Adoption of Green Technology: Insights from Indian Telecom Service Providers

Abstract

The telecom industry is a key driver of operational efficacy across societal and economic domains. Within the telecom industry, mobile technology is growing fastest. The increasing number of mobile subscribers supported by correspondingly large number of mobile towers is creating a massive impact on the environment by substantially raising the greenhouse gas emissions, which are expected to rise with the integration of network components aimed at improving efficiency in next generation technologies. Hence, adoption of green technologies in the telecom industry is the need of the day. Research in green telecom adoption is rather limited, particularly in the context of emerging economies such as India. However, interestingly, India presents an interesting case to study as it is the world’s second-largest telecom market with over one billion subscribers. Therefore, this study is taken up, which identifies the factors of green technology adoption by telecom service providers in India. First, open-ended semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 telecom experts in India. The analysis was done using content analysis. The findings reveal 10 factors and 24 subfactors of green technology adoption. Further, by development of causal-loop diagram, the study identifies 30 interrelationships among subfactors, thereby offering a holistic perspective aiding in informed investment decision towards implementing green telecom technology. This study's main contribution lies in proposing the interrelationships among factors for increasing the green technology adoption.