Assessing the Effectiveness of Green Computing Implementation in Higher Educational Institutions: The Case of Ghanaian Universities

Abstract

The advancement in technology has led to the use of computers in all sectors of the economy, including educational institutions. The rise of technology and the use of computers and electronic devices in Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) have led to significant energy consumption, increased cost, electronic waste generation, and carbon footprints; these are a major concern for the managers of these Ghanaian HEIs, government and the public in general. Green computing (GC) though a nascent field has been proposed as a solution to the negative effects of computers. Educational institutions worldwide realizing the benefits of GC has led to its adoption and implementation. Though the concept of GC has attracted interest from different dimensions and researchers, there seems to be little focus on the post-adoption phase of GC, in terms of implementation, especially in the area of assessing its success or effectiveness. Using the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities (DC) as theoretical lenses, a conceptual framework was developed to assess how resources and capabilities influence effective GC implementations leading to sustainable competitive advantage in Ghanaian Universities. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design where data was collected using a structured questionnaire and administered to a stratified sample of 134 respondents. These included Information Technology Directors, Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) faculty members, IS and IT decision makers, IT procurement officers, IS and, IT staff, etc. about the status and implementation of GC in private and public HEIs in Ghana. Descriptive and statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 25 and Smart PLS 4 to analyze quantitative data for the conceptual framework. A survey of GC awareness and familiarity in the sampled Ghanaian Universities showed that 86.5 percent of respondents were familiar with GC concept. The findings reveal that a significant portion of the respondents perceived GC implementations as having minimal to negligible relevance to their university's operations as a result of a lack of strong, explicit commitment to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability from the top management within these institutions. The results further revealed that for GC implementation to be effective in HEIs, top managers of universities should prioritize the allocation and efficient use of resources to facilitate effective GC implementation and strategically invest in them to be better positioned to lead their universities towards sustainability. Despite this, the study observed that the style of leadership and the presence of a green organisational culture do not significantly alter the impact of effective GC implementation on the universities' ability to maintain a sustained competitive advantage. The outcomes of this study have significant relevance and provide valuable insights for the academic community, IT professionals, and policymakers. The study underscored that Leadership commitment, resource allocation, and strategic investment are crucial for effective GC implementation in HEIs in Ghana. However, while organisational culture and leadership style are important in many contexts, the study found that these do not significantly affect the effectiveness of GC implementation in maintaining a competitive advantage. In this regard, the study recommends that top management should create a comprehensive plan for GC that includes clear objectives, resource allocations, and timelines to guide effective implementation and integrate sustainability into the institution’s strategic goals. Finally, the researcher suggests that future studies could consider other sectors of the economy and employ qualitative or mixed-method approaches to complement the quantitative findings of this study to provide a more nuanced perspective on how GC practices impact competitive advantage.