Green purchasing capabilities, practices and institutional pressure

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the green-purchasing capabilities required to ensure the successful implementation of green-purchasing practices under the forces of institutional pressure. Specifically, this paper explores the green-purchasing capabilities of buyer firms under the influence of institutional pressures in supplier selection, development, collaboration and evaluation in support of environmental purchasing.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaire survey method was used to gather data from 163 ISO 14001-certified manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Partial least squares was used for hypotheses testing.

Findings

Green-purchasing capabilities, such as manufacturing, financial, intraorganisational and integration capabilities, have a significant positive effects on green-purchasing practices. However, innovation capabilities have no significant effect on green-purchasing practices. Regulation, customer and competitor pressure positively moderate the relationships between green manufacturing capabilities and practices.

Practical implications

The paper highlights the importance of green-purchasing capabilities in enhancing the green-purchasing practices of firms. The findings that pertain to moderating effect could be used to assist policy makers, particularly in setting appropriate policies and strategies to improve green purchasing.

Originality/value

Although more studies on green purchasing have been conducted in recent years, issues, such as the effect of green-purchasing capabilities on green-purchasing practices, are still unspecified. Besides, this study considers institutional pressure as the moderator when a model is constructed to exemplify the relationship between green-purchasing capabilities and practices.

Citation

Foo, M.Y., Kanapathy, K., Zailani, S. and Shaharudin, M.R. (2019), "Green purchasing capabilities, practices and institutional pressure", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 1171-1189. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-07-2018-0133