IT readiness, ICT usage, and national sustainability development: Testing the source-position-performance framework

Abstract

Utilizing the Source-Position-Performance (SPP) framework of competitive advantage and the literature on information technology (IT) and sustainability as the guiding theoretical lenses, we posit that the government and business IT readiness (i.e., sources of advantage) leads to differentiation in government and business ICT usage (i.e., positional advantage), which in turn affects the national sustainability (i.e., performance) in terms of economic, environmental, and social developments. Based on secondary data from 108 countries, our results generally supported the hypothesized model. Specifically, government and business IT readiness in a country appeared to be a significant enabler of government and business ICT usage respectively, which in turn led to enhancement of national sustainability development. Post hoc mediation analysis indicates that government ICT usage (1) fully mediated the effect of government IT readiness on environmental and social developments; and (2) partially mediated the effect of government IT readiness on economic development. On the other hand, business ICT usage (1) fully mediated the effect of business IT readiness on economic development; (2) did not mediate the effect of business IT readiness on environmental development; and (3) partially mediated the effect of business IT readiness on social development. Our findings contribute to the theoretical discourse on "IT and sustainability" by identifying the role of IT readiness among government and businesses in a country and provide indications to practice on enhancing its sustainability by increasing the levels of ICT usage among them. © (2011) by the AIS/ICIS Administrative Office All rights reserved.