Many companies have developed a green marketing strategy, aimed at promoting and selling green environmental products. While the majority of articles on this topic report on studies in a business‐to‐consumer setting, this research focusses on the impact of green marketing strategies on the satisfaction and loyalty of professional buyers in a business‐to‐business setting. Hypotheses were tested with survey data from 148 Dutch professional purchasers in the cleaning industry. The results emphasize the impact and importance of product quality, product price and corporate image. The most notable and strong impact on satisfaction and loyalty was found for the salesperson expertise.

Public agencies feel the need to advance sustainability and use procurement as an instrument to do so. Many studies focused on internal forces, explaining the limited success of sustainable public procurement. This study focused on how external forces are able to hold municipalities accountable for sustainable procurement. Three mid-sized Dutch municipalities were investigated through an extensive document study and 34 semi-structured interviews. The results show minor legal pressure to enforce sustainable procurement. National legislation, guidelines and principles are considered non-binding, due to a lack of penalties in the case of non-compliance. Real pressure stems from lobbying by branch organizations and political pressure initiated by citizens. In contrast with the New Public Management principles, municipalities appear to place more emphasis on legal and financial accountability, in contrast to performance accountability. Accountants mainly focus on legitimacy and the finance department only monitors spending within budget. The hybrid organization of the procurement function seems to impede sustainability development. Only the larger projects are subject to sustainability requirements, set by centralized purchasing departments. Smaller projects, responsible for 2/3 of the total spend are managed by decentralized groups, remaining under the radar of sustainability policies.

Purpose: Social return on investment (SROI) is a systematic way of incorporating social values of different stakeholders into public sector decision-making on sustainability. This study aims to identify salient factors that influence SROI implementation.Design/methodology/approach: The interactions of four Dutch municipalities and their social enterprises were examined, by analyzing relevant documents and interviewing key actors.Findings: External forces appear to have little influence on SROI implementation. Management systems, legal restrictions in relation to privacy and the administrative burden appear to hinder SROI implementation. Findings suggest that trust among the parties involved and their representatives is a major driver for SROI development. SROI is not measured well enough, which complicates analyzing and reporting its development.Research limitations/implications: Achieving collaboration through trust is a characteristic of stewardship theory, and therefore useful for studying social sustainability. Combining agency and stewardship theory provides useful insights concerning the application of control mechanisms versus empowerment.Practical implications: Barriers can be overcome by informing and engaging suppliers in SROI initiatives. Furthermore, findings of this study suggest that it is easier for municipalities to incorporate SROI when social firm activities are insourced. An independent procurement function stimulates SROI development. Engaged professionals can make the difference in SROI policy implementation, more so than written policies.Social implications: SROI enables social sustainability. SROI can be used by public agencies to provide meaningful activities for the long-term unemployed and underprivileged adolescents.Originality/value: The study is the first empirical work that relates public procurement to SROI implementation and its effect on suppliers. The findings provide valuable insights into government influence on social enterprises.

Purpose: This study aims to highlight the effect of individual attributes of procurement professionals on goals concerning public procurement of sustainable innovation. Several barriers haven been observed regarding the application of public money to achieve these goals. Most research concerning these barriers focuses on organizational factors. Corporate initiatives are typically presented as a way forward tot achieve sustainable innovation. Less attention is paid to the efforts and attributes of the individual procurement professional. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was sent to 283 officials, involved in the procurement process of a large public organization. Findings: As expected, a lack of top management support has a negative impact on sustainable innovation. Legal and regulatory complexity is less of a hindrance. The results indicate that both individual innovativeness and individual collectivism have a significant positive effect on sustainable innovation. Findings further suggest that an important way for an organization to achieve sustainable innovation is to allow individuals sufficient discretion to pursue sustainable initiatives. Many initiatives can be attributed to the individual innovativeness of procurement professionals. Originality/value: The relation beween individual attributes of procurement professionals on the application of public money to achieve goals of sustainable innovation is investigated and can serve as a basis for further sudy on this subject.

The Kraljic matrix has received large-scale adoption, especially in Western Europe, as a tool for developing differentiated purchasing strategies. However, it is not clear whether the Kraljic matrix could be applied by companies operating in remote conditions in a country or region where the logistics infrastructure is not well developed. This paper reports on a literature study that is aimed at identifying the necessary adaptations to the Kraljic matrix when applied under remote conditions. Based on an action research project within the State Oil Company of Suriname, the usefulness of the adapted Kraljic approach has been explored.

A trend towards performance-based contracting (PBC) can be observed in public infrastructure maintenance. PBC is an approach of tying the contractor’s payment to specified performance. We investigated PBC for the maintenance of highways and roads in the Netherlands, identifying issues ultimately resulting in poor contractor performance. The PBC-induced risks for clients relate to the problematic translation and measurement of specifications, the ineffectiveness of incentives, the avoidance of contractors taking full responsibility, and contract management issues. Clients should recognize the actual balance of power in the relationship with their (main) contractors, and take appropriate measures.