We Need Individuals to Take the Lead: Psychological Flexibility as an Internalized Mechanism toward Green IS Behaviors

Information systems (IS) can help address environmental challenges. However, adopting Green IS can be challenging even for eco-friendly individuals given the behavioral adjustments required and the difficulties surrounding the generation of effective, long-lasting pro-environmental behaviors. We propose psychological flexibility (PF) as an internalizing mechanism empowering users to become active agents of change by nourishing essential environmental shifts from within. In a longitudinal study using a volunteer computing platform, we explored users supporting resource-intensive sustainability research by sharing their computers' resources. Our results indicate that PF can help eco-friendly IS users act in accordance with their pro-environmental stances by enhancing the positive influences of their sustainability perceptions on their behaviors. We contribute to the IS literature by introducing PF as a strengthening mechanism of effective and coherent IS behaviors and by providing supporting empirical evidence.