The Emergence of Sustainability as the New Dominant Logic: Implications for Information Systems

Abstract

A dominant logic describes the manner is which a firm or society organizes much of its activity in order to be successful. Historical analysis indicates that the information systems developed during a period reflect the needs of the current dominant logic of that era. It is argued that the current customer service dominant logic is being replaced or complemented by a sustainability dominant logic, which reflects the growing concern with environmental issues. The implications for IS scholarship and education are discussed. In particular, there will likely be a greater emphasis on optimization and simulation techniques and more attention to managing large data sets in research and teaching. In addition, there is a need to revisit socio-technical frameworks that ignore the environment as a key factor in IS design and deployment decisions. Green IS and Sustainability