A framework for understanding sustainable public purchasing

Increasing scholarship across numerous literatures discuss the significant promise that sustainable public purchasing (SPP) has for reducing negative environmental impacts throughout the supply chain. As governments worldwide have begun embracing this promise, researchers note that we lack a broader conceptual framework that articulates the motivations for public organizations to adopt SPP, in part because existing literature is widely dispersed across multiple fields and journals. We address this gap by undertaking a significant literature review and content analysis to develop a cogent framework of SPP adoption. The resulting theoretical framework reveals four critical macro-themes associated with SPP adoption: capacity, culture, stakeholders, and institutional setting. Capacity, culture, and internal stakeholders relate to the internal organizational setting, although they are shaped by pressures from external stakeholders and nested within the broader institutional setting. The framework and themes are illustrated by applying them to the City of Tempe's (Arizona, USA) decision to adopt SPP. The research sets the stage for future empirical studies related to SPP adoption and implementation success, both of which are inherently linked.