Barriers to the implementation of environmentally sustainable procurement in public universities

Joshua Ayarkwa, Kofi Agyekum, De-Graft Joe Opoku and Ama Amponsah Appiagyei

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2020, vol. 13, issue 1, 24-41

Abstract: Most public institutions are faced with numerous challenges in trying to implement environmentally sustainable procurement practices. This study examines barriers to successful implementation of environmentally sustainable procurement in public universities. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) was used as a case for the study. Semi-structured interviews with six procurement experts at KNUST procurement office was conducted. Data obtained was analysed using thematic template analysis. Findings from the study suggest that inconsistencies in decision making; centralised/decentralised decision making; difficulty in imposing change; difficulty dealing with government agencies; collusion among stakeholders; lack of planning; lack of budgetary allocation; and inadequate training of procurement professionals and suppliers are the eight key barriers that hinder the successful implementation of environmentally sustainable procurement in public universities. The findings should provide an enabling environment for measures to be put in place to successfully implement environmental sustainability in procurement activities.

Keywords: environmental sustainability; sustainable procurement; public procurement; public universities. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=105201 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijpman:v:13:y:2020:i:1:p:24-41

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Procurement Management from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sarah Parker ().