A taxonomy of IT usage to support the implementation of environmental sustainable supply chain management

Sustainability, in recent years, has become a major concern for businesses worldwide. Many forward looking businesses have thus begun implementing sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. Although there exists rich viewpoints and theoretical deliberations on the merits, enablers, and barriers of implementing SSCM practices, little discussion has so far been reported in the scholarly literature on how IT systems can be used to provide support for effective implementation of these practices. In this research-in-progress paper, we propose a taxonomy of IT usage sophistication to help organisations understand the roles of IT and the required IT capabilities for supporting the implementation of SSCM practices. The taxonomy is built on six distinct dimensions drawn from SSCM literature analysis. Finally, some implications for management are highlighted and the current status of our ongoing research involving the progress we are making in organising interviews with senior managers from large Australian organisations to evaluate the proposed taxonomy is reported.