Abstract
Management
of e-waste is a growing problem for developing countries; one that may
undermine the sustainability of information and communication technology
(ICT) use if not addressed. In this paper, we focus on a somewhat
under-emphasized group that contributes significantly to developing
country e-waste: local organizational consumers of ICT. Although this
group creates the majority of e-waste, the factors shaping their e-waste
decisions are not well understood. Our purpose in the paper is to
provide such an understanding.
This paper,
therefore, builds conceptual models of e-waste strategies and e-waste
strategy determinants from the environmental management literature. It
applies these models to a key e-waste producer – the ICT services sector
in India – drawing qualitative data from a mix of very large and
small/medium firms.
While the former have
been proactive in their e-waste strategy, the small/medium firms are
characterized as indifferent to e-waste; a divergence explained by the
very different strengths of determining factors to which they are
subject. In turn, those factors relate to the size of these ICT
consumers and the nature of value chains into which they are placed.
Understanding these determinants can help us plan better e-waste
interventions; a point illustrated through critique of recently
introduced legislation.