Introducing a Data Perspective to Sustainability: How Companies Develop Data Sourcing Practices for Sustainability Initiatives

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_6DC2EE0BEBCE
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Introducing a Data Perspective to Sustainability: How Companies Develop Data Sourcing Practices for Sustainability Initiatives
Journal
Communications of the Association for Information Systems
Author(s)
Krasikov Pavel, Legner Christine
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2023
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
53
Pages
162-188
Language
english
Abstract
Many companies use the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a point of reference for their sustainability initiatives and actions. Reporting on these goals requires collecting, processing, and interpreting substantial amounts of data (e.g., on emissions or recycled materials) that were previously neither captured nor analyzed. Although prior studies have occasionally highlighted the issues of data availability, data access, and data quality, a research void prevails on the data perspective in the sustainability context. This article aims at developing this perspective by shedding light on data sourcing practices for the reliable reporting of sustainability initiatives and goals. We make a two-fold contribution to sustainability and Green IS research: First, as a theoretical contribution, we propose a framework based on institutional theory to explain how companies develop their data sourcing practices in response to regulatory, normative, and cultural-cognitive pressures. Second, our empirical contributions include insights into five case studies that represent key initiatives in the field of environmental sustainability that touch on, first, understanding the ecological footprint, and, second, obtaining labels or complying with regulations, both on product and packaging levels. Based on five case studies, we identify three data sourcing practices: sense-making, data collection, and data reconciliation. Thereby, our research lays the foundation for an academic conceptualization of data sourcing in the context of sustainability.
Keywords
Sustainability, ESG Reporting, Data Quality, Sustainable Development Goals, Non-Financial Reporting, Institutional Theory
Funding(s)
Other / Competence Center Corporate Data Quality (CC CDQ)
Create date
16/10/2023 22:06
Last modification date
31/01/2024 8:24
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