Motivating green public procurement in China: an individual level perspective

Green public procurement (GPP) practices have been recognized as an effective policy tool for sustainable production and consumption. However, GPP practices adoption, especially in developing countries, is still an issue. Seeking to help understand these adoption issues, we develop a conceptual model which hypothesizes moderation effects of GPP knowledge on the relationships between GPP drivers and practices. Using primary data collected from 193 Chinese government officials, we find that regulations, rewards & incentive gains, and stakeholders exert pressure to motivate adoption of GPP practices. Knowledge of GPP regulations, responsibilities and experiences in developed countries is found to be limited. The study also found that voluntary regulations may actually be demotivating GPP practices. This study contributes to further theoretical and practical understanding of GPP practices. The findings can be helpful for policy makers, especially those in developing countries, to establish promotion and diffusion mechanisms for GPP practices as an important sustainable development tool.