ABSTRACT Using the natural resource‐based view and a multimethod approach, this study examined how public sector organizations can leverage green knowledge and commitment to achieve superior procurement sustainability. The model was validated using survey data from 137 officials' public entities in Ghana. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) were employed to analyze the data. The findings show that, whereas green knowledge and green commitment directly enhance the social and environmental aspects of procurement sustainability, green commitment is not a significant predictor of economic sustainability of procurement in the public sector. Nonetheless, green commitment was found to be a mechanism through which green knowledge promotes social sustainability but not economic and environmental sustainability. The NCA results further reveal that green knowledge and green commitment are must‐have (necessary) conditions for procurement sustainability (social and environmental). This study forms a wake‐up call for governments in developing economies to consider developing tiered implementation strategies that account for the differential requirements for procurement sustainability. This study is among the first attempts to offer empirical evidence (via PLS–SEM and NCA) of nice‐to‐have and must‐have green resources for driving sustainability in public procurement. It also highlights green commitment as a mechanism by which green knowledge enhances social procurement sustainability in the public sector in emerging economies.
Tetteh et al. (Thu,) studied this question.