Review of Design-Oriented Green Information Systems Research

Abstract

Green IS (GIS) research addresses environmental challenges brought on by climate change and the need to preserve the natural environment. Within this scope, design-oriented research, most notably within the Design Science Research (DSR) community, aims to provide solutions to these environmental challenges in the form of novel artifacts. The resulting IS solutions are valuable instruments for reducing emissions, increasing energy efficiency, and mitigating waste. Over the past 14 years, the IS research community was called upon multiple times to focus on designing solutions suitable for facilitating sustainability. However, it is unclear how these calls for action resonated within the design-oriented research community. Against this background, we analyzed the landscape of design-oriented GIS research by looking at 60 different GIS studies that have designed and evaluated an artifact. By analyzing these publications, we were able to make six observations. Based on these observations, we discuss how design-oriented GIS research can evolve to live up to the expectations of creating an immediate positive environmental impact.