Responsible software: A research agenda to help enterprises become more sustainable

Abstract

[BACKGROUND] Responsible enterprises are key to reaching a sustainable economy that cares about the people and the planet. Their spectrum is wide and it encompasses, among others, non-profit non-governmental organisations, social economy enterprises and companies with a committed corporate social responsibility. Responsible enterprises face many challeng-es, such as complying with governmental regulations, defining sustainable business models, having a positive social and envi-ronmental impact, and fostering ethical consumption. [OBJEC-TIVE] Our premise is that responsible enterprises need responsi-ble software, which is software that assists enterprises in becom-ing increasingly responsible. We intend to discover the challenges that responsible enterprises face during the process of becoming more sustainable and to envision how enterprise modellers and software developers can use their competences and knowledge repositories to support enterprise missions. [METHODOLOGY] We have conducted a literature review and interviewed relevant stakeholders in the area in order to elicit a number of problemat-ic phenomena related to enterprise responsibility. We then fil-tered the elicited issues to focus on those that are related to and can be tackled by applying software. [RESULTS] We have elabo-rated a roadmap for future research endeavours on responsible software. Interestingly, a core practice to be properly supported is socio-environmental auditing. [CONCLUSION] This research agenda will surely require close collaboration between academia and industry, as well as a close collaboration among experts from different disciplines. Let this paper be a call for action.