Beware of bullshit: A qualitative study on young adults' sustainability awareness of online services

Roskosch, Robin
A icle
Bewa e o bullshi : A quali a i e s udy on young adul s'
sus ainabili y awa eness o online se ices
Junio Managemen Science (JUMS)
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Junio Managemen Science e. V.
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Roskosch, Robin (2025) : Bewa e o bullshi : A quali a i e s udy on young adul s'
sus ainabili y awa eness o online se ices, Junio Managemen Science (JUMS), ISSN 2942-1861,
Junio Managemen Science e. V., Planegg, Vol. 10, Iss. 3, pp. 582-608,
h ps://doi.o g/10.5282/jums/ 10i3pp582-608
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Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608
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ISSN: 2942-1861
Edi o :
DOMINIK VAN AAKEN
Ad iso y Edi o ial Boa d:
FREDERIK AHLEMANN
JAN-PHILIPP AHRENS
THOMAS BAHLINGER
MARKUS BECKMANN
SULEIKA BORT
ROLF BRÜHL
KATRIN BURMEISTER-LAMP
CATHERINE CLEOPHAS
NILS CRASSELT
BENEDIKT DOWNAR
KERSTIN FEHRE
MATTHIAS FINK
DAVID FLORYSIAK
GUNTHER FRIEDL
MARTIN FRIESL
FRANZ FUERST
WOLFGANG GÜTTEL
NINA KATRIN HANSEN
ANNE KATARINA HEIDER
CHRISTIAN HOFMANN
SVEN HÖRNER
STEPHAN KAISER
NADINE KAMMERLANDER
ALFRED KIESER
ALEKSANDRA KLEIN
NATALIA KLIEWER
DODO ZU KNYPHAUSEN-AUFSESS
SABINE T. KÖSZEGI
ARJAN KOZICA
CHRISTIAN KOZIOL
MARTIN KREEB
WERNER KUNZ
HANS-ULRICH KÜPPER
MICHAEL MEYER
JÜRGEN MÜHLBACHER
GORDON MÜLLER-SEITZ
J. PETER MURMANN
ANDREAS OSTERMAIER
BURKHARD PEDELL
ARTHUR POSCH
MARCEL PROKOPCZUK
TANJA RABL
SASCHA RAITHEL
NICOLE RATZINGER-SAKEL
ASTRID REICHEL
KATJA ROST
THOMAS RUSSACK
FLORIAN SAHLING
MARKO SARSTEDT
ANDREAS G. SCHERER
STEFAN SCHMID
UTE SCHMIEL
CHRISTIAN SCHMITZ
MARTIN SCHNEIDER
MARKUS SCHOLZ
LARS SCHWEIZER
DAVID SEIDL
THORSTEN SELLHORN
STEFAN SEURING
VIOLETTA SPLITTER
ANDREAS SUCHANEK
TILL TALAULICAR
ANN TANK
ANJA TUSCHKE
MATTHIAS UHL
CHRISTINE VALLASTER
PATRICK VELTE
CHRISTIAN VÖGTLIN
BARBARA E. WEISSENBERGER
ISABELL M. WELPE
HANNES WINNER
THOMAS WRONA
THOMAS ZWICK
Volume 10, Issue 3, Sep embe 2025
JUNIOR
MANAGEMENT
SCIENCE
Johannes Wi e ,P edic ing S ock Re u ns Wi h Machine
Lea ning: Global Ve sus Sec o Models
Robin Roskosch, Bewa e o Bullshi –A Quali a i e S udy on
Young Adul s’ Sus ainabili y Awa eness o Online
Se ices
Nadhilla Mazaya,Boa d Gende Di e si y: E idence F om
Indonesia
Alexande Sake, Value C ea ion Oppo uni ies o Gene a i e
AI –A Case S udy
Jus us Olb ich, The E ec o Changes in In e nal Con ol
Sys ems on Audi Risk
Jan Oli e Ho s mann, Manda o y ESG Disclosu e and Fi m
Value –A Quan i a i e Analysis o he E ec o
Di ec i e 2014/95/EU on Fi m Value
Me e Anna Gläse , Go e nmen In e en ions Du ing he
COVID-19 Pandemic, Cul u e, and Co po a e Cos
Beha iou
Zewei Shi, Modeling he Impac o Emission C edi Sys ems on
Au omo i e P oduc Po olios: A Ma hema ical
Analysis o Policy E ec s in Eu ope, China, and he
U.S. Unde Di e en Demand Scena ios
Hagen Alexande Höne loh, Nume ical S udies o he
Scheduling o Con inuous Annealing Lines
Lea Wedel, KPIs o Sus ainabili y: De ining he S a egy o a
Sus ainable Fu u e in he Insu ance Indus y
561
582
609
631
657
677
715
748
781
810
Published by Junio Managemen Science e.V.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he CC-BY-4.0
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ISSN: 2942-1861
Bewa e o Bullshi – A Quali a i e S udy on Young Adul s’
Sus ainabili y Awa eness o Online Se ices
Robin Roskosch
Uni e si y o Duisbu g-Essen
Abs ac
Since he su ge o wo king in he ‘home o ice’ du ing he COVID-19 pandemic, in o ma ion and communica ion echnology
has been seen as a p oblem sol e o he global clima e dis up ion, because i p omises sa ings in emissions h ough digi al-
iza ion. Howe e , his is c i icized o being a ‘double-edged swo d’, as mo e use o ICT also means an inc ease in elec ici y
consump ion. This hesis poses he ques ion i consume s using se ices os e ing said digi aliza ion a e awa e o his im-
plica ion and can con ibu e o sus ainable de elopmen by choosing wisely. Thus, his pape leads explo a o y esea ch on
sus ainabili y awa eness o online se ices, om he pe spec i e o bo h sus ainably awa e and echnologically skilled indi id-
uals. This will be achie ed by collec ing quali a i e da a om in e iews wi h wo g oups o uni e si y s uden s om biology
and compu e science o in o ma ion sys ems. The da a will be e alua ed using he app oach o quali a i e con en analysis
and will be in es iga ed u he wi h he help o he concep o bullshi ing, o unde s and how consume s assess ambiguous
and misleading sus ainabili y claims abou online se ices. One implica ion om he in e iews is ha bo h companies and
consume s should s i e o p omo e eliable knowledge on his opic, as he e is a de ici in sus ainabili y awa eness o online
se ices.
Keywo ds: bullshi ; g een IT; g eenwashing; online se ices; sus ainabili y
1. In oduc ion
Ad ances in in o ma ion and communica ion echnolo-
gies (ICT), as well as sus ainable de elopmen , a e wo op-
ics ha a e being ac i ely discussed in oday’s socie y, poli-
ics, and economy. Th ough digi iza ion, digi aliza ion, and
digi al ans o ma ion, ICT is egula ly p esen ed as one o
I would like o hank my u o , D . Helge Alsdo , o encou aging me o
explo e he opic o Bullshi ing and G een IT in my bachelo hesis, build-
ing on he ounda ion o my semina pape . His sugges ions and suppo
we e g ea ly app ecia ed h oughou his p ocess. A special hanks goes
o Felici as Com ai o he ongoing mo i a ion, aluable eedback, and
ca e ul p oo eading, all o which we e a g ea help du ing he w i ing
o his hesis. I would also like o hank Ole Gulz o his p oo eading
and eedback, which was a g ea help in e ining my wo k. I also wish
o hank all he in e iew pa ne s who gene ously sha ed hei ime and
pe spec i es, con ibu ing meaning ul insigh s o his wo k. Las ly, I am
g a e ul o he SITM chai o p o iding a pla o m o in es iga e unique
and uncon en ional opics such as he concep o bullshi ing.
he possible solu ions o he challenges o sus ainable de el-
opmen . Fo ins ance, mo ing om analog o digi al da a
o ma s wi h he help o digi iza ion and suppo ing o au-
oma ing p ocesses h ough digi aliza ion, omi s illing ou a
ans e slip and d i ing o he nex bank, leading o pape
sa ings and educed a el (V ana & Singh, 2021, p. 4). Fu -
he mo e, In e ne o Things (IoT) as an example o digi al
ans o ma ion echnologies, can be used o change whole
business models o op imize ene gy consump ion (E icsson,
2020, p. 9). The e o e ICT can be seen as an enable , bu i s
ole as pa o he p oblem should no be neglec ed (E icsson,
2020, p. 9; Ho mann e al., 2021, p. 7). ICT can hu en i-
onmen al sus ainabili y due o massi e ene gy consump ion
as a esul o inc eased use, oxic e-was e as a esul o poo
ecycling, o gene al high demand o a e esou ces used in
manu ac u ing.
A majo example o how ICT can be a ‘double-edged
swo d’ is he ecen ise in he implemen a ion o home-
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.5282/jums/ 10i3pp582-608
© The Au ho (s) 2025. Published by Junio Managemen Science.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he CC-BY-4.0
(A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional). Open Access unding p o ided by ZBW.
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 583
based elewo k, be e known as ‘home o ice’. The ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic has pushed companies o allow hei
employees o wo k om he sa e y o hei homes, o exam-
ple by hos ing mee ings online a he han in pe son, which
has i ually es ablished a u he digi al ans o ma ion by
o ce. Wo king om home dec eased he need o commu -
ing and business a el and s a ed he end o a “consid-
e able subs i u ion o physical (p o essional) a ic by da a
a ic (digi aliza ion)” (Ku ani e al., 2021, pp. 21–22).
A s udy commissioned by G eenpeace es ima es ha 5.4
million ons o CO2emissions om anspo could be cu
pe yea i 40% o he employees had wo home o ice days
pe week. This would be equi alen o 4% o o al passen-
ge anspo emissions (Bü ne & B ei k euz, 2020, p. 14).
Howe e , as mo e and mo e people ac ually s a o wo k
om home and use hei de ices o communica e wi h col-
leagues and cus ome s mo e equen ly, da a a ic is also in-
c easing, which in u n equi es mo e ene gy. This ebound
e ec is included in he es ima e, bu i is c ucial o poin ou
ha i needs o be aken in o accoun in he discussion o he
po en ial o emission sa ings o ICT in gene al (Bü ne &
B ei k euz, 2020, p. 5). Home o ice was by a no he only
eason global in e ne a ic inc eased by abou 40% in 2020
(Sand ine, 2020, p. 5). An inc ease in “ ideo s eaming,
ideo con e encing, online gaming, and social ne wo king”
(Kamiya, 2021), as well as many o he se ices con ibu ed
o ha jump in numbe s. The g ow h no malized o 29% in
2021 a e he su ge caused by he COVID-19 pandemic, bu
i is s ill almos a h ee old inc ease in bandwid h since 2017
(TeleGeog aphy, 2021, p. 1).
Since no e e yone is an IT expe , many people seem o
ake i o g an ed ha hei p e e ed IT de ice (e.g. sma -
phone, able ), as well as hei a o i e app, jus wo k, wi h-
ou ealizing how massi e he IT in as uc u e is ha pow-
e s he se ices. They a e unconsciously obli ious o he ac
ha one push o a bu on se s o ‘lo s o mo ing pa s’ on
se e s in he backend o an online se ice, equi ing a lo
mo e ene gy han hei pe sonal de ice does. The immense
g ow h in usage and ansmission a es accumula es o an
ene gy demand o 1% and 1.1 – 1.4% o he o al global
elec ici y use in 2020 o da a cen e s and da a ansmission
ne wo ks espec i ely, which a e magni udes no comp ehen-
sible by he a e age consume (Co oam˘
a, 2021; ITU, 2020;
Kamiya, 2021; Malmodin & Lundén, 2018; Masane e al.,
2020). This ba ie o unde s anding could pose a h ea o
sus ainable de elopmen d i en and suppo ed by consume s
because he ime o change is long o e due o mi iga e he
consequences o he clima e dis up ion (Ha ey, 2020).
Consume p ac ices, conside ed p o-en i onmen al o
G een-IT, ha ha e been ecommended so a include:
double-sided p in ing, a oiding p in ing by using digi al
o ma s, u ning o de ices o ea u es when no in use, and
ecycling o eusing old de ices (Leung e al., 2018, p. 5;
Molla e al., 2014, p. 133; Nash and Wake ield, 2021, p. 1).
Howe e , hey all sha e a limi a ion, which becomes e y
appa en in a ime when online se ices a e omnip esen .
All o hese p ac ices only allow use s o ake e ec in hei
immedia e sphe e o in luence, basically on o wi h hei own
de ices. This means, ha se ices ha one does no main-
ain hemsel a e ou o each. The ICT p o ide (E icsson,
2020, p. 15) ecommends ha consume s make i clea o
companies ha hey ca e abou hei ca bon oo p in and
y o use online se ices ha comply wi h science-based a -
ge s (SBTs) a he han ne -ze o claims. They s a e ha SBTs
a e o be p e e ed as hey a e in line wi h he Pa is Ag ee-
men ’s goals and do no allow o coun ca bon o se s owa d
SBTs (SBTi, 2020, p. 7; SBTi, 2021, p. 8). Ne -ze o a ge s
howe e allow ca bon o se ing o achie e ‘ze o’ emissions.
Buying ca bon o se s o c edi s spa ks a lo o con o e sy,
especially because o i s epu a ion as a “ge ou o jail ee
ca d” (Gilks & Wa son, 2019). Renewable ene gy ce i ica es
(RECs) a e no he same as ca bon o se s bu ha e a simila
shady epu a ion amongs en i onmen al ac i is s. Espe-
cially unbundled RECs a e c i icized, because wi h hose a
company does no need o sou ce he ene gy om he same
g id as he o igin speci ied in he ce i ica e (Cook & Ja dim,
2019; U.S. EPA, 2021). Which, wi h a bi o common sense,
do no sound like di ec ly con ibu ing o sus ainabili y.
Wi hou knowing he di e ence be ween he a o emen-
ioned e ms, sounding somewha ambiguous, i can p ob-
ably be di icul o ollow he ecommenda ions p oposed
by E icsson. No e en “hal o execu i es (43%) [...]a e
awa e o hei o ganiza ion’s IT [ca bon] oo p in ” (Capgem-
ini (Ed.), 2021, p. 10). This is likely a ibu able o he ci -
cums ance ha g eenhouse gas (GHG) assessmen o he e-
sou ces needed o un an online se ice a e a he sca ce, be-
cause he “IT-Se ices and unde lying ICT in as uc u es a e
complex cons uc s” (G imm e al., 2013, p. 10). Knowing
ha , i migh be e en mo e di icul o consume s o make
an educa ed en i onmen ally awa e decision be o e using on-
line se ices. The poin could be made ha hey un he isk
o alling o he ‘bullshi ’ p oduced by companies in he ICT
indus y.
The e m bullshi is commonly known as a swea wo d
and ulga language bu was in oduced in o he scien i ic
discussion by philosophe Ha y G. F ank u , who de ined
a concep behind he e m and hus es ablished he esea ch
on bullshi . The ac o bullshi ing can be desc ibed as a
communica ion p ac ice in which in o ma ion is made up o
hide one’s igno ance. To F ank u (2005, pp. 33–34), he
mos salien ea u e o bullshi ing is he “lack o connec ion
o a conce n wi h u h” (pp. 33 – 34). F ank u ’s idea o
bullshi , howe e , is no he only one. The ellow philoso-
phe Ge ald A. Cohen (2002), desc ibes bullshi ing om
a di e en poin o iew, concluding i s essence o be ‘ he
uncla i iable uncla i y’ – meaning u e ances ha a e ague
and unclea , so ha in p ac ice hei u h ulness canno be
made ou immedia ely. To Cohen (2002, p. 8), people ha
a e exposed o bullshi a e “me e ic ims”, no being able
o spo he u h. In a simila way, as people canno e i y
he ac ual esou ce consump ion and emissions o online
se ices, ega dless o whe he he ope a o s a e anspa en
abou i o no .
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608584
The e is c ucial e idence in he scien i ic li e a u e ha
he concep o bullshi ing is use ul and demons a es i s
legi imacy. I has been p o en o be a “legi ima e psycholog-
ical phenomenon” (Pennycook e al., 2015, p. 566), a “man-
age ial communica ion gen e” (Ch is ensen e al., 2019,
p. 1594), and a help ul me hod o unco e decep i e and
inconsis en claims (S e enson, 2021, p. 90). The e o e, he
concep o bullshi ing p omises o be a ui ul me hod o
b eak down he issues su ounding he sus ainabili y awa e-
ness o online se ices.
Resea ch on sus ainabili y awa eness in ICT has so a
only deal wi h ha dwa e and so wa e in he use s’ sphe e
o in luence (Molla e al., 2014; Nash & Wake ield, 2021)
o has no speci ically de ined wha is unde s ood as an IT
p oduc o end-use s (Ku koon e al., 2016). In addi ion,
o he pape s only looked a p oduc s and se ices whe e a
sus ainabili y e ec is ad e ised as a key ea u e, such as
ime-swi ched sma home socke s (Koo e al., 2015), which
ob ia es he ques ion o awa eness o ‘hidden’ sus ainabil-
i y conce ns. In gene al, mos o he a o emen ioned pape s
ha e collec ed hei da a quan i a i ely among se e al ypes
o g oups bu ailed by ha ing a one-sided app oach. Mos o
he people su eyed in he s udies a e p o essionally o edu-
ca ionally in ol ed in he ield o ICT, which does no ep e-
sen he a e age consume who has no knowledge abou he
echnical de ails o ICT (He nandez, 2019, p. 8; Molla e al.,
2014; Nash and Wake ield, 2021, p. 2). Un o una ely, s ud-
ies ha asked consume s did no ocus on he online se ice
pa o ICT (Ke n e al., 2011; Ku koon e al., 2016) o only
ocused on a speci ic ype o se ice (G imm e al., 2013).
Thus, his hesis aims o add ess he knowledge gap e-
ga ding awa eness o ‘in isible’ sus ainabili y conce ns o
online se ice use, om he pe spec i e o bo h a sus ain-
ably awa e and a echnologically skilled indi idual. The aim
is hen o in es iga e said awa eness wi h he help o he
concep o bullshi ing and lay he g oundwo k o unde -
s and how consume s assess o e ings con olu ed by bullshi
claims. In o de o achie e his esea ch goal, he ollow-
ing leading esea ch ques ion and i s sub-aspec s need o be
answe ed and discussed:
RQ: How do sus ainably awa eness and IT knowl-
edge a ec young adul s’ abili y o spo bullshi
claims made abou he ca bon oo p in caused by
online se ice usage?
Since he e is no su icien ly ex ensi e body o esea ch
a ailable ye on his pa icula opic, his wo k needs o build
a ounda ion and “gene a e [...]ini ial ideas” (Bha ache -
jee, 2012, p. 5), as is he case wi h explo a o y esea ch. The
basis o answe ing he esea ch ques ion consis s o qual-
i a i e da a p o ided by in e iews conduc ed wi h people
om wo speci ic g oups. The g oups consis o Ge man uni-
e si y s uden s, whe e one pa o he in e iewees has a
backg ound in compu e science o in o ma ion sys ems, ep-
esen ing indi iduals wi h IT knowledge, whe eas he o he
pa comes om he ield o biology. Biology s uden s ha e
been chosen as he ‘opposi e’ g oup because hey a e usu-
ally expec ed o ha e mo e knowledge abou en i onmen al
awa eness and sus ainabili y han he a e age s uden (A -
shad e al., 2020; Robinson & C ow he , 2001). In he con-
ex o he in e iews, IT knowledge e e s speci ically o he
basic unde s anding o he in as uc u e needed o p o ide
and use an online se ice. In o de o limi he scope, his
hesis only explo es sus ainabili y awa eness in ela ion o
so-called digi al o online se ices o consume s. Se ices
ha all unde his umb ella e m o e one o mo e o he
ollowing ea u es: music and ideo s eaming, messaging,
social media, ideo con e encing, sea ch engines, cloud s o -
age and online games. The impo an poin is ha , o hose
se ices o unc ion, mos o he compu a ion needs o be
done by he se ice p o ide and no by he consume locally.
This is una oidable, especially when con en is p o ided o
he consume . Since se ices a ge ed a consume s a e o
he main in e es o his hesis, IT se ices wi hin a busi-
ness con ex o ha dwa e in gene al will no be conside ed.
To include he business con ex , i would equi e in e iew-
ing people who use such se ices a wo k and add ano he
se o ques ions, which would no necessa ily help answe -
ing he speci ic esea ch ques ion bu could be pa o u u e
esea ch. Pe sonal ha dwa e does no ha e he p oblem ha
i s ope a ion is no con olled by he consume . Wi h ha d-
wa e, p oduc ion and ecycling play a g ea e ole, bu he
examina ion o his p oblem is also no wi hin he scope o
he esea ch ques ion. S ill, i s ene gy consump ion should
be kep in mind, because hose de ices a e needed o access
he online se ices in ques ion.
2. Concep ual Founda ion
2.1. G een IT and G een IS
When discussing he con ibu ions and nega i e e ec s
o ICT on he en i onmen , one always s umbles ac oss he
e ms Sus ainable o G een IT and IS. Which can be ei he un-
de s ood as he esea ch ield o sus ainabili y in ICT, o i s
ou come o p ac ices de eloped o minimize he en i onmen-
al impac o ICT. Howe e , sus ainabili y can be achie ed in
many ways and is no only limi ed o ICT. The e o e, i is
necessa y o speci y how he e m sus ainabili y is de ined.
In esea ch, he concep o sus ainabili y is equen ly di ided
in o h ee dis inc main a eas o ‘pilla s’: social, economic and
en i onmen al sus ainabili y (Pu is e al., 2019). Social sus-
ainabili y is mainly conce ned wi h human well-being and
equali y, whe eas he ocus o en i onmen al sus ainabili y is
on he conse a ion and p o ec ion o he ecosys em (Ga en
& B inkmann, 2018, p. 4). The goal o economic sus ainabil-
i y is o acili a e economic g ow h and de elopmen in acco -
dance o he o he pilla s (Pu is e al., 2019, pp. 686–689).
Despi e he ocus on di e en p oblem a eas, all pilla s sha e
he co e idea o sus ainabili y, which da es back o he 17 h
and 18 h cen u ies (Pu is e al., 2019, p. 682; Wa de, 2011).
Mos no ably he e m was coined by he o es y pionee Ca -
lowi z om a ound ha ime (Wa de, 2011). He desc ibed
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 585
he app oach o cu ing and plan ing enough wood o allow
i o g ow back in ime as sus ainable (Wa de, 2011, p. 162).
In heo y sus ainabili y hen means: no aking mo e han is
easible, eaching a s a e in a sys em whe e consump ion, e-
gene a ion and disposal a e a an equilib ium (Ben-Eli, 2018,
p. 1339).
The wo d ‘g een’ in G een IT/IS aims a en i onmen ally
iendly echnologies and p ac ices, so i is p ima ily in line
wi h he idea o en i onmen al sus ainabili y (Loese , 2013,
p. 5). O e all ‘g een’ has been he mo e popula p e ix han
‘sus ainable’ in he pas , bu gene elly hey e e o he same
idea. The e o e he G een IT/IS e minology will be adap ed
o his hesis (Loese , 2013, p. 3). In i s in ancy G een IT/IS
was no a p ecisely de ined concep (Molla e al., 2009), bu
wi h a s eadily g owing body o esea ch many endea o s
ha e been unde aken o de e mine he impo an pa s o
he concep . As a means o summa ize all his knowledge,
Loese (2013) has made i his ask o combine all he im-
po an co e aspec s o he wo ks published o da e in o one
de ini ion.
One o he main indings o his conc e iza ion is ha
he wo e ms G een IS and G een IT usually desc ibe di -
e en pa ial aspec s and mus he e o e be de ined sepa-
a ely (Loese , 2013). As a comp ehensi e concep , IS de-
sc ibes “ he echnology componen s and human ac i i ies e-
la ed o he managemen and employmen p ocess o ech-
nology wi hin he o ganiza ion” (Chen e al., 2010, p. 237),
whe eas IT is unde s ood as he echnological undamen o
IS which p o ides he necessa y ha d- and so wa e a i ac s
(Ijab e al., 2010, p. 434). Following he example o he dis-
inc ion be ween IT and IS, G een IT can be seen as a sub-
ield o he mo e holis ic concep o G een IS. The “c oss-
unc ional cha ac e is ics o G een IS” (p. 6) a e especially
emphasized by Loese (2013), as i combines issues o ech-
nology and o ganiza ion. The di e ences o G een IT/IS a e
also exp essed in hei ange o e ec s, especially in e ms o
managemen . While G een IT p ac ices a e a he u ilized a
he ope a ional and ac ical le el o IT depa men s, G een IS
deals wi h a - eaching and long- e m decisions a he s a e-
gic le el ha in luence he di ec ion o he business and he
o ganiza ion as such (Ijab e al., 2010, p. 441; Loese , 2013,
p. 6).
On a high le el G een IT is a label o echnologies and
p ocesses ha ha e a educed nega i e en i onmen al im-
pac compa ed o adi ional ones, in sho : hey a e en i on-
men ally iendly (Loese , 2013, p. 5). This unde s anding
can be mani es ed in h ee s ages acco ding o Loese (2013,
p. 5): Fi s , en i onmen al c i e ia should be aken in o ac-
coun when acqui ing new IT equipmen and se ices. Sec-
ond, he ope a ion o IT in as uc u e in da a cen e s and
o ices should be ene gy e icien . And inally, IT equipmen
passing he end o i s li e cycle should be disposed co ec ly
o ecycled. These a he ope a ional p ac ices can be ca e-
go ized as he 1s deg ee en i onmen al impac o IS (Loese ,
2013, p. 6). Wi h G een IS, sus ainabili y and en i onmen al
iendliness can be achie ed h ough business p ocess eengi-
nee ing and en i onmen al managemen sys ems. This is e-
e ed o as he 2nd deg ee. Fu he mo e, he 3 d deg ee is
conce ned wi h he inno a ion o end-use p oduc s and se -
ices, as well as acking hei emissions and esou ce de-
mands.
1s and 3 d a e o speci ic in e es o his hesis, as he o -
me is a black box o he end-use , because i in ol es making
al eady es ablished online se ices ‘g eene ’ in hei ope a-
ion. While he la e is di ec ed owa d he end-use by o e -
ing inno a i e se ices, claiming o con ibu e in an en i on-
men ally sus ainable way. To educe he 1s deg ee impac ,
big playe s o hei espec i e se ice niche, like Google, Face-
book, Ne lix and Spo i y, ei he sou ce hei ene gy om e-
newables, in es di ec ly in enewable ene gy powe plan s,
und sus ainabili y p ojec s o o se emissions wi h RECs
o ca bon o se s (Facebook, 2020; Google, 2021a; Ne lix,
2021; Spo i y, 2021). P oduc s and se ices educing he 3 d
deg ee impac o end consume s a e o ins ance any sma
home de ices ha p omo e o educe ene gy consump ion
(Koo e al., 2015, p. 68; Loese , 2013, p. 8). Fu he mo e,
se ices can be enhanced wi h unc ions ha should os e
sus ainable decisions, e.g. Google lis ing he ca bon oo p in
nex o he sea ch esul s when sea ching o a ligh (Google,
2021b). Ano he example can be se ices ha comple ely
ma ke hemsel es as di ec ly con ibu ing o en i onmen al
sus ainabili y, like he sea ch engine Ecosia, which ad e ises
o plan a ee o e e y sea ch que y on hei si e (Ecosia,
2022).
2.2. Awa eness o G een IT and G een IS
The whole concep o G een IT/IS, wi h i s s a egic, ac-
ical, and ope a ional o ien a ion, as well as i s h ee deg ees
o impac eels e y g and. Bu looking pas he challenges
ega ding i s implemen a ion in o ganiza ions, i also has i s
in luence on he le el o an indi idual. To ge an idea abou
esea ch on he indi idual’s awa eness o G een IT/IS a b ie
li e a u e e iew has been conduc ed. I has been no ed by
Dal i-Es ahani e al. (2020, p. 2) ha mos o he ea lie e-
sea ch was speci ic o an o ganiza ional con ex . Since he
ocus o his wo k is on he indi idual in he ole o he end-
use , pape s wi h an o ganiza ional con ex we e no speci i-
cally s udied.
Ku koon e al. (2018) conduc ed a su ey among Thai
people amilia wi h echnology p oduc s ega ding hei
in en ion o pu chase G een IT p oduc s. Those p oduc s
had aspec s abou “ene gy e iciency, educed g eenhouse
gas emission, ecycling and o he eco-bene icial cha ac e -
is ics” (Ku koon e al., 2018, p. 1). A e e alua ing 618
esponses, hey concluded ha en i onmen al conce n is
p esen , bu knowledge abou G een IT p oduc s is poo .
Howe e , hey had no clea di e en ia ion be ween a G een
IT p oduc and a se ice, despi e using bo h e ms. He nan-
dez (2019) in es iga ed objec i e and pe cei ed knowledge
o G een IT among 288 Philippine compu ing s uden s us-
ing a ques ionnai e. He assessed hem o ha e a e age
G een IT knowledge (e.g., eusing old de ices, using powe
managemen , educe pape and a elling by using digi al
al e na i es, e c.) bu a e no e y well in o med abou he

R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608586
implica ion o esou ce use and ene gy e iciency o compu e
de ice in hei de elopmen and p oduc ion. Knowledge
ega ding online se ices was no pa o he obse a ion.
Dal i-Es ahani e al. (2020) looked a he indi idual G een
IT p ac ice o Malaysian s uden s, who al eady had expe i-
ence wi h G een IT. The esul o analyzing 262 esponses
was ha he in en o p ac ice G een IT was ound o be
d i en by a i ude, pe cei ed beha io al con ol, and pe -
sonal no m. A link o online se ices was also no p esen
in his s udy. Leung e al. (2018) su eyed s uden s om
mul iple coun ies, ega ding hei G een IT knowledge and
p ac ice. In addi ion, unlike he s udies men ioned abo e,
ques ion abou music and ideo s eaming se ices we e
also a pa o he ques ionnai es. Analysis o he ga he ed
da a indica es ha knowledge abou sus ainable ICT p ac-
ices in luences he indi idual con idence in he abili y and
con ollabili y o a pa icula beha io , also e e ed o as
pe sonal beha io con ol, meaning an inc ease o G een IT
in o ma ion inc eases he pe cep ion ha G een IT p ac ice
is no di icul and p ac icing G een IT is wi hin each.
Molla e al. (2014) and Nash and Wake ield (2021) in es-
iga ed he G een IT belie s and p ac ices among Aus alian
and mos ly No h Ame ican IT p o essionals espec i ely. The
e alua ion o 322 su ey esponses by Molla e al. (2014)
showed ha IT p o essional belie e ha IT can esol e en-
i onmen al p oblems, bu only commi o simple G een IT
p ac ices. A e collec ing esul s om 157 su eys, Nash and
Wake ield (2021) u he disco e ed ha sel -iden i y in a
way mo i a es he in en ion o p ac ice G een IT, o he ex-
en ha i is pa o he iden i y.
Koo e al. (2015) ocused hei esea ch on Sou h Ko ean
consume s pe cei ed use ulness o sma g een IT de ices
ha a e supposed o help educe elec ici y consump ion. A -
e e alua ing 100 ques ionnai e esponses, hey concluded
ha mo i a ional alues may in luence pe cei ed use ulness,
in u n posi i ely a ec ing consume s’ g een IT usage beha -
io . Ne e heless, he s udy only na owly looked a people
al eady using ha speci ic de ice, lea ing ou o he p oduc s
and se ices. Ke n e al. (2011) also di ec ed hei esea ch
a consume s by pe o ming an expe imen o check whe he
he ene gy consump ion o so wa e can be imp o ed h ough
use con igu a ion. They ound a measu able di e ence, bu
i consume s would ansla e his knowledge om heo y in o
p ac ice was le up o deba e.
F om he collec ed li e a u e, i can be in e ed ha he
main conce n o mos s udies was he examina ion o he in-
di iduals’ G een IT adop ion beha io . The lesse o hose
s udies ocused on he con ex ou side o o ganiza ions o
people who ha e no connec ion o he ield o IT, p o ession-
ally o in s udies. Mo eo e , he ocus was a he on p ac-
icing G een IT as an indi idual in he di ec sense, a he
han p ac icing i h ough assessing he se ices by hei en i-
onmen al iendliness o ‘hidden’ sus ainabili y conce ns as
said in he in oduc ion. In ha sense, he indi idual G een
IT awa eness was no discussed in he con ex o companies
and hei se ices ha claim o be g een. In e es ingly, Ke n
e al. (2011, p. 208) assumed ha use s could con ibu e o
a sus ainable in e ne by ga he ing in o ma ion abou he en-
e gy consump ion o accessed se e s, bu i is no speci ied
how and whe e hey ge he in o ma ion om.
2.3. Online Se ice
In scien i ic li e a u e, he wo d ‘online se ice’ is used
in many di e en con ex s and a ies sligh ly in he cha ac-
e is ics o i s de ini ion and wha i ac ually desc ibes. This
chap e p o ides an o e iew o commonly used e ms, hei
meaning, and inally a uni ied de ini ion o use in his he-
sis. Te ms ha a e o en used oge he o synonymously a e:
web se ice, e-se ice, digi al se ice, and o cou se online
se ice.
The e m ‘web se ice’ eme ged om compu e science,
as a designa ion in so wa e de elopmen o unc ions in ok-
able o e he In e ne (Baida e al., 2004, p. 2). Mos o en,
a web se ice can be a echnical ehicle o p o ision an e-
se ice (Baida e al., 2004, p. 2; Chaudh i, 2003, p. 70; Hull
e al., 2003, p. 2). Acco ding o he Council o he Eu opean
Union (2011, p. 5) an e-se ice o ‘elec onically supplied
se ices’ a e “impossible o ensu e in he absence o in o -
ma ion echnology” (p. 5) and “in ol e[s]minimal human
in e en ion” (p. 5), which is due o he ac ha hey a e
only accessible ia he In e ne o o he ne wo ks and usually
ha e a high deg ee o au oma ion. K asnico a e al. (2016,
p. 193) u he de ine aspec s such as he non-physical na u e
o an e-se ice, he need o a p o ide , a ecipien as well as
in o ma ion and communica ion de ices. They also speci y
ha he ou come o i s use “can be a bene i , se ice o ac-
quisi ion o p ope y” (K asnico a e al., 2016, p. 193). The
De ini ion o a digi al se ice by Pakkala and Spoh e (2019,
p. 1886) sha es he ea u e o ully elying on a echnical sys-
em simila o he p e ious ones. Bu hey di e en ia e how
a speci ic esul o a ecipien is c ea ed. Namely h ough
“digi al In o ma ion, Compu ing, Communica ion and Au-
oma ion Technology (ICCAT) based sys em[s]” (Pakkala &
Spoh e , 2019, p. 1886). Howe e , hey ga e no speci ica ion
on how digi al se ice a e ypically accessed. Online se ice,
as a designa ion, has no ecei ed a de ini ion as he p e i-
ous e ms ha e (Mesza os & Buchalce o a, 2017, p. 301). I
is p obably due o he eason ha i is usually used synony-
mously o as an umb ella e m o he a o emen ioned e ms
(Baida e al., 2004; K asnico a e al., 2016). I is mos ly
used o g oup social media, communica ion (messaging and
ideo con e encing), music and ideo s eaming, sea ch en-
gines, online gaming, cloud s o age, e c. (Cook e al., 2017,
p. 18; Ku ani e al., 2021, p. 10; Ob inge e al., 2021, p. 1;
Schmid , 2011, p. 30).
To boil i all down in he mos basic sense: an online se -
ice is a se ice se ed o e he In e ne . Fo he pu poses o
his hesis, howe e , a inal dis inc ion mus be made. Follow-
ing he de ini ion o K asnico a e al. (2016), online-shops
and online-ma ke places, like Amazon o eBay, a e exemp
om he idea o an online se ice, since hey sell physical
good, s ill equi ing help o human wo ke s. Howe e , se -
ices p o iding digi al goods o consume s, like iTunes (mu-
sic) o S eam (games) do all unde he de ini ion.
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 587
Following he e iew o he a ailable de ini ions, an on-
line se ice is de ined as a se ice o e ed o e he in e ne by
a p o ide o a use , yielding a non-physical esul , gene a ed
by a sys em based on “digi al in o ma ion, compu ing, com-
munica ion and au oma ion echnology (ICCAT)” (Pakkala &
Spoh e , 2019, p. 1886).
2.4. Measu ing he Impac o ICT
A e de ining wha cons i u es an online se ice, he nex
s ep is o look a how his a ec s he wo ld in p ac ice, in
e ms o en i onmen al sus ainabili y. Since his hesis looks
a online se ices om a consume pe spec i e o daily use,
he de elopmen p ocess and acquisi ion o esou ces o an
online se ice a e no explici ly conside ed. As explained in
he p e ious chap e , p o ide s use ICT sys ems o make he
se ice a ailable o use s, so he e is no doub ha a leas
one se e and one clien de ice a e needed, which o cou se
consume elec ici y. Ye , his does no exac ly ep esen he
jou ney ha a eques o an online se ice goes h ough when
sen by a use . In o de o calcula e he ene gy consump-
ion and es ima e he esul ing ca bon oo p in , he majo i y
o esea che s ca ego ize he ene gy consuming componen s
in o h ee g oups: da a cen e s, da a ansmission and end-
use de ices (E icsson, 2020, p. 7; Hin emann and Hin e -
holze , 2020, p. 3; Kamiya, 2020; The Shi P ojec , 2019).
The mos p ominen example used in ecen imes o calcu-
la ing he ene gy usage o an online se ice has been ideo
s eaming, no only because o i s popula i y among con-
sume s, bu also because i is said o be a conside able con-
ibu o o global ene gy consump ion (Ma ks e al., 2020,
p. 2; Widdicks e al., 2019, pp. 1–2). Plen y o me hods ex-
is o quan i y he ene gy use, no only because o he scopes
a e se , bu also because ac o s change o e ime (Co oam˘
a,
2021, pp. 14–16; Ma ks e al., 2020, p. 3). Fo his e y ea-
son, a numbe o sou ces we e compa ed o de e mine a plau-
sible ange o alues o he ene gy impac o ideo s eaming
o use as a base o he in e iews (see Chap e 3.3).
The calcula ions o he kW/h o one hou o s eam-
ing in Table 1a e based on he me hods de eloped in each
espec i e pape . The ene gy consump ion o one hou o
ideo s eaming has been se in o compa ison wi h he ime
an LED bulb could be powe ed using he same amoun o
ene gy, i.e., he same numbe o kW/h. To ge he ime in
minu es, he kW/h o he bulb is di ided by he kW/h o
he s eam and hen mul iplied by 60. The LED ligh bulb
was chosen as he ool o compa ison because i s ene gy con-
sump ion is easie o g asp and no knowledge o he in e p e-
a ion o he uni kW/h is equi ed. The e o e, mo e minu es
o he bulb mean ha he online se ice is less esou ce in-
ensi e. Values ange om less han a minu e o abou hal
an hou . They a y conside ably, no only because di e en
end de ices we e aken in o accoun o he calcula ion, bu
also be ween one and he same ype o de ice due o di e -
en assump ions abou hei consump ion. The a iance o
ene gy consump ion is easily explained as bigge sc eens use
up mo e ene gy, E icsson (2020, p. 11) e en goes as a as o
say ha he end-use de ice is he only a iable ha ing he
bigges impac , labeling da a ansmission and da a cen e s
as cons an . Kamiya (2020) howe e poin s ou ha he de-
ice i sel is no he only ac o , as he ideo esolu ion and
he ype o ne wo k connec ion (wi ed, wi eless, mobile) also
ha e an e ec . This esul s in an opposi e idea o he dis i-
bu ion o ene gy consump ion, Hin emann and Hin e holze
(2020, p. 4) hink ha he da a cen e and ne wo k in as-
uc u e ha e he bigge in luence, because hei ene gy con-
sump ion scales wi h he esolu ion o he eques ed ideo
s eam, as i equi es mo e compu ing esou ces.
On a highe le el, he calcula ion is addi ionally in lu-
enced by h ee essen ial p inciples: Moo e’s Law, Koomey’s
Law and Je ons’ Pa adox. Moo e’s Law desc ibes he dou-
bling o he numbe o ansis o s on a mic ochip in abou e -
e y wo yea s (Moo e, 1965,1975). This e ec i e doubling
o p ocessing powe pe chip, o imp o emen in e iciency, is
by some s a ed as a po en ial d i e o he dec ease o ene gy
consump ion by compu e de ices (Co oam˘
a, 2021, p. 12;
Hin emann and Hin e holze , 2019, p. 4; Lange e al., 2020,
p. 5). O he s a gue ha his only holds ue i he numbe o
compu e uni s s ays he same and no addi ional se e s a e
deployed o se e he demand (Schie eka e, 2021, pp. 24–
25). In addi ion, oo sho a eplacemen cycle o mo e e -
icien ha dwa e can also ha e a nega i e impac on he en-
i onmen , because he old ha dwa e needs o be disposed
o (E icsson, 2020, p. 6). Koomey’s Law builds upon he im-
plica ions o Moo e’s Law and desc ibes ha he ene gy con-
sump ion o a compu e uni is hal ed oughly e e y one and
a hal yea s (Koomey e al., 2011). This is b ough up by
se e al esea che s as an indica o o a declining end in
ene gy consump ion (Kamiya, 2020; Lange e al., 2020, p. 4;
Maxime and Jean-Noël, 2020, p. 25).
Howe e , some esea che s poin ou a ebound e ec
ha mi iga es he e ec o Moo e’s and Koomey’s Law (Cook
e al., 2017, p. 18; Lange e al., 2020, p. 5; Ma ks e al.,
2020, p. 2; San a ius e al., 2020). I is also known as Je ons’
Pa adox, which s a es ha echnological p og ess ha en-
ables mo e e icien use o a commodi y ul ima ely leads o
an inc ease in he use o ha commodi y, a he han a de-
c ease (Je ons, 1866). A consume cen ic example o ha is
he ma ke o TVs. Display echnology has become mo e en-
e gy e icien o e ime, bu he sc een size inc eased as well,
meaning ha consume s a e inclined o buy bigge TVs, mak-
ing ene gy sa ings negligible (E icsson, 2020, p. 12). Simi-
la ly, an inc ease in esolu ion, wi h he mo e om HD o 4K,
can make pas sa ings obsole e (Hin emann & Hin e holze ,
2020). Thinking u he , he ‘sma i ica ion’ o appliances,
om he al eady es ablished sma TV o he sma idge, in-
oduces mo e in e ne connec ed de ices o he ‘ adi ional’
oas e o pe sonal compu e de ices, like compu e s, sma -
phones and able s (E icsson, 2020, p. 8). Those may no be
in luen ial on he global elec ici y use now, bu migh be in
he u u e (And ae & Edle , 2015, p. 119).
Ha ing looked a he conce ns ega ding he pu e ene gy
consump ion o an online se ice, he ac ual ca bon oo p in
esul ing om said consump ion is up nex . E icsson (2020)
de eloped a e m o i , he digi al ca bon oo p in . Wi h
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608588
Table 1: S eaming Compa ison
Au ho Au ho backg ound De ice and ideo
quali y
kW/h o 1h o
s eaming
Minu es equi .
o hou o LED
Bulb
E icsson (2020, p. 11) Swedish ICT P o ide Sma phone HD 0,0180 18,33
Lap op HD 0,0450 7,33
Hin emann and
Hin e holze (2020,
pp. 5–6)
Bo de s ep Ins i u e o
Inno a ion and
Sus ainabili y
Sma phone HD 0,2200 1,50
65" TV HD 0,3200 1,03
Kamiya (2020)In e na ional Ene gy
Agency (IEA)
50" TV 4K 0,1521 2,17
Lap op HD 0,0462 7,14
Sma phone Au o 0,0102 32,35
The Shi P ojec Ma e ials
(2019)F ench Think ank Sma phone HD 0,6786 0,49
Lap op HD 0,6912 0,48
No e. Minu es o ideo s eaming equi alen o ligh ing a LED Bulb wi h 5.5W o an hou .
ha said, hei p esen a ion o he e m is oddly simila o
how he oil company BP (B i ish Pe oleum) popula ized he
indi idual ca bon oo p in in he i s place (Kau man, 2020).
This is mainly he case because men ions o he digi al ca bon
oo p in in he o iginal whi e pape by E icsson (2020) p e-
dominan ly come up wi h ‘you ’, as in ‘ he consume ’, in on
o i . As i appea s, BP’s ma ke ing campaign was in ended
o de lec esponsibili y om hemsel es and hei oil busi-
ness and place i on he shoulde s o consume s (Kau man,
2020). The digi al ca bon oo p in eels like i ies o hold
consume s accoun able o hei online se ice consump ion
in he same way. This mus be looked a c i ically, because,
as s a ed p e iously, esea che s a e no on he same page
on whe he end-use de ices ha e he bigges con ibu ion
o he whole ene gy consump ion.
None heless, discussing he concep o he digi al ca -
bon oo p in has i s ele ance, namely in he way he ac-
ual ene gy consump ion is con e ed in o g ams o emi ed
CO2. Many esea che s use he a e age global ene gy/elec-
ici y mix o model he ca bon emissions o an online se ice.
Sou ces o ha can ei he be he In e na ional Ene gy As-
socia ion (IEA) o na ional go e nmen ins i u ions. The en-
e gy mix desc ibes he blend o p oduced ene gy (e.g. ene gy
om ossil uels, nuclea , sola , wind, e c.), each ha ing a di -
e en le el o CO2emissions wi hin a gi en elec ical g id.
Because o ha , esea che s emphasize ha he ac ual ca -
bon oo p in is highly elian on he sou ce o he elec ical
ene gy and whe he i is enewable o no (Cook and Ja dim,
2019, p. 8; Maxime and Jean-Noël, 2020, p. 23; Ob inge e
al., 2021, p. 2). When an ene gy mix is claimed o be ‘g een’,
i also needs o be conside ed wha he label means in ha
con ex , because some migh coun nuclea ene gy o na u al
gas as en i onmen ally iendly while o he s migh no (Cook
e al., 2017, p. 38).
So o consume s o “use ICT se ices ha help o educe
ca bon emissions” (E icsson, 2020, p. 15), hey need o be
awa e and ge eliable in o ma ion abou ac o s like sc een
size, esolu ion, ene gy mix, and he meaning o ‘g een’ la-
bels, o make an in o med decision.
2.5. Bullshi ing and G eenwashing
Bo h bullshi ing and g eenwashing seem o be wo ds
ha a e somewha simila in hei usage and meaning. One
would in ui i ely use hem o poin ou disbelie e in a s a e-
men o ac . Wi h ha said, ‘calling ou he bullshi ’ is a col-
loquial e m used o c i icize an opposing opinion in poli ics,
jou nalism, and social media, ha , h ough i s equen use,
los i s ude and ulga conno a ion in oday’s socie y (Ch is-
ensen e al., 2019, p. 1588). The omnip esence o in o ma-
ion, he cons an bomba dmen o ma ke ing, and he eme -
gence o ake news could lead one o sugges ha “[...]we
li e in an age o bullshi ” (S e enson, 2021, p. 86). By con-
as , calling some hing g eenwashing speci ically e e s o
doub ul ma ke ing s a egies and dishones ad e isemen
campaigns in he con ex o en i onmen al sus ainabili y and
en i onmen al iendliness (Idowu e al., 2013, p. 1321). Bu
g eenwashing also appea s in annual epo s, sus ainabili y
epo s, and on websi es o co po a ions (Lyon & Maxwell,
2011, p. 9).
2.5.1. G eenwashing
The en i onmen al ac i is Jay Wes e eld i s used he
e m when he ied o ind a name o an issue he no iced
while he s ayed a a ho el (O ange & Cohen, 2010, p. 30).
The e we e signs in e e y ba h oom ad ising gues s o euse
owels as a means o help sa e wa e . Bu when Wes e eld
in es iga ed he was ba led, ha he well-in en ioned con-
se a ion o wa e , was a cos -sa ing measu e o bene i he
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 589
business. A popula de ini ion based on Wes e el ’s obse -
a ion desc ibes g eenwashing as “ he ac o misleading con-
sume s ega ding he en i onmen al p ac ices o a company
o he en i onmen al bene i s o a p oduc o se ice” (Te -
aChoice, 2009, p. 1). Lyon and Maxwell (2011) pu u -
he emphasis on wi hholding in o ma ion by de ining i as
“ he selec i e disclosu e o posi i e in o ma ion abou a com-
pany’s en i onmen al o social pe o mance” (p. 9) esul ing
in an o e ly posi i e image o he company. Some companies
a e e en willing o in es mo e money in he p omo ion o
g een p ac ices han ac ual sus ainabili y p ojec s (Idowu e
al., 2013, p. 1318).
Since a commi men o sus ainabili y may equi e majo
changes o a company’s business model, o ganiza ion, o in-
es men s, g eenwashing can be mo i a ed by a company’s
ea o change while s ill mee ing s akeholde expec a ions
(Sands & Mo ison, 2020, p. 3). Bu concealing unsus ainable
o e en dange ous p ac ices comes wi h a adeo (Sands &
Mo ison, 2020, p. 1). Companies can ecei e majo backlash
om he public o especially en i onmen al ac i is s (Jong
e al., 2020, p. 68; Lyon and Maxwell, 2011, p. 4). Co e-
spondingly, he ac o accusa ion plays a majo ole in he
exis -ence o g eenwashing, o he wise, ins ances o g een-
washing would be unde ec ed (Seele & Ga i, 2017, p. 248).
This in oduces he isk ha ac ions could be alsely ac-cused
o being g eenwashing, since ull anspa ency canno always
be p o ided and un ealis ic expec a ions can be made (Seele
& Ga i, 2017, pp. 244–245). None heless, in o ma ion pub-
lished by companies mus always be c i ically e lec ed, o
example, epo s ha a e sel -published a e no us wo hy
because hey a e no e iewed by independen hi d pa ies
(Jones, 2019; Sands & Mo ison, 2020).
2.5.2. Bullshi ing
When bullshi has been spo ed, i is inhe en ly seen as
some hing bad (Luks, 2017, p. 86). The e o e, some say ha
u e ing bullshi should always be a oided (F ank u , 2006;
Spice , 2018). In spi e o he gene al ‘a oiding’ a i ude o-
wa d bullshi , Luks (2017) poin s ou ha “wi hou bullshi ,
he e may be no discou se a all” (p. 90). In his iew, he ac
o bullshi ing can be u ilized as a ool ha con ibu es o dis-
cou se. Mo eo e , i can be used as a lub ican o s agnan
discussions (Luks, 2017, p. 89).
Be o e discussing he concep o bullshi ing in de ail, i is
impo an o know he ou e mini used o desc ibe he bull-
shi p ocess and i s pa icipan s. Fi s o we ha e he en i y o
he (1) bullshi e , hey a e he sou ce o ins ances o bullshi
(F ank u , 2005). Thus, (2) bullshi ing is he name o he
ac o p oducing bullshi and (3) bullshi is co espondingly
he p oduc o bullshi ing. Du ing esea ch on he ecep ion
o bullshi , he (4) bullshi ee eme ged as a la e addi ion o
he bullshi e minology (ˇ
Ca ojo á e al., 2020; Pennycook
e al., 2015). The bullshi ee si s a he ecei ing end o he
bullshi ing ac and is in a sense a ge ed by he bullshi e .
On a high le el, bullshi ing can be desc ibed as a com-
munica ion p ac ice wi h “ he lack o connec ion o a conce n
wi h u h” (F ank u , 2005, pp. 33–34). Howe e , a mo e
in-dep h look e eals, ha he e a e wo lines o esea ch
conce ned wi h he concep o bullshi ing, bo h ha ing hei
o igin in philosophy. F ank u (2005, p. 34) emphasized he
u mos impo ance o he espec o u h in his de ini ion o
he concep o bullshi ing. The ac ha a bullshi e does
no ca e o u h is mo e impo an han he ac ha hey
do no speak he u h in he i s place. In ac , in some si u-
a ions, a bullshi e may be elling he u h because he may
unwi ingly epo ue in o ma ion, no ca ing o e i y i s
u h ulness (F ank u , 2005, p. 50). This is also wha di -
e en ia es he bullshi e om a lia . In o de o cons uc
a lie, a lia needs o be well awa e o he u h (F ank u ,
2005, p. 51). They mus be amilia wi h he ue s a e o a -
ai s o c ea e an opposi e se o ac s, which in he bes case
do no con adic and comp omise hei posi ion. Despi e his
impo an di e ence, he lia and he bullshi e ha e simi-
la goals. They wan o appea belie able, ep esen hei
agenda c edibly, o eme ge as a winne om a dicey si ua ion
(Pe ocelli, 2018, p. 250). Un o una ely, his makes i di i-
cul o ell a lia and a bullshi e apa , gi en ha one no ices
o be decei ed a all. F ank u u he speci ies he mo i a-
ion o he bullshi e : i is no abou success ul decep ion a
he le el o he communica ed con en , bu abou imp o ing
he bullshi e ’s sel -p esen a ion and he e ec i eness o he
manipula ion (F ank u , 2006, p. 3).
Tha being said, he ac ha he goal o bullshi ing is
o decei e o he s does no always ha e o be ue (Ca son,
2016). As he bullshi e is he cen e o F ank u ’s concep
o bullshi ing, he assumed ha he bullshi e is always he
communica o o bullshi . Cohen (2002) a gues ha bull-
shi can eme ge wi hou he in en o he bullshi e . People
can unin en ionally sp ead bullshi when hey do no pay a -
en ion while sha ing ac s om hi d pa ies. Cohen (2002,
p. 8) would desc ibe hese people as “me e ic ims” o bull-
shi , innocen and wi h no ill in en . In con as o F ank u ,
Cohen (2002) ies o explain bullshi only as he p oduc
and no om he iew o he bullshi e s mindse . As a con-
sequence, his de ini ion does no e e o he mo i a ion o
he bullshi e . Fo Cohen (2002), bullshi in i sel is cha ac-
e ized by agueness and ambiguousness, i s u h ulness is
inhe en ly di icul o de e mine. This is wha he calls ‘ he
uncla i iable uncla i y’, he essence o bullshi . This is di e -
en om F ank u ’s essence, which can be desc ibed as ‘ he
indi e ence wi h u h’. Uncla i y can be achie ed by chang-
ing he s uc u e o a sen ence o a poin whe e a clea mean-
ing canno be made ou o by embedding i in a con ex whe e
de ining ac o s o i s u h ulness a e no p esen (Cohen,
2002, p. 6).
Gi en ha he e a e wo p e alen de ini ions o bullshi -
ing, he ques ion emains whe he hey a e compe ing o
e en in some ways con adic o y. When aking ano he look
a he pape s dealing wi h bullshi , i is appa en ha he
majo i y o esea che s ecognize bo h de ini ions and use
hem in combina ion (Ch is ensen e al., 2019; Pe ocelli,
2018; Spice , 2018; S e enson, 2021). To Cohen (2002,
p. 1), F ank u ’s de ini ion is seen “as bullshi o a di e en
kind”, wi h emphasis, ha ‘F ank u -bullshi e s’ can p o-
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608596
Table 4: Sus ainabili y Awa eness
In e iewees
Codes
Sus ainabili y De ini ion Ac Sus ainably
BIO1 Ca e ul use o esou ces, en i onmen al
iendliness
P ac ices: sus ainable ood, sus ainable clo hing
Pe cei ed as di icul : has o d i e a lo , o
some hings he ime in es men is oo high
BIO2
Ca e ul use o esou ces, men ions economic
sus ainabili y - bu no u he explana ion,
espec o u u e gene a ions
P ac ices: sus ainable ood, secondhand
clo hing, sa ing elec ici y a home, cosme ics:
showe gel and shampoo
Pe cei ed as di icul : ai ade clo hing is
expensi e
BIO3
Responsible use o esou ces in manu ac u ing
and use o p oduc s, animal wel a e, no
exploi a ion o people
P ac ice: buys egional p oduc s
BIO4 Recycling, en i onmen al iendliness,
conse ing esou ces
P ac ices: secondhand clo hing, ood wi hou
plas ic packaging
Pe cei ed as di icul : has guil y pleasu es - no
explained in de ail
IT1
Use o ecologically good ( enewable) esou ces
in he manu ac u ing and use o p oduc s, euse
( ecycling), en i onmen al iendliness
P ac ices: cosme ics: packaging- ee showe
gel, shampoo and condi ione , oo hb ush
pas illes, bamboo oo hb ushes, and washable
co on pads
Pe cei ed as di icul : Food wi h plas ic
packaging
IT2 Clima e neu ali y, en i onmen al iendliness
IT3
Use o egene a i e ( enewable) esou ces in
he manu ac u ing and use o p oduc s, euse
( ecycling), en i onmen al iendliness
P ac ices: does no buy unsus ainable ood,
public anspo ins ead o ca
Pe cei ed as di icul : emission compensa ion
o pa cel se ices, g een labels
IT4
Renewable esou ces/ene gies in he
manu ac u ing and use o p oduc s, ecycling,
educe CO2emissions
P ac ices: ecycled pape , wea s clo hes o a
long ime, lexi a ian die , sus ainable ood
Pe cei ed as di icul : buying used books
Al hough none o he esponden s’ de ini ions a emp o
explain he concep a a high le el, like scien i ic de ini ions
such as he one by Ben-Eli (2018, p. 1339) in Chap e 2.1
do, e e yone has a basic unde s anding o wha is mean by
sus ainabili y and, mo e impo an ly, how o achie e i .
In o de o u he alida e he unde s anding o sus ain-
abili y as a concep , bu mo e impo an ly, cap u e he awa e-
ness o sus ainabili y, he in e iewees we e asked how ex-
ac ly hey implemen sus ainabili y in hei own e e yday
li es. Un o una ely, he chance was missed o ask IT2 how
hey p ac ice sus ainabili y o hemsel es, which is why da a
is missing o his in e iewee in he column ‘Ac Sus ainably’.
The mos popula p ac ice among he in e iewees is ying
o buy sus ainable ood whene e possible. Some a e guided
by labels ha indica e ai ade o o ganic a ming (BIO2,
13:24; IT1, 16:53; IT4, 23:39), o he s unde s and his o in-
clude pu chasing egional p oduc s (BIO3, 16:15), and again
o he s explici ly a oid p oduc s ha ha e a bad epu a ion,
o example he hazelnu sp ead ‘Nu ella’, because palm oil is
used in i s p oduc ion (IT3, 13:25). Some o he in e iewees
ha e men ioned ha labels should no be blindly us ed and
ha i is be e o pay a en ion o ecognized labels (BIO2,
13:24; IT3, 13:25; IT4, 23:39). O he s also pay a en ion o
sus ainabili y in cosme ics (BIO2, 13:34; IT1, 16:18). The
second mos popula ac is buying secondhand o sus ain-
able clo hes and ge ing he mos use ou o hem be o e
buying new ones (BIO1, 15:02; BIO2, 12:49; BIO4, 10:48;
IT4, 21:43). Howe e , a hu dle was also men ioned he e, e-
la ing o he ac ha sus ainably p oduced clo hing is o en
mo e expensi e (BIO2, 14:26). Simila ly, sus ainable oods
we e a ed as mo e expensi e, bu wo h spending he ex-
a money (IT1, 39:18; IT4, 23:39). Public anspo was
also men ioned as a means o inc ease sus ainabili y in mobil-
i y (IT3, 12:55), bu some o he in e iewees also admi ed

R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 597
ha hey ha e di icul ies ge ing along wi hou a ca (BIO1,
12:45). In gene al, i was also add essed ha he ime e-
qui ed o some ac ions does no do jus ice o he p ese a-
ion o sus ainabili y (BIO1, 12:45).
All in all, esponden s con ey a c edible commi men o
he p ac ice o sus ainabili y in hei e e yday li es, how-
e e , none men ioned conc e e G een IT p ac ices, such as
using secondhand sma phones o powe -sa ing on de ices
a home. On op o ha he lack o awa eness owa d on-
line se ices in a di ec sense, was al eady appa en as seen
in Chap e 4.1, because e e yone s a ed ha hey do no ac-
i ely pay a en ion o sus ainabili y in online se ices. A look
a he sus ainable ac i i ies collec ed indica es a lack o ac i e
e o s o achie e sus ainabili y in he use o echnology.
4.3.3. Reasons o he Lack o Sus ainabili y Awa eness o
Online Se ices
So a , he esul s pain he pic u e ha he young adul s
who pa icipa ed in he in e iews ha e a lack o sus ainabil-
i y awa eness o online se ices. Since his is a he ala m-
ing, possible easons and ac o s we e collec ed om he in-
e iews, which we e ei he men ioned di ec ly by he in e -
iewees o eme ged om he con ex . Table 5g oups indi id-
ual easons and ac o s in o h ee g oups o main codes. The
i s g oup o codes summa izes aspec s ha di ec ly ela e
o he lack o awa eness. The second g oup’s codes collec
incen i es o use online se ices. And las ly, easons agains
he use o online se ices we e lis ed in he hi d g oup o
codes.
Wi h he mos coded segmen s in bo h g oups in o al,
‘No hinking abou i ’ is no a eason pe se, bu i shows
ha he in e iewees a e open o admi hei sho comings
when asked. I could ansla e o hem no ha ing enough
occasions whe e hey a e con on ed wi h he opic. ‘Powe -
lessness’ di ec ly e e s o he belie ha ac ing sus ainably
does no ha e an impac on he big pic u e, possibly lowe -
ing he in en ion o ake ac ion. Fo example, some would
no eel any achie emen by using an online se ice claim-
ing o be g een (IT2, 23:22; IT3, 25:33) because i would
no make any di e ence (BIO1, 32:10). Segmen s coded
wi h ‘Unapplied Knowledge’ include exp essions o conce n
ela ed o sus ainabili y o online se ices, like cooling o en-
e gy consump ion, bu ul ima ely do no seem o ha e a las -
ing imp ession on he assessmen , as hey a e ollowed by
s a emen s coded wi h ‘No hinking abou i ’ (BIO4, 09:21;
IT3, 16:56). No ably, some o his ‘Unapplied knowledge’ is
some imes p one o echnical e o s, as he assump ion ha
he coolan used by da a cen e s has o be ‘dumped some-
whe e’ (BIO1, 35:23), is no exac ly igh . In ac , mos liquid
cooling sys ems use closed-loop sys ems whe e coolan is ci -
cula ed, ha ing no need o dispose o i egula ly (Eb ahimi
e al., 2014, p. 627; Iyenga e al., 2012, p. 213). A e y
in e es ing eason gi en by he in e iewees wi h an IT back-
g ound is he ac ha online se ices ha e no physical ap-
pea ance and migh he e o e be mo e di icul o assess, as
explained in an example by IT1 (39:18), whe e he quali y
o an o ganic chicken (as ood) can be be e judged han a
se ice claiming o be g een. Some o he membe s o he
IT g oup simply s a ed ha , as he code says, ‘P i acy is p e-
e ed’ o sus ainabili y, which in luences he choice o se -
ices. This will la e be ele an when p esen ing he da a
o he Google example, as he same in e iewees a e no
use s o Google se ices, bu i also indica es a clea p io i-
iza ion when i comes o ea u es o online se ices. While
he codes ‘Small Use Base’ and ‘No Al e na i e’ ha e been
only coded once each, hei speci ic p oblema iza ion jus i y
hei exis ence. The o me e e s o he p oblem ha al-
e na i e (sus ainable) pla o ms a e no a ac i e o new
use s because he ini ial use base is e y small, which, o
example, in he case o a messenge , limi s he numbe o
people wi h whom one can communica e on ha pla o m
(IT1, 41:55). The la e e e s o he hu dle ha some se -
ices migh no ha e a sus ainable al e na i e a ailable. To
exp ess ha he e a e no usable al e na i es o ce ain on-
line se ices, IT2 (26:07) uses an analogy. F om he poin o
iew o u ili y and ene gy consump ion, a bicycle is a be e
al e na i e o a ca han an encyclopedia o a sea ch engine.
A big eason why he in e iewees end o p e e online
se ices is con enience. Examples o online se ices c ea ing
con enience include online banking (IT1, 07:21), ood de-
li e y (IT4, 08:41), booking ips online (BIO3, 06:59), and
music o ideo s eaming (IT4, 09:14) because hese o e a
la ge selec ion o choose om, lexibili y, and a low e o o
use (BIO1, 08:46; BIO3, 02:20; IT3, 05:46). Ano he eason
o use online se ices coded as ‘No choice’ is ha some imes
one is simply o ced o use hem. A p ominen example by
he in e iewees is ha uni e si y documen s o lea ning ma-
e ial can only be ob ained ia he uni e si y’s online po als
(BIO2, 03:44; BIO3, 07:46; IT4, 05:43). In e es ingly, he
in e iewees do no exp ess i hey see his ci cums ance as
a bad hing, which hema ically i s in wi h hecode ‘Ubiq-
ui y’. The in e iewees say, ha online se ices ha e al eady
become pa o hei e e yday li e and ha a lo can only
be done ia he In e ne , which makes online se ices qui-
e ly and s eadily omnip esen (BIO2, 15:24; IT2, 05:36; IT3,
04:15).
Finally, some conce ns we e aised abou he use o on-
line se ices, ou side o sus ainabili y. As al eady no ed, on-
line se ices ha e no physical o m and, acco ding o he de -
ini ion used in his hesis, equi e as li le human in e en-
ion as possible. BIO3 (06:59) s esses his as a downside, as
hey would p e e pe sonal con ac , as in ace- o- ace consul-
a ion, whe e guidance o ad ice is alued by he cus ome .
They also would no like o ha e e e y hing p o ided as an
online se ice because o hem hese ha e he po en ial o e-
place jobs o he people, who would ha e pe o med his se -
ice p e iously (BIO3, 06:59). In e es ingly, he con enience
o an online se ice is also men ioned in he same pa ag aph,
sugges ing ha i is seen as a ade-o .
4.3.4. A i ude Towa d Google
Du ing he in e iew, i has al eady become clea ha
i canno be assumed ha e e y pa icipan uses Google as
hei p e e ed sea ch engine. The e o e, i was also su eyed
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608598
Table 5: Reasons o Poo Awa eness
G oup BIO IT
Men ions Once pe in . To al Once pe in . To al
Reasons o Dis ega d Sus ainabili y o
Online Se ices
No hinking abou i 4 10 4 8
Powe lessness 3 4 3 3
Unapplied Knowledge 2 4 2 2
Imma e iali y 0 0 2 3
P i acy is p e e ed 0 0 2 2
Small Use Base 0 0 1 1
No Al e na i e 0 0 1 1
Reasons o Use Online Se ices
Con enience 3 5 3 8
No Choice 2 3 1 1
Ubiqui y 1 1 2 2
Reasons o No Use Online Se ices
No Pe sonal Con ac 1 1 0 0
Replacing Jobs 1 1 0 0
No e. ‘Once pe In .’ shows he appea ance o he code coun ed once pe in e iew. ‘To al’ coun s e e y ins ance o a coded segmen in all in e iews.
which sea ch engine was used and why. This esul ed in he
ollowing da a, which can be seen in Table 6.
Among all in e iew pa icipan s, he majo i y o in e ie-
wees use Google as he p e e ed sea ch engine. I has o be
poin ed ou , ha wo o hese people we e no exac ly su e
a i s i hey use Google as a sea ch p o ide . BIO3 (26:01)
said ha hey a e using Sa a i on a Mac and he e o e no
using Google Sea ch, i was made clea o hem ha hey
a e p obably using Google because i is he de aul op ion in
Sa a i. Simila ly, IT1 (41:30) s a ed ha hey di ec ly ype
he sea ch que y in o he add ess ba . They ealized soon a -
e ha , ha Google would p obably be he de aul sea ch
p o ide in ha case oo. BIO2 (19:58) and IT3 (23:09) did
no explici ly s a e ha hey do no use Google by he ime he
in e iew sec ion has been in oduced. (BIO4, 15:23) s a ed
hey use Google, bu should use Ecosia, as he ‘sus ainable
al e na i e’ o Google. Ne e heless, hey s ay wi h Google
ou o con enience and shy away om swi ching.
The wo ha ha e speci ied o use DuckDuckGo, said
ha hey wan o p o ec hei p i acy which in his case is
mo e impo an o hem han sus ainabili y (IT2, 17:56; IT4,
25:11). Howe e , IT4 (25:55) added ha hey occasionally
use he Google D i e cloud s o age se ice wi h a h owaway
accoun .
Ou o he ou people who know Ecosia as a sus ainable
sea ch engine, he e is only one pe son who ac ually uses i .
Those who know abou i did no seem pa icula ly con inced
o i ei he . Ecosia was desc ibed as a sea ch engine ha ‘sup-
posedly’ plan s ees o each sea ch que y (IT3, 25:33). IT1
(39:18) said hey know Ecosia bu a e no amilia enough
wi h i o decla e i he company behind he sea ch engine
eally plan s he ees as hey claim. E en he one ha uses
Ecosia exp essed, ha Ecosia a leas ad e ises ha hey ac
sus ainably (BIO1, 21:28). They knew abou he ough num-
be o ees ha ha e been plan ed so a bu disclosed ha
hey did no esea ch i hemsel es, bu go he in o ma ion
om hei p o esso (BIO1, 27:40).
A e cla i ying which sea ch engine hey p e e , he in e -
iewees we e asked, wha hey knew abou Google’s sus ain-
abili y e o s. Mos o hose in e iewed said hey did no
know any hing abou i (BIO2, 19:52; BIO3, 25:47; BIO4,
26:45; IT1, 25:29; IT4, 30:40). Ha dly anyone was awa e
o he slogan “CO2-neu al sei 2007” [eng.: ca bon neu al
since 2007]a he bo om o he Ge man desk op e sion
o Google Sea ch. Some we e e en su p ised ha Google is
commi ed o sus ainabili y (BIO4, 27:10). O he s said ha
hey only know nega i e headlines abou Amazon and hei
da a cen e s and he e o e assume ha Google, as a big ech
company, canno be any be e (IT1, 26:06).
The opposing code o ‘No Knowledge [...]’ is called
‘Some Knowledge abou Google’s E o s’ wi h emphasis on
‘some’, because he s a emen s we e e y b oad o no ex-
ac ly co ec . O cou se, comp ehensi e knowledge on he
subjec canno be demanded, bu only one example would
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 599
Table 6: P e e ed Sea ch Engine
P e e ed
Sea ch Engine
In e iewee
BIO1 BIO2 BIO3 BIO4 IT1 IT2 IT3 IT4
Google X X X
DuckDuckGo X X
Ecosia X
Awa e o Ecosia X X X X
Unsu e X X
Table 7: Knowledge abou Google’s Sus ainabili y E o s
Knowledge
In e iewee
BIO1 BIO2 BIO3 BIO4 IT1 IT2 IT3 IT4
No Knowledge X X X X X X
Some Knowledge X X
no su ice o basic knowledge i one p esen s onesel as
pa icula ly commi ed o sus ainabili y. As an example, IT2
(17:07) hea d ha Google has s a ed o build da a cen-
e s in he sea o educe elec ici y cos s o cooling. A e
asking a ollow-up ques ion, i was speci ied ha Google
subme ged anks wi h se e s inside, which we e p esum-
ably deposi ed o he coas o Sco land. Bu i u ns ou his
was no Google a e all. The en u e was a pilo p ojec by
Mic oso (Cellan-Jones, 2020) he e o e i mus be a mix-up.
Now ha he in e iewees’ ‘basic a i ude’ owa ds he
company has been p esen ed, hei s a emen s on Google’s
commi men and he spokespe son’s s a emen can be ad-
d essed. This was achie ed by looking a he ela ionships
be ween he codes desc ibing he a i ude owa d Google and
he ‘basic a i ude’ om be o e he commi men and he s a e-
men we e p esen ed o he in e iewees. A ela ionship ex-
is s i a code om he y-axis and he x-axis o he able occu s
in he same ansc ip , i.e., hey we e men ioned by he same
in e iewee. The ou ables 8 o 11 ha e he codes o he
‘A i ude owa d Google’ on he le and he codes indica ing
hei p e e ed sea ch engine and knowledge abou Google’s
sus ainabili y e o on he op. I is impo an o add ha he
codes on he le di e be ween he con ex o he commi -
men and he s a emen , as new aspec s we e added by he
in e iewees when he s a emen was disclosed. The esul s
o he BIO g oup and he IT g oup a e displayed in sepa a e
ables because o size cons ain s. The maximum alue in he
op line indica es he maximum numbe o ela ions a code
can ha e, since he e can only be as many ela ions as he e
is people coded wi h he code in he op ow (see Table 6and
Table 7).
Looking a he ables 8and 9, i is appa en ha he mos
common code is ‘Be e han no hing’ wi h no de ini e a ili-
a ion o a g oup o a ‘basic a i ude’. Fo example, he pa ic-
ipan s say ha he commi men is well-in en ioned, bu he
e ec o i needs o be p o en (IT2, 21:53; IT3, 24:42). The
op ion o choice is welcomed, bu i is specula ed whe he
he implemen a ion o he commi men has only a small e -
ec o any e ec a all (BIO2, 22:53; BIO4, 28:23). All in
all, none seem pa icula ly en husias ic abou he commi -
men and see he exempla y implemen a ion o i (see Chap-
e 2.1) as a ‘nice o ha e’ a he han a game-change . The
o e all skep icism agains Google and i s ac ions owa d sus-
ainabili y seems o be mo e appa en wi hin he IT g oup.
As in ‘we need o ques ion his’ (IT3, 13:58), ‘is i eally like
ha ’ (IT1, 32:12), o ‘wha do he numbe s ac ually mean’
(IT4, 31:59). Conc e e c i icism howe e is compa able in
numbe be ween bo h g oups.
‘Ca bon O se s’ we e only men ioned by one in e iewee
in he IT g oup ou o all pa icipan s. They assumed ha
Google achie es i s ca bon neu al s a us by using hose in-
s ead o ac i ely educing i s emissions (IT1, 35:10). ‘Con-
lic ing In e es s’ we e also men ioned by only one espon-
den om he BIO g oup. Wha hey saw as a con lic o
in e es in Google’s implemen a ion o he commi men is,
ha he ca bon a ing and ad e isemen s by hi d pa ies on
hei pla o m could compe e, po en ially impac ing he e -
enue s eam o Google (BIO1, 24:05). To hem, his would
comp omise he implemen a ion o he commi men . Bo h
IT1 (39:18) and BIO4 (10:48) call Google’s slogan and hei
implemen a ion o he commi men g eenwashing, and e en
bullshi . They desc ibe i as misleading ad e isemen and as
a scam [ge .: “Masche”]alike (BIO4, 28:23). Al hough no
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608600
Table 8: A i ude owa d Google (Commi men /BIO g oup)
A i ude owa d Google
Awa e o
Ecosia
(max. 1)
Google
(max. 2)
Unsu e
(max. 1)
Ecosia
(max. 1)
No Knowl-
edge
(max. 4)
To al
men ions
Be e han no hing 1 2 1 1 4 7
Ca bon O se s - - - - - 0
Con lic ing In e es s - - - 1 1 1
G eenwashing 1 1 - - 1 3
Lack o T anspa ency - - - 1 1 1
O loading o Consume s 1 2 - - 2 3
Skep icism - - - 1 1 1
Table 9: A i ude owa d Google (Commi men /IT g oup)
A i ude owa d Google
Awa e o
Ecosia
(max. 3)
Google
(max. 1)
Unsu e
(max. 1)
Duck-
DuckGo
(max. 2)
No
Knowl-
edge
(max. 2)
Some
Knowl-
edge
(max. 2)
To al
men ions
Be e han no hing 3 1 1 2 2 2 5
Ca bon O se s 1 - 1 - 1 - 1
Con lic ing In e es s - - - - - - 0
G eenwashing 1 - 1 - 1 - 2
Lack o T anspa ency 2 - 1 1 1 1 3
O loading o Consume s 2 - 1 2 2 1 3
Skep icism 2 1 1 1 2 1 5
di ec ly ela ed o Google, i was no ed unde ‘Lack o T ans-
pa ency’ ha BIO1 (26:48) does no hink ha he in o ma-
ion om Ecosia, on how many ees hey plan ed, is ealis ic.
They said ha hey could ‘ heo e ically’ ge in o ma ion on
ha , bu he wo ding makes i sound mo e like hey ha e no
done so ye . The in o ma ion eleased by companies is gen-
e ally seen as ambiguous (IT1, 39:18; IT2, 20:14). The code
‘O loading o Consume s’ is p esen in bo h g oups again.
Some in e iewees exp essed ou age, because he commi -
men seemed like Google was ying o ans e i s esponsi-
bili y o he cus ome while aking c edi o he sus ainabili y
e o s (IT1, 30:06; IT4, 33:26). IT2 (21:53) e en links i di-
ec ly o he ‘scandal’ abou BP’s indi idual ca bon oo p in
discussed in Chap e 2.2. Membe s o he BIO g oup call he
commi men an excuse o Google o call i sel sus ainable
o wish ul hinking ha people do make he mo e sus ain-
able decision hanks o a Google se ice (BIO2, 24:35; BIO4,
31:50).
As al eady men ioned, he codes in he ollowing ables
(Table 10 and Table 11) a e sligh ly di e en om he ones
be o e. ‘Be e han No hing’ and ‘Ca bon O se s’ did no
come up again in he con ex o he s a emen by he Google
spokespe son. Howe e , he codes ‘In ole able Beha io ’,
‘S a emen is Unde s andable’, and ‘Company has he powe
o change’ needed o be de ined o cap u e s a emen s con-
ce ned wi h hese aspec s. Since ‘Be e han No hing’ is one
o he ew codes ha can be associa ed posi i ely, he o e all
mood shi s o he nega i e a e he s a emen is p esen ed.
F om all o he newly eme ged codes, ‘In ole able Beha -
io ’ has he mos nega i e conno a ion. The ini ial eac ion
o he s a emen o he spokespe son is ha he image o
Google is ‘weak’ and ‘w ong’, as hey a e no ca bon neu al
on all accoun s (IT1, 44:09). Mos in e iewees ag ee ha
he ou e a eled ia he In e ne should also be ac o ed in.
O he s say ha since his s a emen is ue, ca bon neu ali y
should no be ad e ised in his way because i is dishones
(BIO3, 33:28, 38:14). Some e en go so a as o say ha
his is consume aud, as he s a emen is disguised by he
gene al public po ayal o Google (BIO2, 33:46). The code
‘Company has he powe o change’ has wo sligh ly di e -
en a ian s: on one hand i is assumed ha Google, as a
majo playe in he ma ke , could use i s powe o en o ce
egula ion in i s supply chain (IT3, 30:32; IT4, 39:14). On
he o he hand, i is demanded ha hey jus do so (BIO4,
37:27). While he i s asse ion, appeals o Google’s d i e,
he second skips his and demands di ec ac ion. Going u -
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 601
Table 10: A i ude owa d Google (S a emen /BIO g oup)
A i ude owa d Google
Awa e o
Ecosia
(max. 1)
Google
(max. 2)
Unsu e
(max. 1)
Ecosia
(max. 1)
No Knowl-
edge
(max. 4)
To al
men ions
Company has he powe o change 1 1 - - 1 1
Con lic ing In e es s - - - 1 1 1
G eenwashing 1 2 1 - 3 5
In ole able Beha io - 1 1 - 2 3
Lack o T anspa ency - 1 1 1 3 5
O loading o Consume s - - - - - 0
Skep icism - - - 1 1 1
S a emen is Unde s andable 1 1 1 - 2 2
Table 11: A i ude owa d Google (S a emen /IT g oup)
A i ude owa d Google
Awa e o
Ecosia
(max. 3)
Google
(max. 1)
Unsu e
(max. 1)
Duck-
DuckGo
(max. 2)
No
Knowl-
edge
(max. 2)
Some
Knowl-
edge
(max. 2)
To al
men-
ions*
Company has he powe o
change 1 1 - 1 1 1 2
Con lic ing In e es s - - - - - - 0
G eenwashing 1 - 1 - 1 - 1
In ole able Beha io 1 - 1 - 1 - 1
Lack o T anspa ency - - - - - - 0
O loading o Consume s - - - 1 1 - 1
Skep icism - - - - - - 0
S a emen is Unde s andable 1 1 - 2 1 2 3
he , ‘S a emen is Unde s andable’, while no o e ly posi i e,
shows some in e iewees o be in pa conside a e o Google.
I is accep ed ha Google does no ha e con ol o e he
en i e ou e ha hei online se ices ake o e he ne wo k
(IT3, 31:58). Fo mos , howe e , his conside a ion does no
las long.
This ‘ u h’ is hen con as ed wi h he ac ha one hen
canno ad e ise wi h comple e ca bon neu ali y (BIO3,
38:14). Wich in pa leads back o he idea o ‘O loading
o Consume s’ (IT4, 39:14). To p ese e i s legi imacy i
should hen be Google’s obliga ion o s op such misleading
p ac ices (BIO4, 37:27). Some said hey had al eady guessed
ha he e would be a ca ch, and hey did no expec o be
su p ised (BIO1, 34:32; IT2, 28:03).
The ables show ha he code ‘G eenwashing’ occu s
mo e equen ly in he BIO g oup a e he s a emen has
been p esen ed, while i emains unchanged in he IT g oup.
IT1 (45:35) consolida ed hei poin o iew by ei e a ing
hei g eenwashing accusa ion. BIO4 (36:02) also eins a ed
he poin , ha he slogan is ‘bullshi ’ and el indica ed.
Google’s image is now desc ibed as ‘con adic o y’, ‘ ake’,
and ‘di e en behind he scenes’ (BIO2, 30:07, 31:38; BIO3,
33:28). ‘Lack o T anspa ency’ came up mo e equen ly in
he BIO g oup as well, by con as , he aspec was no e-
pea ed in he IT g oup. BIO1 (29:57) used he example o
Amazon o explain ha i is icky o unde s and wha ac u-
ally happens when an o de is placed. They c i icized ha
hose o de s show up in mul iple packages e en hough i was
chosen o deli e hem all a once. BIO2 (33:46) ollowed
sui o admi ha i is di icul o assess such claims, hey also
added ha he s a emen allows Google o use i as an ex-
cuse i hey a e accused o lying. Mo e anspa en handling
o he ma e was demanded by BIO3 (34:42). Las ly, he
codes ‘Con lic ing In e es s’ and ‘O loading o Consume s’
appea ed only once again each. The o me was epea ed
in a sligh a ia ion (BIO1, 35:23) and he la e was men-
ioned again o unde pin he poin ha he commi men is
dishones (IT4, 39:14).

R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608602
4.3.5. Opinions on he Responsibili y o Sus ainabili y
Be ween he commi men and he s a emen pa o he
in e iew, he in e iewees we e asked which side, i.e., con-
sume o company, should ake mo e esponsibili y o sus-
ainabili y. This and he eme gen ques ion abou poli ical
in e en ion p o ide he da a o Table 12. The able clea ly
shows ha he e is no pe manen ly assignable opinion, nei-
he o a g oup no o speci ic in e iewees, as hey some-
imes exp ess se e al iewpoin s.
F om le o igh , BIO1 has he mos a ied opinion.
To hem, he main esponsibili y was i s wi h he compa-
nies (28:12), hen i was added ha he cus ome is also in
pa esponsible (28:12). A e ha , i was no ed ha com-
panies canno be esponsible o e e y hing (29:57) and a
las i was s a ed ha no one wan s o ake ull esponsi-
bili y (32:45). BIO2 (25:35) ook a clea e s and, o hem
he esponsibili y is o equal pa s. BIO3 (31:27) sha ed
he same opinion and emphasized ha e e yone mus do
hei pa . BIO4 (34:01) akes he s ance ha companies
should be made esponsible, as hey ha e no ca ed in he
pas . To hem, elying on he consume s” ini ia i e yields
li le o no hing. IT1 (36:27) would see he esponsibili y
on he company’s side because hey a e in he posi ion o
powe . They added ha he pu chasing powe o he con-
sume could in luence a company’s ac ions i an al e na i e
p oduc is a ailable, bu hey s ill hink ha he con ibu ion
o he consume is impo an (45:35). IT2 (24:25) a gued
ha i is no easy o decide who should bea he esponsi-
bili y, bu hey s essed ha companies who call hemsel es
sus ainable should be held liable o i (30:52). IT3 (27:41)
is he only one among he in e iewees who hinks ha he
esponsibili y is wi h he consume , hey jus i y i by ma ke
mechanisms. To hem, companies would mo e owa d sus-
ainabili y h ough supply and demand (27:58). Las ly, IT4
(35:44) would no dis inguish be ween ‘ei he -o ’ bu would
a ibu e signi ican ly mo e o companies because hey a e
he main pollu e s.
5. Discussion
The esea ch ques ion aims o add ess wo sub-aspec s,
i s ly he e ec o sus ainabili y awa eness and IT knowl-
edge in assessing he sus ainabili y o online se ices, and
secondly whe he bullshi claims abou he sus ainabili y o
hese online se ices can be de ec ed. To e alua e i he col-
lec ed quali a i e da a con ibu e o answe ing he esea ch
ques ion, he esul s a e discussed in he espec i e chap e s
wi h ega d o he wo sub-aspec s. Subsequen ly, he heo-
e ical con ibu ion and p ac ical implica ions, as well as he
limi a ions o he wo k, a e add essed.
5.1. In luence o Sus ainabili y Awa eness and IT Knowledge
The esul s s ongly sugges ha i does no ma e
whe he a highe le el o sus ainabili y awa eness o IT
knowledge in luence he awa eness o he sus ainabili y o
online se ices, as all pa icipan s e ec i ely say ha hey do
no consciously pay a en ion o whe he an online se ice is
sus ainable o no . Wi h ha said, he sus ainabili y awa e-
ness is simila be ween g oups, so no di ec link can be made
o IT knowledge. A mo e de ailed su ey o pe sonal sus ain-
able p ac ices based on he P o-En i onmen al Beha io Scale
(PEBS) by Ma kle (2013) migh ha e allowed o a ine
dis inc ion, bu would also ha e aken ime away om o he
impo an pa s o he in e iew. The PEBS would enable
o measu e he ‘pe o mance’ o he en i onmen al beha io
a he han desc ibing i as basic, as in he case o his hesis
(Ma kle, 2013, p. 912). The assessmen o IT knowledge
was clea e , as he IT s uden s we e able o explain he back-
g ound o online se ices mo e con incingly and in much
g ea e de ail. Acco dingly, he s a emen s we e also echni-
cally co ec when compa ed o he concep ual ounda ion
o his hesis.
As p e ious esea ch p ojec s ha e shown, i canno gen-
e ally be concluded ha G een IT will be p ac iced mo e
jus because sus ainabili y awa eness is inc easing among he
popula ion as a whole (Koo e al., 2015, p. 75; Ku koon e
al., 2018, p. 9; Leung e al., 2018, pp. 2–3). This is also con-
i med by his hesis in he con ex o online se ices, which
ha e no ye been s udied in such de ail. Likewise, he in e -
iews unco e ed easons esponsible o he low awa eness
o sus ainabili y conce ning online se ices. These will now
be discussed and compa ed o exis ing li e a u e o see i he
same o simila indings ha e al eady been made o i o he
ba ie s exis exclusi ely o online se ices.
The mos p ominen issue is he lack o knowledge ha
came up wi h he code ‘No hinking abou i ’. I is no o be
unde s ood as a lack o in e es , bu as a lack o educa ion,
as he in e iewees made he imp ession ha hey we e ea-
ge o know how online se ices can be sus ainable (BIO3,
17:37). The ac ha he in e iewees do no p ac ice sus-
ainabili y in e ms o online se ices, because hey do no
know whe e o s a , coincides wi h he indings o Leung
e al. (2018, p. 9), who conclude ha a good unde s anding
o G een IT inc eases he con idence in p ac icing G een IT.
Ku koon e al. (2018, p. 4) poin ou ha ‘no iceabili y’ is also
an impo an ac o in luencing he in en ion o use G een IT
p oduc s. No iceabili y is unde s ood as he abili y o ecog-
nize g een p oduc s as such, based on he obse a ion ha
consume s would like o use sus ainable p oduc s, bu mos
o he ime do no know wha quali ies as a sus ainable p od-
uc . This is eminiscen o how he in e iewees ini ially did
no know wha a sus ainable online se ice could be, wi h
he excep ion ha only a ew named Ecosia as an example.
The idea o he ‘Pe cei ed G een Bene i ’ by Ku koon e al.
(2018, p. 4), goes a s ep u he , as i pa ially equi es knowl-
edge abou G een IT. The pe cei ed g een bene i desc ibes
he added alue o a sus ainable p oduc ha a consume
expec s indi idually. The added alue, i.e., he ad an ages
o a G een IT p oduc , a e also c ucial o he in en ion o
use hem. Besides pa ly ela ing o he code ‘No hinking
abou i ’, i is compa able o he s a emen s coded as ‘Pow-
e lessness’, as i summa izes he eeling ha ac ing sus ain-
ably does no ha e an impac , hus no c ea ing any alue in
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 603
Table 12: Opinion on who has Responsibili y o Sus ainabili y
BIO1 BIO2 BIO3 BIO4 IT1 IT2 IT3 IT4
Equal Responsibili y X X X X X
Responsibili y o
Consume s/Use s X X
Responsibili y o
Companies X X X X X
choosing a pa icula g een se ice. An ex eme example o
ha would be he s a emen o IT3 (25:20), who does no
hink ha Google’s se ices p o ide any sus ainable bene i
o hem. Despi e ha , hey s ill use Google o sea ching he
web, which om he sus ainabili y pe spec i e goes agains
he poin o Koo e al. (2015, p. 71), who a gue ha he pe -
cei ed use ulness p olongs he use o g een p oduc s. How-
e e , i is appa en ha he eason o using Google is no
p ima ily sus ainabili y, bu con enience.
To be swayed by con enience is ano he impo an as-
pec ha came up in he in e iews and has been discussed
in p e ious esea ch. Ku koon e al. (2018, p. 4) add ess
his wi h he idea o ‘Resou ce Sac i ice’, meaning ha g een
p oduc s o se ices end o be less ea u e- ich and lack pe -
o mance in compa ison o non-sus ainable ones. While he
in e iewees did no d aw a di ec compa ison be ween a sus-
ainable and a non-sus ainable se ice, i was e y e iden
ha hey alue he con enience o online se ices o e egu-
la se ices, as lis ed in Chap e 4.3.3, and con e sely would
a he no e u n o he ‘old’ way. The issues labeled as ‘Small
Use Base’ and ‘No al e na i e’ also sha e he sen imen o no
wan ing o gi e up some hing in u n o sus ainabili y.
Fo he example o ideo s eaming, Leung e al. (2018,
p. 8) ound ha people would choose s eaming p o ide s
based on cos and quali y a he han sus ainabili y when
hey indica ed ha hey ound i di icul o p ac ice G een
IT. Al hough i is no abou he same p ope ies, his inding
is simila o he p e e ence o p i acy o some in e iewees.
One aspec ha is only b ie ly ouched upon by p e ious
esea ch is he imma e iali y o online se ices. I is men-
ioned ha “g een p oduc s and se ices a e likely o be ab-
s ac objec s” (Ku koon e al., 2016, p. 599) om he pe -
spec i e o consume s, making i di icul o assess hem. Bu
gi en he con ex , which u he explains he idea o no ice-
abili y men ioned ea lie , he wo d abs ac is e e ing o
g een p oduc s and se ices being di icul o g asp and no
he abs ac ion o a se ice om he ma e ial o he digi al
wo ld. Koo e al. (2015, p. 68) a gue ha he e ec s o G een
IT and G een IS can ac ually be seen by consume s ac oss
p oduc s and se ices. Howe e , he esul s o his hesis
con adic his asse ion, because he in e iewees s a e ha
sus ainabili y is no immedia ely appa en o hem in online
se ices. Koo e al. (2015, p. 68) u he no e ha he use-
ulness pe cei ed by he consume depends on whe he he
e ec s o sus ainabili y a e ob ious o he consume . This
migh be ue o he powe moni o ing de ices looked a in
hei s udy, bu online se ices seem o ac di e en ly in ha
ega d. Since he in e iewees s uggled o make sense o he
sus ainabili y o online se ices, he e ec s a e no ob ious o
pe haps no made ob ious enough.
One las obse a ion wo h men ioning is ha he in-
e iew pa ne who uses Ecosia does i based on a ecom-
menda ion and does no eally seem con inced ei he (BIO1,
22:03). Howe e , Ku koon e al. (2018, p. 9) desc ibed he
in luence o he social en i onmen as insigni ican , which
con as s wi h p e ious s udies ha assumed he opposi e, as
hey hemsel es a i m. E en i his is only a single case, i is
s ill in e es ing o no e ha his usage decision is mo i a ed
mo e by ex insic han in insic mo i a ion. Since all o he
sus ainabili y p ac ices seemed o be done ou o con ic ion.
Thus, social in luence is c edi ed wi h ha ing some deg ee o
impac .
Looking a he discussed aspec s, i can be concluded ha
some in luencing ac o s o G een IT p oduc s can be ans-
e ed o online se ices, bu hu dles ha e also been iden i-
ied ha ha e no been conside ed so a in esea ch. In he
end, i does no ma e whe he sus ainabili y awa eness o
IT knowledge is mo e s ongly de eloped, in he end, G een
IT knowledge mus be p omo ed di ec ly o he consume as
al eady concluded by Leung e al. (2018, p. 9).
5.2. Abili y o Spo Bullshi Claims
The ques ion o whe he he in e iewees we e able o de-
bunk Google’s bullshi claims is di icul o answe . O e all, i
is clea ha he in e iewees gene ally had doub s abou he
easibili y o use ulness o he commi men ha Google has
made, e en hough he commi men is conside ed good in
p inciple. Mo eo e , his c i ical a i ude de elops and is con-
i med o e en s eng hened wi h he un eiling o he s a e-
men o he p ess spokespe son. Now, his s ands howe e in
s ong con as o he conclusion ha as good as nobody pays
a en ion o he sus ainabili y o online se ices and beyond
ha nobody eally knew wha Google does o sus ainabil-
i y a all. The e is no disce nible connec ion be ween he
coded c i ical s a emen s, and he p e e ed sea ch engine
and knowledge abou Google’s ac i i ies o p omo e sus ain-
abili y.
This aises he ques ion o whe he his c i icism and
skep icism a e jus i ied a all when no one eally knows wha
Google con ibu es o sus ainabili y in p ac ice. Bu i also
seems ob ious ha his is p ecisely he p oblem. Many in e -
iew pa ne s ha e men ioned he lack o anspa ency and
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608604
di icul comp ehensibili y as a poin o c i icism. This could
explain he a o emen ioned lack o knowledge. Howe e , i
is unclea whe he i is he lack o anspa ency on he pa
o he company o he igno ance o consume s who egula ly
use Google. The e is a hin o his kind o igno ance because
a one poin i was subliminally admi ed ha someone could
look i up i hey wan ed o (BIO1, 26:48). The o he s ha e
no exp essed hemsel es in his way, bu i canno be uled
ou ha hey oo ac his way. This is, again, di icul o
de e mine om he in e iew ma e ial ex-pos . I would
ha e equi ed asking ques ions ega ding he ga he ing o
in o ma ion, which was no conside ed be o ehand.
Howe e , i would gene ally be w ong o comple ely
doub he basic skep icism o he in e iewees owa d Google
because c i ical ques ioning is igh and impo an . Bu one
can ask whe he he in e iewees migh no be bullshi ing
hemsel es. I does no i : hey do no know wha Google
is doing a all, c i icize hem, and pa ly use hei se ices
anyway. I almos seems like a o m o ‘me a-bullshi ’. Accus-
ing Google o bullshi ing o downplaying impo an de ails
in ma ke ing is one hing, bu doing so on a basis o un-
awa eness, which i s he p ac ice o bullshi ing, makes he
accusa ion seem less genuine. S ill, he bullshi was ecog-
nized, so he assessmen o he in e iewees is co ec . Ye ,
as s a ed in he concep ual ounda ion, he p oduced bullshi
can s ill be ‘ ue’ despi e he lack o knowledge abou he
‘ u h’.
Howe e , i can be uled ou ha he kind o bullshi in
which he in e iewees a e in e wo en is F ank u bullshi .
This is he case because he in e iewees a e p esumably no
pu suing he mo i e o appea ing pa icula ly c i ical and en-
i onmen ally awa e in he in e iew. O he wise, hey would
ha e claimed om he s a o pay a en ion o sus ainabil-
i y in online se ices. The in e iewees a he ell o Cohen
bullshi . Tha is jus i ied in he ac ha many o he in e iew
pa ne s came back o he assump ion ha la ge companies,
including Google, can only be up o no good (BIO1, 32:45;
BIO4, 34:01; IT1, 26:06). This is an asse ion ha is o en
said abou la ge companies in he e nacula , which is also
con i med by scandals om ime o ime, see he example o
BP in Chap e 2.4. The skep icism is he e o e based mos ly
on he assump ion ha la ge companies a e bad, ins ead o
ha ing conc e e in o ma ion. Since he in e iewees ha e no
conc e e knowledge abou Google’s sus ainabili y e o s, i
has o be said ha Google does no do a good job o being
con incing and us wo hy when i comes o sus ainabili y,
p o ided ha hey eally do wha hey say. I emains su p is-
ing ha he di ec accusa ions o bullshi and g eenwashing
also ended o come om hose who e en use Google, al-
hough wi h such a small numbe o esponden s his could
also be a coincidence. I he p e ious in e p e a ions a e sum-
ma ized, i can be s a ed ha he e is a disc epancy be ween
wha is done and wha is said. Wi hou he in e iews, his
disc epancy migh no ha e become isible a all, because he
in e iewees would no ha e been asked abou i .
I is su p ising ha among all he c i ical commen s, he e
we e also concessions o Google, some o which exp essed
ag eemen ha Google has no in luence. This is in con as
o he ac ha Google is c edi ed wi h ha ing he powe
o change some hing. Wha is pa icula ly s iking he e is
ha in some cases one and he same pe son exp essed hese
poin s, which in i sel sounds con adic o y (BIO4, IT3, IT4).
Ye whe he his is an inconsis ency in he in e iewees’ opin-
ions o a mis o une in o mula ion lies wi hin he scope o
in e p e a ion o he ma e ial and canno be answe ed un-
equi ocally.
Las ly, he ques ion abou esponsibili y o sus ainabil-
i y did e eal he posi ions o indi idual in e iewees. How-
e e , i did no help o iden i y pa e ns in he in e iew ma-
e ial. The opinions o he in e iewees on his opic a e a -
ied, as a e hei easons. Wha can be in e ed, howe e , is
ha mos o hem do no see he esponsibili y en i ely in
he hands o one pa y. Which pa ly e lec s he obliga ion
o he companies o publish in o ma ion [ge .: ‘B ingschuld’]
and he obliga ion o collec in o ma ion o he consume s
[ge .: ‘Holschuld’], as a esul o he anspa ency dilemma
men ioned ea lie .
6. Conclusion
In conclusion, nei he he le el o sus ainabili y awa e-
ness no he IT knowledge o young adul s con ibu e o he
assessmen o he sus ainabili y o online se ices , as he e-
sul s o he o he in e iew show. I has been ound ha
in e iewees ha e ew clues abou he issue o sus ainabili y
in online se ices. Reasons con ibu ing o his lack o knowl-
edge we e iden i ied and discussed. The la e pa o he e-
sea ch ques ion, ega ding he abili y o spo bullshi claims,
can be pa ially answe ed bu no ully explained. While
he in e iewees did poin ou issues wi h Google’s po ayal
o being sus ainable, hose callou s o ‘bullshi ’ we e a he
based on gene al assump ions han on conc e e knowledge.
I could no be inally answe ed how he e can be a connec-
ion ha he in e iewees know almos no hing abou Google
in he con ex o sus ainabili y bu a e ne e heless awa e
o he possible bullshi . In addi ion, i emains unclea why
some s ill use Google al oge he .
6.1. Theo e ical Con ibu ion
On he one hand, his hesis con ibu es h ough heo y
building as new obse a ions we e made. Mos no ably, he
imma e iali y o online se ices as a eason o he di icul y
in e alua ing hei sus ainabili y o he disc epancy be ween
he a i ude owa d Google and he use o i s se ices. F om
hese phenomena, new hypo heses can be de i ed ha can
in u n become he basis o a heo e ical explana ion.
On he o he hand, his hesis also con ibu es by he-
o y es ing o some ex en . P e ious hypo heses and heo ies
om he li e a u e ha a e o iginally applied o he quan i-
a i e app oach o ques ionnai es, we e ield- es ed wi h he
quali a i e app oach o in e iews. Bo h heo y es ing and
heo y building a e o u mos impo ance o c ea e good he-
o ies and enable “ad ancemen s in science” (Bha ache jee,
R. Roskosch /Junio Managemen Science 10(3) (2025) 582-608 605
2012, p. 4). Since he app oach o answe ing he esea ch
ques ion in wo sub-aspec s p o ided bo h expec ed and un-
expec ed esul s, i allows o p og ess in bo h a eas. Fu he -
mo e, his s udy adds o he exis ing li e a u e on he ecep-
ion o g een IT p oduc s and p ac ices by mo e speci ically
looking a he esea ch subjec o online se ices.
6.2. P ac ical Implica ion
The main implica ion o his hesis is ha use s o online
se ices should be made mo e awa e o he ac o s ha in-
luence he ene gy consump ion o such a se ice o ICT in
gene al. Consume s should be empowe ed, o look beyond
he gene al c i icism o ICT-p o iding companies and engage
wi h wha hey claim o be doing o sus ainabili y. In addi-
ion, hey should also ob ain conc e e hi d-pa y in o ma ion
on ha i possible, o sepa a e he bullshi om he ac s.
Companies can also lea n om he esul s o he in e -
iews. They should ake ca e o p o ide in o ma ion in a
mo e accessible way o ha e a mo e con incing e ec on con-
sume s. E o s o p omo e sus ainabili y should no be mis-
unde s ood as me e ma ke ing when i is in ac genuine.
Ne e heless, he in o ma ion p oblem, as discussed,
comes om bo h sides, so he in o ma ion mus be accessible
enough o be accep ed in o de o each he masses. Only in
his way can sus ainable de elopmen , d i en and suppo ed
by consume s, achie e i s ull po en ial.
6.3. Limi a ions
As wi h any in e iew wi h p e-s uc u ed ques ions, i
canno be uled ou ha o he ac o s o opics no asked
in he in e iews may in luence he esul s o he esea ch.
Fo example, a missed ques ion emains: Would hose who
use Google’s se ices con inue o use hem a e c i ically dis-
cussing hem in he in e iew, o would hey pe haps e ain
om doing so? I could be hypo hesized ha hey igno e he
c i icism hey ha e oiced a he nex oppo uni y, a la ‘Igno-
ance is Bliss’. Wha speaks o his is he ‘con enience’, as de-
sc ibed in Chap e 5.1 bu since he in e iews did no co e
his poin in-dep h, his canno be answe ed wi h wha was
lea ned om he esul s. In he same ein, he ph ase “guil y
pleasu e” (BIO4, 16:38) is also in e es ing bu was un o u-
na ely no discussed u he in he in e iew. Fu he mo e,
i was w ong o assume ha e e yone who could pa icipa e
in he in e iews is amilia wi h Google. Al hough he op-
po uni y o gain insigh s om o he sea ch engine use s was
emb aced, i could ha e been be e in eg a ed in o he in e -
iews i his had been conside ed om he beginning.
The gene alizabili y o he esul s om young adul s o
consume s is limi ed due o he sample size. Simply said e -
e y s uden is a consume , bu no e e y consume is a s u-
den . The a ge g oup only ep esen s a sec ion o all pos-
sible ypes o consume s. In addi ion, he in e iews could
e y well lead o di e en esul s, i o he in e iew pa ne s
we e acqui ed, le alone i he age g oup o he ield o s udies
we e de ined di e en ly. In u n o gaining deepe insigh ,
he indi idual na u e o he in e iewees’ esponses u he
limi s he gene alizabili y o he esul s.
Fu he mo e, he s udy is limi ed by he objec i i y o he
esea che , as hey migh ha e an in luence on he in e iew
(Alsaawi, 2014, p. 155). Because o ha , he esul s could be
unconsciously biased in a a o able di ec ion. This bias was
mi iga ed o he bes o he esea che ’s knowledge by using
he me hod o semi-s uc u ed in e iews in which he in e -
iew guideline was e iewed by hi d pa ies o a oid leading
ques ions. Ne e heless, his s udy ad ances he esea ch on
he opic and con ibu es o closing he esea ch gap.
6.4. Fu u e Resea ch
Since his wo k has encoun e ed some limi a ions in i s
execu ion, hese should be aken in o accoun in u he e-
sea ch. Among hose limi a ions we e, as explained, missed
aspec s, ques ions, and he gene al issue o gene alizabili y.
To add ess hese, esea che s could design a su ey based on
he in e iew guideline and he code sys em o see i he same
esul s occu in a la ge g oup o people. Especially he codes
o he easons o he lack o sus ainabili y should be e i ied
wi h a mo e ep esen a i e g oup o esponden s.
In addi ion, wo hypo heses can be de i ed om he dis-
cussion ha should be conside ed in pa icula in he u u e.
Fi s , imma e iali y a ec s he assessmen o online se ices
in e ms o sus ainabili y. And second, con enience in lu-
ences he willingness o change he cu en online se ice
usage beha io . Fu he mo e, he disc epancy be ween ac-
ual knowledge and b oad c i icism owa d Google should be
u he in es iga ed, as i is unclea whe he his beha io is
limi ed o he in e iew pa icipan s and how i can be ex-
plained.
The esea ch could also be conduc ed om a di e en
pe spec i e. Ins ead o looking a he ecep ion o consume s,
exclusi ely, i could also be in es iga ed wha companies can
do o be mo e genuine and us wo hy when ac i ely con-
ibu ing o sus ainabili y.
Finally, i should be conside ed which measu es can be
de eloped o help consume s become mo e awa e o sus ain-
abili y when choosing hei online se ices. As he p esen
hesis exposes he sho comings in he handling o he opic
by companies and consume s alike.
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