Background: Using the Resource Based View (RBV) and the Integrated Sustainability Framework (ISF) as theoretical foundation, this study proposes and empirically examines hypotheses on how different types of IS-enabled sustainability initiatives are used to enable environmental and social sustainability in the four quadrants of the ISF. Method: The study uses a mixed-method approach, combining multiple-case study and non-parametric statistical analysis (Friedman test). IS-enabled sustainability initiatives were collected from Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports of six leading global sustainability companies across three industries with different levels of IS/IT use intensity during 2009-2015 period. Results: The study finds empirical quantitative and qualitative support for the proposed hypotheses. In different quadrants of the ISF, companies were found to use different types of IS-enabled sustainability initiatives in different patterns to enable sustainability strategy. Conclusions: The study opens the IS box to provide further theoretical and empirical insights on how companies combine IS and business resources to develop different types of IS-enabled sustainability initiatives to help them address sustainability (both environmental and social) across the ISF. The study is among early IS research that adopts GRI reports as data source and presents a method for extracting GRI data for IS and sustainability research. Researchers and practitioners can both find the study's findings instructive.

Purpose Sustainability innovation systems (SIS) refer to the investment in information systems (IS) to enable business sustainability within stages of sustainability maturity. A prior framework proposes that the roles played by IS to support sustainability depend on the stage of sustainability maturity achieved. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine these propositions. Design/methodology/approach This study conducts longitudinal case studies of six companies across three industries. Data were collected from the companies’ Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports over a six-year period from 2009 to 2015. Findings The study provides initial empirical support for the proposition of the SIS framework that companies follow a staged path to sustainability maturity and that IS play specific roles as companies mature. Research limitations/implications The findings encourage future research to take a longitudinal and holistic view of sustainability and IS. Future research could also collect a more comprehensive data set for statistical analysis. Practical implications The study provides guidelines for practitioners in making decisions about companies’ investments in IS for sustainability, particularly within individual stages of sustainability maturity. Social implications The study goes beyond environmental sustainability to empirically show that companies are deploying IT assets for social sustainability too. Originality/value The multiple-longitudinal case study approach provides an intimate understanding of companies’ actual usage of IS resources to enable sustainability. The study is also among the very early research using GRI reports for research on IS and sustainability, showing that these reports are a rich secondary data source for IS scholars.

Based on the resource-based view theoretical foundation, the Integrated Sustainability Framework (Dao et al., 2011) was developed to provide theoretical insights on the role of automate, informate, transform, and infrastructure IT resources in enabling companies' sustainability initiatives that both deliver sustainable value and help companies gain sustained competitive advantage. Via case study method using data collected from Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports of three companies across three industries differ in IT use intensiveness, this study provides initial exploratory empirical examination of the Integrated Sustainability Framework. Results from the case largely support our research hypotheses. Our study has implications for both research and practice.

Sustainability innovation systems refer to the strategic investment in IT assets to enable business sustainability within each stage of sustainability maturity. The stages of sustainability maturity framework proposes that the role played by IT assets to support sustainability depends on the stage of sustainability maturity achieved. We set out to examine these propositions using data collected from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports of two high sustainability U.S. based firms in the pharmaceutical industry over a six-year period from 2009 to 2015. Our research provides some empirical support for the proposition that companies follow a staged path to sustainability maturity and their investments in IT assets reflect their maturity stage. Importantly, our research shows that GRI reports are a reliable secondary data source for scholars and practitioners who want to conduct longitudinal empirical studies on sustainability information systems.

We synthesize a new longitudinal framework for investing in IT assets to support sustainability and to prescribe specific investments for each stage of sustainability. This framework provides an IT investment plan for organizations that supports the five stages of sustainability and will positively moderate the relationship between an organization’s ability to traverse the stages of sustainability and organizational innovation. We propose that there is an innovation payoff at each stage and support that proposition with exemplars from the literature. To highlight their key role in supporting sustainability driven innovation, we choose to call these IT investments Sustainability Innovation Systems (SIS).

Information Technology can play a significant role in supporting and even driving sustainability strategies in an organization. However, many small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) often separate their “Green IT” initiatives from existing business and IT strategy. The authors describe how one SME used IT service management (ITSM) to clarify and improve their IT services and to integrate sustainability into the IT function. Their case provides a detailed description of ITSM and also shows that ITSM offers a framework for SMEs to integrate sustainability into the IT operations.

This teaching case discusses the challenges facing GreenField Software (GFS), a start-up company offering software products and services to support sustainability. The case describes the start-up process, the crafting of the firm's strategy and structure, and the development of its products and services in the emerging ‘green Information Technology (IT)’ industry. It follows the key decisions made by the CEO and his executive team as they navigate a shifting and increasingly competitive marketplace. As GFS approaches the 2-year anniversary of its launch, the team must decide several key issues. These include whether to market their product as a business continuity solution or as a ‘green IT’ solution; what intellectual property will differentiate them from the competition; and how to respond to the changing needs of the marketplace.

There are a number of significant forces shaping the Information Technology (IT) work force: the migration of skills due to global sourcing, the thin pipeline of skills in high-income locations due to several years of lowered enrollments in IT-related university programs, and the impact of the largest retirement bubble in history, that is, the retirement of baby boomers. The impact of these forces was investigated through interviews and surveys with companies that purchase IT global sourcing (clients) and those that deliver IT services (providers). The results of this research indicate a new pattern of skills and capabilities that will be required by individuals pursuing a successful career in Information Technology. Business skills and client facing skills showed up at the top of the rankings. They also indicate the need for industry to develop a new approach to hiring and retaining IT professionals. The traditional career path of programmer-analyst-manager will need to be replaced by new paths.

A panel on workforce trends in the information technology industry was held at the AMCIS meeting in Toronto, Canada, in August 2008. Panelists discussed a continuing research project about the current state of the IT workforce and future trends, sponsored by the Society for Information Management (SIM). The initial phase was a study of workforce trends in IT client companies, completed in 2006. Results from phase one revealed a shift in the mission of the information system function from delivering technology-based solutions to managing the process of delivering solutions. Client-facing capabilities were found to be critical to this mission as well as business and project-management capabilities.Phase two examined workforce trends in IT provider companies. Results indicate that provider firms are also seeking client-facing capabilities, project management and business domain knowledge over technical capabilities. Panelists compared the results of the two phases and the implications for curriculum design, hiring, and training practices.The results of this research underline a looming crisis in several areas: 1) graduates who are not trained in areas that the marketplace is seeking; 2) thin pipeline for specific technical skills; 3) increasing pressure to source IT capability; and 4) lag in university responsiveness to the needs of the marketplace.

The increasingly global sourcing of IT work and other socio-economic trends are prompting fundamental changes in the availability of IT skills needed in both client and vendor organizations. This article analyzes the results of a survey conducted in 2005, in which IT executives were asked to describe the skills they felt were critical to keep in house now and in 2008. The top ten current skills included three in project management, five in business domain and three in technical. In 2008, the top five emerging skills are almost all business domain while the top five exiting skills are all technical. Our findings indicate that the critical skills to keep in-house are primarily client facing skills, even when they are technical. Findings indicate that IT professionals need to have a balance that demonstrates a foundation in the traditional "hard skills" and experience with "softer" business-oriented skills.

Findings in an IT workforce study support the emphasis of business content espoused by IS curriculum guidelines. Business domain and project management skills are critical to keep in house while technical skills were cited as the top skills sourced. Paradoxically, technical skills are those cited for entry-level positions. We discuss the issues raised by these findings and recommend several approaches for IS programs to consider. IS programs must offer a functionally integrated curriculum and deliver it in an experiential business context. We provide several examples of innovative pedagogical approaches and industry alliances which demonstrate mechanisms to provide students with a stronger business orientation in applying IT. We recommend a more proactive approach to enrollment including better promotion of IS programs.

In 2005, a team of researchers sponsored by the Society for Information Management Advocacy program interviewed senior executives in Information Technology (IT) departments about their current and future workforce trends and skill requirements. This paper presents the results of that research: more organizations are increasing their in-house IT staffs than are decreasing them. IT executives say it is critical to own business and project management skills, and they seek these skills in their midlevel hires. The use of offshore workers is increasing, primarily through domestically headquartered providers. Technical skills are more likely to be externally sourced, but they are also sought in entry-level hires. The study points out the challenge of transforming technically skilled entry-level hires into mid-level IT managers with strong business and project management skills, given current IT recruiting and hiring trends. It also highlights the need for practitioner-academic collaboration to ensure appropriate development of IT professionals throughout their careers.

This paper describes the creation of an active learning environment within an Internet-based course in the School of Business, Government and Technology at Kean University (New Jersey). The introductory Management Information Systems (MIS) course is an elective that has become increasingly popular with junior and senior business majors. The main objective of this class is to provide an overview of the field of information systems and to strengthen some of the computer skills developed in earlier, required classes. In the spring of 1998, one section of the course was taught as a partially Internet-based class. The challenge was to apply active learning strategies and other effective classroom practices to the virtual classroom. Course materials, posted on the World Wide Web, were designed to be interactive. E-mail was used extensively to promote discussion, participation, and feedback. Students conducted Webquests to facilitate individual assignments and a cooperative group assignment. They then created their own Web pages to present the results of the Webquest to the rest of the class. Students in this experimental section performed slightly better on the first test than students from another section taught in a conventional classroom setting. (Author/AEF) ********************************* ***** ****************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** THE INTERACTIVE, VIRTUAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS) CLASSROOM: CREATING AN ACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON THE INTERNET U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction qual'ity. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Thomas Abraham, Ph.D., Management Science Department School of Business, Government & Technology

A survey of US software developers has been conducted to determine how Indian software is perceived in terms of quality and productivity and to determine if, in fact, many MIS managers view it as a viable option. We find that Indian software solutions (ISS) are an option for many US firms. However, the growth in offshore sourcing is not expected to increase at the rapid rates of the past. There are several reasons for this. First, the Indian software industry has not matured to the level of offering a variety of services including off-the-shelf packages. Bodyshopping/personnel remains the main attraction, although the industry has made strides in offering customized software. Second, the range of user experiences with ISS varies considerably. Those using the bodyshopping option have significantly better experiences than those using the customized software option. This has implications for how users perceive the quality of ISS products and Indian programmers, and whether they want to commission ISS in the future. Third, a lack of infrastructure support is cited as the most negative aspect of doing business with India. Infrastructure problems include power cuts, traffic, and the need for modern international airports.

DSS professionals may differ in their opinion and practice as to where they locate the most useful information relevant to their work. Online and other electronic form databases are increasingly becoming the key resource for literature searches. This study empirically compared 31 online databases identified as promising for DSS relevant information according to their coverage of DSS. Rankings for recent years and temporally unconstrained conditions were obtained and discussed. INSPEC was the highest ranked database overall and for recent information. INSPEC was also the highest rated database for coverage of major DSS journals. However, there are many other databases that also provide coverage of DSS materials. It is hoped that DSS professionals will use these results to improve the effectiveness of their information search process.

Decision Support Systems (DSS) have been developed to support the computational, judgmental, and negotiation decisions typically encountered by organizational decision makers. Software for generating ideas has also become available. However, these systems typically operate on the individual or small group level, not on the broader organizational level. Also, their focus is usually on the decision-making process while neglecting the product. This article first develops a framework relating decision types to current DSS. It then proposes an architecture for integrating these component systems to support innovation at an organizational level and to support assessment of the creative product as well as the process.