Empirical Exploration of Environmental Green IT Awareness Influence on Individual’s Acceptanceof SaaS Cloud-based Applications

Abstract

The technology has developed rapidly in recent decades and brought innovative ideas into practice. However, negative aspects have emerged caused by technological developments that triggered researchers to search for a technology that meets the performance, business needs, and environment-friendly technology. Consequently, SaaS (Software as a Service) cloud-based applicationswith variety of services emerged to meet these expectations. However, the connectedness between Green IT and cloud computing was not highlighted in literature. Therefore, research objective is to investigate the role of environmental and Green IT awareness on adopting SaaS applications and to examine the validity of the model connecting the two concepts. A quantitative survey instrument used on individuals (507) at 3 public Northern Malaysian universities. The analyses method followed Partial Least Squares- Sequential Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) procedure with SmartPLS software. The results revealed positively significant relationships of Green IT level of awareness on the dependent variable and the validity of the model. This research is hoped to open new avenues of research on the connectedness between cloud computing and Green IT. Limitations reside on the number of constructs used. Future work is suggested to extend the model, while highlighting the role of Green IT on cloud-based services and applications.