The rise of digital technologies has led to growing concern over their environmental impact, prompting the emergence of the phenomenon of digital sobriety. Rooted in the principles of degrowth technology, digital sobriety advocates for reduced technology usage to create a more sustainable society. However, it contrasts with typical frameworks that promote the continued use of IT. Furthermore, it runs counter to the prevailing trend of digital transformation within organisations, which is expected to expand in the future. As a result, it challenges conventional approaches to IT usage and the associated contextual factors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the concept of digital sobriety, examining its relationship to conventional approaches as well as the degrowth technology perspective. The study explores how digital sobriety is implemented within organisations and how it is perceived by IT users. Thirty-three participants from IT companies were included and the scope and characteristics of the phenomenon of digital sobriety were identified, including five levels of IT user maturity: refutation, inaction, substitution, optimisation, and disadoption/degrowth. The results highlight the need to balance the internal and external factors of digital sobriety and identify different trajectories of digital sobriety as socio-technical imaginaries for the future of IT.
Authors
Related Organizations
- Bibliographic Reference
- Céline Péréa, Jessica Gérard, Julien de Benedittis. Digital sobriety: From awareness of the negative impacts of IT usages to degrowth technology at work. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2023, 194, pp.122670. ⟨10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122670⟩. ⟨emse-04116949⟩
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122670
- Department
- Département Management responsable et innovation
- HAL Collection
- ["Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société", 'Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne', 'Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne', 'Institut Mines Télécom', 'HAL Grenoble Alpes', 'Université Lumière Lyon 2', "Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées a la gestion", 'COACTIS', 'FAYOL - Institut Henri Fayol', "FAYOL / EPICE : Etudes sur la performance, l'Innovation et le Changement en Entreprise", 'Université Lyon2', 'UDL', 'composantes instituts telecom', 'Université Grenoble Alpes [2020-*]']
- HAL Identifier
- 4139160
- Institution
- ['Université Lumière - Lyon 2', 'Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne', 'Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de St Etienne', 'Institut Henri Fayol']
- Laboratory
- ["Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion", "COnception de l'ACTIon en Situation", 'Institut Henri Fayol']
- Published in
- France
Table of Contents
- Digital sobriety from awareness of the negative impacts of IT usages to degrowth technology at 2
- Céline Péréa Jessica Gérard Julien de Benedittis 2
- Abstract 2
- Keywords 2
- 1. Introduction 3
- 2. Literature review 5
- 2.1 Digital sobriety a dimension of Green IT 5
- 2.1.1 From the observation of IT pollution to the need for digital sobriety 5
- 2.1.2 Digital sobriety as a technological scepticism dimension of Green IT 6
- 2.2 Digital sobriety of users in organisations 7
- 2.2.1 Discontinuance of IT uses despite user satisfaction 7
- 2.2.2 Implementing digital sobriety at work 7
- 3. Methodology 8
- 3.1 Data collection 8
- 3.2 Data analysis 9
- 4. Results and discussion 10
- 4.1 Digital sobriety characterisation and its deployment in organisations 10
- 4.1.1. Digital sobriety a polysemous notion 10
- 4.1.2 Techno-centric logic and digital sobriety a paradoxical injunction 10
- 4.1.3 Progressive incentives for implementing digital sobriety in organisations 11
- 4.1.4 Ubiquitous digital sobriety internal external bottom-up and top-down influences 12
- 4.2 Different perceptions and levels of digital sobriety of IT users in organisations 13
- 4.2.1 Resistance to digital sobriety 13
- 4.2.2 Aware but powerless 14
- 4.2.3 Perceived usefulness beyond environmental causes 15
- 4.2.4 Different levels of digital sobriety 15
- Table 1. 17
- Digital sobriety Description Example levels 17
- Some IT users may be reluctant to change their habits 17
- Refutation 17
- IT users may prioritise and select the most efficient and 17
- Substitution sustainable IT options based on their environmental 17
- Inaction 17
- Some IT users may be waiting for action or initiatives from external stakeholders such as the government companies or individuals rather than taking individual action themselves 17
- Optimisation 18
- Digital sobriety entails moderating and reducing the frequency of IT use in order to minimise its negative 18
- Individuals may choose to discontinue their use of IT or 18
- Disadoption avoid adopting it altogether as part of a digital sobriety and 18
- Degrowth sustainable lifestyle or due to concerns about privacy security or 18
- 5. Conclusion 19
- 5.1. Contributions 19
- 5.2. Managerial implications 20
- 5.3. Limitations and future research 22
- Appendices 22
- Appendix A List of semi-structured interviews 22
- Appendix B Research questions and related interview questions 23
- Themes 23
- RQ Dimensions Questions 23
- References 24
