TY - CHAP

T1 - Digital–sustainable co-transformation

T2 - Introducing the triple bottom line of sustainability to digital transformation research

AU - Zimmer, Markus Philipp

AU - Järveläinen, Jonna

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.

PY - 2022/1/1

Y1 - 2022/1/1

N2 - Organisations face two transformation challenges. They embark on their digital transformation (DT), while they also have to accomplish their sustainability transformation (ST). However, on an organisational level, existing information systems (IS) research has thus far treated both transformations separately. While we can observe calls for IS research that investigates the design and use of IT artefacts for ST, existing studies into DT emphasise economic sustainability. In fact, DT scholars hinge the success of DT on economic sustainability. We argue that this emphasis on economic sustainability is an opportunity missed; that DT can contribute to accomplishing the triple bottom line of sustainability (i.e., economic, social and environmental sustainability). We rest our argument on DT and ST’s linchpin: innovation. Existing studies outline that both transformations stem from a sequence of innovations. Drawing on a typology of innovation for ST, we posit that sustainable digital innovations can contribute to both DT and ST. We conceptualise this proposition as a digital–sustainable co-transformation. We argue that this concept can sensitise both IS researchers and practitioners to introduce the triple bottom line of sustainability to DT and to conceive of DT and ST not as two transformations running in parallel but as one co-transformation.

AB - Organisations face two transformation challenges. They embark on their digital transformation (DT), while they also have to accomplish their sustainability transformation (ST). However, on an organisational level, existing information systems (IS) research has thus far treated both transformations separately. While we can observe calls for IS research that investigates the design and use of IT artefacts for ST, existing studies into DT emphasise economic sustainability. In fact, DT scholars hinge the success of DT on economic sustainability. We argue that this emphasis on economic sustainability is an opportunity missed; that DT can contribute to accomplishing the triple bottom line of sustainability (i.e., economic, social and environmental sustainability). We rest our argument on DT and ST’s linchpin: innovation. Existing studies outline that both transformations stem from a sequence of innovations. Drawing on a typology of innovation for ST, we posit that sustainable digital innovations can contribute to both DT and ST. We conceptualise this proposition as a digital–sustainable co-transformation. We argue that this concept can sensitise both IS researchers and practitioners to introduce the triple bottom line of sustainability to DT and to conceive of DT and ST not as two transformations running in parallel but as one co-transformation.

KW - Business informatics

KW - digital transformation

KW - sustainability

KW - digital innovation

KW - sustainability transformation

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/cab90df6-45b0-35bb-9db4-4982fa8fc81d/

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85138002089&origin=resultslist&sort=plf-f

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138002089&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-15688-5_10

DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-15688-5_10

M3 - Chapter

SN - 978-3-031-15687-8

T3 - IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology

SP - 100

EP - 111

BT - Human Choice and Digital by Default: Autonomy vs Digital Determination

A2 - Kreps, David

A2 - Davison, Robert

A2 - Komukai, Taro

A2 - Ishii, Kaori

PB - Springer

CY - Cham

ER -