but this is most likely due to IT industry growth approaching the Year 2000 phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to update IT productivity paradox research. Design/methodology/approach – For comparability this research replicates methods employed by previous studies but employs a two-level approach: first macroeconomic indicators; second labor and multi-factor productivity. Findings – Findings suggest IT investment has high positive correlation with gross domestic product growth, but not labor or multi-factor productivity. This ambiguity suggests the paradox is still poorly understood. Research limitations/implications – The findings are not conclusive; the authors cannot confirm or reject the existence of the productivity paradox. The global recession and banking crisis makes it prudent to wait until recovery before analyzing data from that period. Practical implications – Lack of convincing evidence supporting positive effects from IT investment suggests some firms benefit from IT investment, but not others, and that IT investment has questionable returns. Social implications – Firm level studies might find IT investment benefits some firms, but lack of convincing macroeconomic level evidence of positive effects of IT investment suggests the paradox still exists. Originality/value – This research updates the IT productivity paradox demonstrating the phenomenon is still poorly understood and thus worthy of further study, questioning the benefits of IT investment for industry and national economies.

Comparing UK food retailers corporate social responsibility strategies

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 658-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Souza-Monteiro ◽  
Neal Hooker
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
New Products ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Complete Analysis ◽  
Corporate Communications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Strategies ◽  
Food Retailers ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how socio-economic and institutional factors impact UK food retailers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies as revealed in corporate communications and product marketing. Building on institutional theory, the authors empirically examine whether discourse in CSR reports aligns with commercial strategies. Design/methodology/approach Employing a mixed method approach the authors quantify quotes related to key CSR themes in annual reports and claims on new private label products launched in nine key product categories using information from Mintel’s Global New Products Database. These measures are grouped into eight distinct CSR themes across seven retailers and seven years (2006-2012). Findings Health and safety and environment are the leading themes in both data sets. Animal welfare, community and biotechnology and novel foods take the middle ground with differing use across reports and products. Fair trade, labor and human resources and procurement and purchasing are the least commonly described themes in reports and on products. Retailers focus on different CSR themes in reports and new products, which may be evidence of competitive rather than pre-competitive strategies. Research limitations/implications This research shows that UK food retailers CSR strategies between 2006 and 2012 were more competitive than pre-competitive, which is in line with theory that suggests economic pressures decrease incentives to cooperate. However, this research is limited to innovation data and analysis of CSR reports. A more complete analysis would need to consider sales or consumption data, wider sources of corporate communications and independent measures of social, environmental and economic impact. The authors’ findings caution policy makers to be wary of retailers commitments to voluntary agreement pledges, particularly when the competitive environment and economic conditions are more challenging. Practical implications Firms are increasingly pressured to contribute to social and environmental domestic and international commitments. Business should enhance coordination between CSR offices and commercial divisions to develop more consistent and effective social responsibility programs. Originality/value This is the first attempt to compare the evolution of CSR discourse and marketing strategy over time and across businesses in a key retail market.

scholarly journals RODIKLIŲ SVORIŲ SVARBA BREEAM IR 3E PASTATŲ DARNUMO VERTINIMO SISTEMOSE / IMPORTANCE OF CRITERIA WEIGHTS IN BREEAM IN-USE AND 3E BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEMS

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (0) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Rūta Mikučionienė
Keyword(s):  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Maximum Weight ◽  
Sustainability Evaluation ◽  
Health Resort ◽  
Sustainable Buildings ◽  
Economic Criterion ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
Criteria Weights

Combating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are among the European Union’s priorities today. Direct implementation of these priorities is sustainable buildings. This paper analyzes the energy supply of a health resort building with renewable energy sources in the context of the “BREEAM In-Use” sustainability assessment system. The criteria for the “BREEAM In-Use” scoring system are grouped according to the 3E criteria and recommendations are made for the weights of the 3E assessment system criteria. In accordance with the criteria grouping methodology in the article, in the context of 3E criteria, the maximum weight should reach the energy indicator (about 50%), the second most important one is the ecological criterion, and about 16% should only meet the economic criterion.

scholarly journals Individual Investors Perceptions On The Summary Annual Report: A Survey Approach

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc J. Epstein ◽  
Moses L. Pava
Keyword(s):  
Annual Report ◽  
The United States ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Individual Investors ◽  
Corporate Communications ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Sizeable Minority ◽  
Survey Approach

<span>As the role of institutional investors is being transformed, there is a tendency to overlook the needs of individual investors. Nevertheless, there are well over 30 million individual investors in the United States, and these numbers are growing rapidly. One area of particular concern is corporate communications. All investors, professional as well as non-professionals, should have access to financial information. However, annual reports, as currently issued, are often difficult to read and understand, and therefore lack communication value. A possible solution is the summary annual report (SAR), which has been designed to condense and simplify the traditional GAAP statements. To date, most U.S. Corporations have not adopted the new format, in part, out of a fear of negative shareholder reaction. Our survey results clearly indicate that annual reports, as they are currently issued, are difficult to understand for a sizeable minority of investors. One out of 4 investors reported that annual reports were so difficult to understand that they were of no substantial help in making investment decisions. Further, results show that a majority of respondents demand inclusion of further explanation of the financial information in less technical terms, and over a third would like to see SARs to the exclusion of full GAAP reports. Through the SAR, management has an opportunity to significantly improve corporate communications. WE strongly recommend that management continues to experiment with its format, design, and content.</span>

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