Paper ID
3218
Description
Green Information Systems (IS) are defined in terms of certain sustainability-related characteristics. Sustainability itself is a concept based on subjective values and value judgments, which are political, value-laden, and context-dependent. However, Green IS literature does not provide a sufficient understanding of such subjective values nor their treatment. Also, value-judgments for Green IS have hardly been considered. We adapt material value-ethics to expose the fundamentals of subjective values. Reviewing and synthesizing work in which subjective values and value judgments have been explicitly considered in sustainability decision-making, we improve our understanding of their use and formalization. Finally, we discuss our findings through the lens of material-value ethics, and offer reflective arguments towards clarifying the role of values in Green IS. The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of subjective values and subjective value judgments for sustainability, along with their critical and significant implications for Green IS research.
Recommended Citation
Paulsson, Andreas; Han, Shengnan; and Svee, Eric-Oluf, "A Review of Subjective Values and Their Implications for Green IS Research" (2019). ICIS 2019 Proceedings. 13.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2019/sustainable_is/sustainable_is/13
A Review of Subjective Values and Their Implications for Green IS Research
Green Information Systems (IS) are defined in terms of certain sustainability-related characteristics. Sustainability itself is a concept based on subjective values and value judgments, which are political, value-laden, and context-dependent. However, Green IS literature does not provide a sufficient understanding of such subjective values nor their treatment. Also, value-judgments for Green IS have hardly been considered. We adapt material value-ethics to expose the fundamentals of subjective values. Reviewing and synthesizing work in which subjective values and value judgments have been explicitly considered in sustainability decision-making, we improve our understanding of their use and formalization. Finally, we discuss our findings through the lens of material-value ethics, and offer reflective arguments towards clarifying the role of values in Green IS. The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of subjective values and subjective value judgments for sustainability, along with their critical and significant implications for Green IS research.