FIRM PERFORMANCE THROUGH SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN POWER SECTOR OF PAKISTAN: ROLE OF MANAGEMENT SUPPORT AND REGULATORY POLICIES

Abstract

As society learns to recognize the critical requirement for sustainability in current days, it is compelled to encourage responsible behaviors which achieve a balance between social equity, environmental protection, and economic competitiveness. There are numerous factors that hinder the implementation of Sustainable Practices in developing nations. Although the research on sustainable procurement acknowledges multiple factors i.e., Management Support and Regulatory Policies/guidelines as relevant, little consideration has been given to how they affect the intensity of sustainable procurement. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the role of management support in sustainable procurement and firm performance. This study is also aimed at investigating the moderating role of regulatory bodies on the relationship between management support and sustainable procurement. Data was collected from the power sector of Pakistan, specifically the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC). About 300 employees were approached through a questionnaire, however, 234 responses were collected successfully. Data was analyzed by using SPSS & SmartPLS 4.0. It was found that management support has a positive impact on the implementation of Sustainable public procurement (SPP) practices and ultimately improving the firm’s economic, environmental and social performance. However, this study found that because of absence of substantial regulatory policies regarding SPP in Pakistan, there is no significant moderation impact of regulatory policies on implementation of SPP in Power Sector. This study adds value to the knowledge on sustainable public procurement practices implementation in Pakistan power sector by highlighting the role of management support and regulatory policies. Keywords – Sustainable Procurement, Management Support, Firm Performance, Regulatory policies, Pakistan Power Sector, Pakistan Public Procurement