Implementing public procurement of green innovations: Does structural alignment matter?

Abstract

This study contributes to the theory and practice of public procurement by examining the role of structural alignment in the implementation of public procurement of green innovations. Structural alignment is defined as the coherence and harmonization between strategic aspects of an organization. The organizational aspects examined in this study are strategic goals, structural and control mechanism, and adequacy of resources. The study draws on secondary survey data collected from 379 public-sector organizations in Norway. The analysis was conducted using a novel approach that combines partial least squares structural equation modeling and necessary condition analysis. There is a positive and significant relationship between strategic goals and structural and control mechanism; between structural and control mechanism and adequacy of resources; and between the adequacy of resources and the attainment of public procurement of green innovations. The findings support the structural alignment hypothesis in that the presence of strategic goals results in the implementation of the public procurement of green innovations if structure, control, and adequate resources are in place. Finally, the results show that strategic goals are a necessary condition for enacting a corresponding structural and control design and that structural and control design are a necessary condition for allocating resources, which are themselves a necessary condition for the increased implementation of the public procurement of green innovations.