Drivers and deterrents of sustainable procurement practices – an exploratory study in context of Pakistani HEIs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify drivers and deterrents to sustainable procurement (SP) via field-level inquiry in the context of public sector higher education institutes in an emerging economy like Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Unstructured interviews guided by the interview guide were conducted. The participants were selected via purposive sampling. A three-step process was carried out for data analysis. The first-order codes were generated from the views expressed by the informants. The descriptive codes (second-order categories) were developed, providing insights into the main factors. These codes helped to generate the third-order themes related to drivers and deterrents of SP. Findings The results reveal that interdepartmental cooperation is the most discussed driver, followed by government regulations. The most noted deterrents include a lack of interdepartmental cooperation, a lack of environmental laws and resistance to change. The participants have highlighted interdepartmental coordination as both a driver if available and a deterrent if not available. Social implications The identified drivers and deterrents shall help the managers and policymakers as a guide while transitioning from traditional procurement to SP. Originality/value With the increased focus of the higher education commission Pakistan on implementing green practices in higher educational institutes, this study proposes the understanding of a systematic and holistic view of SP by proposing a theoretical framework.