IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i19p14342-d1250151.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green Enterprise Architecture (GREAN)—Leveraging EA for Environmentally Sustainable Digital Transformation

Author

Listed:
  • Niels Vandevenne

    (IC Institute, 2580 Beerzel, Belgium)

  • Jonas Van Riel

    (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

  • Geert Poels

    (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
    Flanders Make@UGent, CVAMO Core Lab, 9000 Gent, Belgium)

Abstract

Digital Transformations (DT) play an increasingly important role in academia and business, yet their significant Environmental Footprint (EF) is often overlooked, sidelining their potential for Environmental Sustainability (ES). This paper bridges this gap by integrating ES into the discourse of DT, proposing Green Enterprise Architecture (GREAN) as a method for sustainable transformation. Utilizing a Design Science Research approach, we developed an artefact outlining a comprehensive strategy for embedding ES in DT across various layers of an organization. The tool’s need was validated via a systematic literature review (SLR), highlighting the significant research gap in Green Enterprise Architecture. The artefact provides concrete Courses of Action (CoAs) for incorporating ES into the organizational strategy, business, data, application, and technology layers and proposes relevant capabilities to address this. The paper further presents an ES-aware business capability modelling, an innovative business modelling approach that integrates environmental sustainability principles by using (in a novel way) the presentation and analysis methods that capability mapping offers. The proposed artefact serves as a starting point for environmentally sustainable DTs. Future research directions include in-depth exploration of each enterprise layer for ES, real-world validation of our proposed tools and concepts, and the expansion of these into a full framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Niels Vandevenne & Jonas Van Riel & Geert Poels, 2023. "Green Enterprise Architecture (GREAN)—Leveraging EA for Environmentally Sustainable Digital Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-39, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:19:p:14342-:d:1250151
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/19/14342/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/19/14342/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guandalini, Ilaria, 2022. "Sustainability through digital transformation: A systematic literature review for research guidance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 456-471.
    2. Felix Laumann & Torben Tambo, 2018. "Enterprise Architecture for a Facilitated Transformation from a Linear to a Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Sascha Kraus & Paul Jones & Norbert Kailer & Alexandra Weinmann & Nuria Chaparro-Banegas & Norat Roig-Tierno, 2021. "Digital Transformation: An Overview of the Current State of the Art of Research," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, September.
    4. Abdul Karim Feroz & Hangjung Zo & Ananth Chiravuri, 2021. "Digital Transformation and Environmental Sustainability: A Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sam Solaimani, 2024. "From Compliance to Capability: On the Role of Data and Technology in Environment, Social, and Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-16, July.
    2. Hassan Alghamdi, 2024. "Assessing the Impact of Enterprise Architecture on Digital Transformation Success: A Global Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-29, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nadeem, Kashif & Wong, Sut I. & Za, Stefano & Venditti, Michelina, 2024. "Digital transformation and industry 4.0 employees: Empirical evidence from top digital nations," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Mishra, Deepa Bhatt & Haider, Imran & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Sakib, Md. Nazmus & Malik, Nishtha & Rana, Nripendra P., 2023. "“Better together”: Right blend of business strategy and digital transformation strategies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    3. László Török, 2024. "Digital Transformation of Hungary’s Economy between 2015 and 2021: Results and Future Objectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-16, May.
    4. Regina Diaz & Raul Montalvo, 2022. "Digital Transformation as an Enabler to Become More Efficient in Sustainability: Evidence from Five Leading Companies in the Mexican Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-19, November.
    5. repec:hal:journl:hal-03650216 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Jinshan Zhang & Man Liu, 2024. "How to Leverage Digital Sustainability Orientation to Promote Environmentally Sustainable Practices of Manufacturing Enterprises in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-20, June.
    7. Long Xue & Qianyu Zhang & Xuemang Zhang & Chengyu Li, 2022. "Can Digital Transformation Promote Green Technology Innovation?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, June.
    8. Rafael Martínez-Peláez & Alberto Ochoa-Brust & Solange Rivera & Vanessa G. Félix & Rodolfo Ostos & Héctor Brito & Ramón A. Félix & Luis J. Mena, 2023. "Role of Digital Transformation for Achieving Sustainability: Mediated Role of Stakeholders, Key Capabilities, and Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-27, July.
    9. Hossein Rahnama & Kerstin Johansen & Lisa Larsson & Anna Öhrwall Rönnbäck, 2022. "Collaboration in Value Constellations for Sustainable Production: The Perspective of Small Technology Solution Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, April.
    10. Mendez-Picazo, María-Teresa & Galindo-Martin, Miguel-Angel & Perez-Pujol, Rafael-Sergio, 2024. "Direct and indirect effects of digital transformation on sustainable development in pre- and post-pandemic periods," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    11. Lea Primožič & Andreja Kutnar, 2022. "Sustainability Communication in Global Consumer Brands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Hornungová, Jana & Petrová, Kateřina, 2023. "The Relationship Between Digital Performance and Production of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in EU Countries: Correlation Analysis and ANOVA Method," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 15(1), January.
    13. Paraskevi Boufounou & Magdalini Mavroudi & Kanellos Toudas & Georgios Georgakopoulos, 2022. "Digital Transformation of the Greek Banking Sector in the COVID Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, September.
    14. Fatih Gurcan & Gizem Dilan Boztas & Gonca Gokce Menekse Dalveren & Mohammad Derawi, 2023. "Digital Transformation Strategies, Practices, and Trends: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study Based on Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-23, May.
    15. Dimitrios Vlachopoulos & Rannveig Björk Thorkelsdóttir & Despoina Schina & Jóna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, 2023. "Teachers’ Experience and Perceptions of Sustainable Digitalization in School Education: An Existential Phenomenological Study of Teachers in Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Iceland, and The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-17, September.
    16. Bargoni, Augusto & Santoro, Gabriele & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Ferraris, Alberto, 2024. "Growth hacking: A critical review to clarify its meaning and guide its practical application," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    17. Diána Esses & Mária Szalmáné Csete & Bálint Németh, 2021. "Sustainability and Digital Transformation in the Visegrad Group of Central European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, May.
    18. Du, Juntao & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Zhang, Linda, 2023. "Nexus between digital transformation and energy technology innovation: An empirical test of A-share listed enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    19. Lorenzo Ardito, 2023. "The influence of firm digitalization on sustainable innovation performance and the moderating role of corporate sustainability practices: An empirical investigation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5252-5272, December.
    20. Youmeng Wu & Hao Sun & Hongliang Sun & Chi Xie, 2022. "Impact of Public Environmental Concerns on the Digital Transformation of Heavily Polluting Enterprises," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    21. Tal Ben-Zvi & Jerry Luftman, 2022. "Post-Pandemic IT: Digital Transformation and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-11, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:19:p:14342-:d:1250151. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.