Investigating the role of smartness for sustainability: Insights from the Smart Grid Domain

In a social and economic world affected by the increasing scarcity of resources, level of competitiveness and variety, the studies on sustainability are attracting the interest of numerous researches and research streams (Cox & Blake 1991; Bretschger 2005; Porter 2011). The sustainability as science interested in the definition of the ‘better’ balance among social, economic, and environmental dynamics proposes a radical change in perspective in the way to approach and manage the world we live in (Komiyama & Takeuchi 2006; Lang et al. 2012; Barile et al. 2013a, 2013b). Along the time, different contributions have analyzed the key variable of sustainability (Clark & Dickson 2003; Kajikawa 2008; Wiek et al. 2012). In such perspective, several researchers have studied what is the impact of sustainability on companies’ and consumers’ decisions (Málovics et al. 2008; Pickett-Baker & Ozaki, 2008; Young et al., 2010), and in which way it is possible to link the companies’ economic aims with a widen perspective inclusive of the interests of future generations (Gladwin et al. 1995; Wade-Benzoni 1999; Perrini 2006; Barile et al. 2015). Despite the amazing advancements in knowledge offered by all these contributions, a shared conceptual framework on the strategies required to build common approaches to sustainability still appears to be missing (Boström 2012). In order to bridge this gap, a possible contribution is offered by the evolutions proposed by the computer science as research domain interested in the identification of more effective and effective solutions by acting on a better use of available information and resources (Omondi et al. 2007; Caputo et al. 2016a, 2016c). By analyzing recent advancements in knowledge offered by the computer science it is possible to identify their strong correlation with the principles, aims, and interests of sustainability sciences (Lazer et al. 2009; Swart et al. 2002). From a more general viewpoint, it is possible to note that the computer science’ willingness to build smart world is addressing the society towards more sustainable lifestyles by tracing a wider conceptual framework in which the boundaries among the disciplinary domains dissolve themselves and a common pathway based on the weaving between sustainability and technology is emerging (Elzen et al. 2004). As a consequence of this contamination, a more interconnected and information based society is emerging and new interpretative approaches are requesting to face new challenges (Castells 2011; Caputo & Walletzký 2017). With the aim to contribute to the amazing debate on the interconnections among sustainability and technology, the paper focuses the attention on the topic of Smart Grid as an example of technological innovation useful in supporting the achievement of sustainability aims (Nidumolu et al. 2009). In such a line, Smart Grids are analyzed as systems able to connect several actors by supporting more efficient information sharing direct to ensure a sustainable use of the available resources (Giordano et al. 2011; Momoh 2012). In order to enlarge previous contributions offered on the topic of Smart Grid, the paper builds upon the conceptual framework offered by System Thinking (Von Bertalanffy 1968; Emery 1981; Bogdanov 1989; Golinelli 2010; Barile & Saviano 2011; Barile 2013; Basile & Caputo 2017) and Cybernetics (Wiener 1948, 1961; Ashby 1956; Beer 1960). In this perspective, the utility of Smart Grid in supporting the survival of a community by acting on a dynamic and fast adaptation of providing system to the users’ needs is ana, and the implications for collectivity in the light of sustainability are discussed.