Stakeholder-Driven Tensions in Public Procurement Sustainability: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review in Ghana

This study identifies and categorizes procurement sustainability-induced tensions in Ghana’s public sector organization stakeholder context. Through the use of a three-stage systematic literature review methodology, 68 Scopus and Google Scholar articles were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis to build a more comprehensive taxonomy of sustainability tensions.

The findings point to six distinct forms of tensions: economic-environmental-social objective tradeoffs, compliance and regulatory pressures, stakeholder expectation conflicts, organizational capacity constraints, market and supplier relationship tensions, and governance issues. Research attention can be seen in the total procurement and construction sectors, where significant geographical gaps in developing country contexts exist. Analysis reveals how conflicting stakeholder priorities, availability constraints, and institutional constraints generate multi-dimensional implementation issues for sustainable procurement initiatives.

The study contributes the initial comprehensive taxonomy of procurement sustainability tensions, offering both practical and theoretical guidance to policymakers and procurement practitioners. These include integrated assessment instruments, enhanced stakeholder engagement procedures, harmonized regulatory systems, and targeted capacity-building initiatives. By pointing to areas of further research and presenting implementable strategies, this paper establishes a foundation for future studies and offers practical guidance on how to manage conflicting priorities in sustainable procurement.