Digitalization as a problem or solution? Charting the path for research on sustainable information systems

Abstract

Digitalization has permeated all aspects of human lives, economies, and societies. This transformation has been driven by the rapid growth in computing power, storage capabilities, and data transmission infrastructures. These changes have enabled innovations, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, smartphones, digitalized homes, (semi) autonomous vehicles, quantum computing, and more. Digitalization has further resulted in faster, more effective service delivery by many organizations. The phenomenon of digitalization relies on an increasingly finite supply of resources, such as crude oil, silicon, and energy. Over the past 150 years, humans have consumed as many natural resources as they have consumed in the past 20,000 years. In part, this increasing clip of consumption has been driven by digitalization, as novel, technology-based solutions, such as blockchain, supplant older, slower low-tech solutions, such as books and ledgers, to process data and create value.