[AISWorld] Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS) 2016 Volume 17, Issue 8 (August) Contents

[JAIS]

Contents of Volume 17, Issue 8 (August) Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS), Official Publication of the Association for Information Systems
Published: Monthly Electronically
ISSN: 1536-9323
Published by the Association for Information Systems, Atlanta, USA (http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/)

Editor-in-Chief:  Professor Suprateek Sarker, University of Virginia, USA


SPECIAL ISSUE: Information Systems Solutions for Environmental Sustainability

Introduction to the Special Issue:
Information Systems Solutions for Environmental Sustainability: How Can We Do More?

Roya Gholami, University of Illinois Springfield
Richard T. Watson, University of Georgia
Helen Hasan, University of Wollongong
Alemayehu Molla, RMIT University
Niels Bjorn-Andersen, Copenhagen Business School

Abstract
We contend that too few information systems (IS) academics engage in impactful research that offers solutions to global warming despite the fact that climate change is one of the most critical challenges facing this generation. Climate change is a major threat to global sustainability in the 21st century. Unfortunately, from submissions of our call for papers presenting IS solutions for environmental sustainability, we found only one paper worthy of publication. Given that IS have been the major force for productivity increases in the last half-century, we suggest that IS scholars should immerse themselves in creating solutions for environmental problems. Moreover, information is a perquisite for assessing the state of the environment and making appropriate decisions to ameliorate identified problems. Indeed, the IS scholarly community needs to help create a sustainable society. While there is an emerging body of IS scholarship under the banner of green IS, we strongly believe that we need to step up these efforts. Our experience indicates that the emergence of green IS as an academic discipline is still by far too slow relative to the needs of society. Too few people are working on green IS given its importance, and fewer still are publishing papers about IS solutions that could contribute to dealing with climate change. In this editorial, we speculate on some reasons for why and explore how the IS discipline can grasp the opportunity to contribute to one of the most important societal challenges of our time. We identify the major barriers that we assert curtail the involvement of IS scholars in green IS research; namely, incentives misalignment, the low status of practice science, data analysis poverty, identification of research scope, and research methods. We discuss each barrier and propose solutions for them.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol17/iss8/2/


Special Issue Paper
Providing Utility to Utilities: The Value of Information Systems Enabled Flexibility in Electricity Consumption

Gilbert Fridgen, University of Bayreuth
Lukas Hafner, University of Augsburg
Christian Konig, University of Augsburg
Thomas Sachs, University of Bayreuth

Abstract
As the transition to renewable energy sources progresses, the integration of such sources makes electricity production increasingly fluctuate. To contribute to power grid stability, electric utilities must balance volatile supply by shifting demand. This measure of demand response depends on flexibility, which arises as the integration of information systems in the power grid grows. The option to shift electric loads to times of lower demand or higher supply bears an economic value. Following a design science research approach, we illustrate how to quantify this value to support decisions on short-term consumer compensation. We adapt real options theory to the design—a strategy that IS researchers have used widely to determine value under uncertainty. As a prerequisite, we develop a stochastic process, which realistically replicates intraday electricity spot price development. With this process, we design an artifact suitable for valuation, which we illustrate in a plug-in electric vehicle scenario. Following the artifact’s evaluation based on historical spot price data from the electricity exchange EPEX SPOT, we found that real options analysis works well for quantifying the value of information systems enabled flexibility in electricity consumption.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol17/iss8/1/