Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and waste disposal, as well as operational costs.
These strategies may also potentially cut emissions
significantly, thereby reducing the compliance
and liability costs of the firm (Hart, 1995). One
of the companies that have already successfully
implemented this strategy is the Grand Hyatt
Singapore, through its Green Energy Manage-
ment campaign. It has been reported that after the
implementation of its green energy management
protocols, the project has achieved an invest-
ment cost reduction amounting to approximately
S$500.000 via the right-sizing of equipment, along
with an annual reduction in operating costs of
S$1.2 million. During implementation, systems
and information technology are utilized to select
the right-sized equipment and devices to replace
the old devices. As a consequence, this company
hopes to see substantial reductions in energy us-
age and benefit from miraculous cost reductions
(NCCC, 2010).
Undoubtedly, resources or capabilities are
valuable if they enable a firm to reduce its costs
and/or respond to environmental opportunities and
threats (Barney, 1991). A particular technological
resource is useful only within a narrow range of
applications (Silverman, 1999), whereas a firm's
technological strength is likely to provide some
real commercial advantages. Whereas regulatory
environments may constrain heterogeneity by
prescribing uniform resource standards, compe-
tencies, and methods of deploying resources across
given industries and by defining which resources
are socially acceptable or permissible as inputs
(Oliver, 1997), they also provide opportunities
through innovation (Porter and van der Linde,
1995). Hence, we propose herein that firms that
respond to coercive pressure tend to make invest-
ments in IT infrastructure in an attempt to carve
out a competitive advantage in the form of cost
reduction.
reduce its emissions by investing in envi-
ronmentally friendly IT infrastructure.
•
Proposition 1b: Tactical green IT strat-
egies may result in cost reductions and
competitive advantage via the reduction
of waste costs, emission costs, legitimacy
costs, and other associated costs.
2. Strategic Proactive
Green IT Strategy
Strategic proactive green IT strategy emphasizes
more advanced IT infrastructure investments, IS
human capital, and organizational capital invest-
ments to create greater competitive advantage.
Companies select this strategy under the assump-
tion that they go beyond the technical view and
consider the environmental issue to be crucial in
the creation of intangible knowledge assets. Invest-
ment in human capital relates to mechanisms for
the hiring, deployment, and retention of employees
(Subramanian and Youndt, 2005; Lucas 2009)
to create knowledge. The environmental cost in
human capital typically relies on the costs associ-
ated with the environmental training of all current
and new employees, including the environmental
leaders. Similarly to physical investment, more
complex the technologies are, the more new skills
are required from employees at all levels of the
firm (Lucas, 2009). This knowledge and skill,
obtained through repetition and experimentation
over time at all levels of the company, can be
considered a source of sustainable competitive
advantage (Lucas, 2009). Organizational capital
refers to the firm's formal reporting structure, its
formal and informal planning, and the control
and coordination of its systems (Barney, 1991).
These investments may be internally or externally
focused and may require the establishment of an
environmental management system and infra-
structure investment procedures (Klassen and
Whybark, 1999).
Under strategic competitive pressure, an
•
Proposition 1a: A firm that adopts tacti-
cal Green IT strategy driven initially by
