Title: Sustainable procurement strategies and improved competitive advantage: a qualitative study on MNCs

Authors: Sheetal; Ashok Kumar Upadhyay; Mohd Imran Khan

Addresses: Indian Institute of Management, Shillong, India ' Mittal School of Business, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India ' Mittal School of Business, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide qualitative evidence concentrated on sustainable procurement strategies and their impact on the financial and non-financial performance of businesses. The study used an inductive case study method in which the in-depth interview was used as an approach and key aspects of the sustainable procurement phenomenon were mapped out from the perspective of supply chain managers of seven MNCs operating in India. This study analyses sustainable procurement strategies which show the potential to enhance business performance in terms of profitability and competitive advantage in comparison to traditional procurement strategies and complements them. On a few discussion points, both manufacturing and service companies had the same point of view but the points like triple bottom line (TBL), both domains shared varied observations like most of the interviewees described economic and environmental elements as the main agendas under TBL. The social aspect is largely overlooked in procurement strategies.

Keywords: sustainable procurement; traditional procurement; strategies; triple bottom line; TBL; circular economy; green process innovation; GPI; competitiveness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2026.152080

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2026 Vol.39 No.2, pp.180 - 199

Received: 30 Mar 2022
Accepted: 23 Oct 2022
Published online: 06 Mar 2026 *

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