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The objectives of the study were to comprehend the influence of regulatory compliance on the adoption of sustainable procurement practices by organisations, whilst examining whether decision makers in supply chains have the capacity to balance compliance and the interests of various stakeholders in supply chain management decision making processes. This research submits that supply chains play a significant role in ensuring that the contribution towards sustainability goals is enhanced, using the lens of stakeholder theory, institutional theory and the PESTEL framework. The approach adopted for the present research involved descriptive statistics and hypotheses tests that were utilised to quantitatively investigate primary research data that was collected using a survey involving 247 supply chain and sustainability practitioners within the public and the private sector. It was observed that practitioners are able to incorporate and translate stakeholder considerations into compliant requirements. Finally, the results demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between regulatory compliance and sustainability, highlighting the contribution of supply chain compliance towards driving sustainable development. The implications for academicians, researchers and practitioners were identified, in which new approaches to existing concepts were established. This research contributes to contemporary knowledge on sustainable procurement and supply chain management. Additionally, the empirical findings concluded that regulatory compliance has a direct influence on the acceptance of sustainable procurement by organisations particularly through internal policies that are tailored to emulate the business environment and culture. Corresponding author: Tinashe Chuchu Email addresses for corresponding author: tinashechuchu4@gmail.com First submission received: 3rd May 2017 Revised submission received: 12th July 2017 Accepted: 10th August 2017 Introduction Sustainability has evolved into a business mega-trend that influences the expectations placed on business culture and governance in various fundamental ways, thus imploring a new type of leadership within organizations (Tideman, Arts & Zandee, 2013). It is therefore incumbent on the private and the public spheres to serve as enablers for business in order to increase the influence of sustainable development through responsible leaders and responsible business globally (Tavishvili, 2015). The private and the public sector have a role to play in adopting responsible sourcing and engaging in sustainable procurement approaches. Griggs (2013) suggests that a shift in the economic landscape is imperative in order to achieve sustainable and significant impact for societies. Stank and Autry (2011) postulate that the supply chain arena is a key business function and an imperative driver for financial performance as the function has direct cost implications on the bottom line and improved customer service. For Mashele (2016), the benefit that is sought in the long run across the board revolves around advancing considerations that have a long-term impact on the social, environmental and economic facets of the society. Sustainability, therefore, carries an opportunity for business to adopt strategies that will align their contribution with the global sustainable development goals that are set by the United Nations (Wiggins, 2015). Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 12 Issue 2 January 2018 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 122 Problem Statement Pagell and Shevchenko (2014) assert that sustainability in supply chains is a topical research area that has moved from the periphery to mainstream research in the past two decades. Furthermore, research suggests that while much progress has been done to address social and environmental issues, the question of how to create truly sustainable supply chains remains unanswered (Metcalf & Benn, 2013; Cuthbertson, 2011; Meehan & Bryde, 2011). It is purported that there are various facets that encompass societal concerns that affect sustainability strategies which are influenced by factors external to the organisation (Touboulic, Chicksand, & Walker, 2014). To that end, power dynamics of various stakeholders come into play in shaping the organisation’s response to societal issues that emanate from stakeholder pressure. For this reason, this research study set out to investigate the influence of stakeholder pressure that emanates from the regulatory environment for procurement and supply chain management in South Africa and the associated impact on achieving sustainable development objectives. This paper is therefore presented as follows: The first section outlines the theoretical grounding for the research study constructs, followed by the development of the conceptual framework. The research design methodology, results and findings are provided in the subsequent section. Lastly, the conclusion and the recommendations of the study are presented. Literature review Creswell (2014) posited that literature serves as a roadmap for ongoing dialogue around an area of research while assessing and results of prior studies. Furthermore, literature acts as a conduit to introduce hypothesized relationships in a particular research study. This section explores the theoretical adopted for the present study. Stakeholder Theory Freeman (2011) argued that stakeholder theory revolves around management of the different interest groups and their interconnectedness in the process of creating value for organisations. The role and responsibility of leaders towards their organisations and stakeholders was elevated by the global economic crisis (Doh& Quigley, 2014). Furthermore, Doh and Quigley (2014) explored the relationship between stakeholder theory and responsible leadership where they suggested that responsible leaders should leverage expertise and organisational intelligence in order to influence organisational outcomes. Similarly, Mashele (2016) advanced that responsible leaders are able to direct outcomes of the organisation through their interconnected networks and various interactions within the organisation. Despite this, stakeholders have diverse values and needs, and thus, due to limited resources, there will be a disposition to select the most suitable alternative which prioritises the interests of the organisation within a decision-making process (Pagell & Shevchenko, 2014). In view of this, Pagell and Shevchenko (2014) recommended that future research was required to explain how managers make responsible decisions in a complex and adaptive supply chain system. Meehan and Bryde (2011) highlighted that the role of supply chains in driving forward the corporate sustainability agenda is critical, given its position and its ability to influence the external environment through the procurement function. The concept of sustainability in business is often located within the context of corporate social responsibility which is concerned with the role of business and the inherent responsibility that business has towards diverse stakeholders. According to Christensen, Mackey and Whetten (2014) sustainability as a philosophy is centered on the extent of the influence of organisations. This influence is a collective effort that is shaped by actions of individuals that lead, support and drive sustainability strategy and initiatives that contribute to wider long-term benefits. It was therefore important in this research study to understand the influence of the individual behaviours relating to the adoption of sustainability within organisations particularly within a supply chain context. Consequently, prior research has shown that it is critical to understand the macroeconomic context which governs the landscape upon which sustainable practices are implemented (Ferri, Oelze, Habisch & Molteni, 2014; Yüksel, 2012; Meehan & Bryde, 2011). Carbone, Moatti and Wood (2012) highlighted the role of stakeholder pressures as a contributing and guiding factor in the adoption of sustainability practices within the organisations. Notwithstanding this, Hoejmose and Adrien-Kirby (2012) recommended that future research should aim to contextualise the influence of political and government Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 12 Issue 2 January 2018 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 123 factors that inform the regulatory universe of business and organisational policies. By the same token, Ferri, et al (2014) suggested that future research should aim to highlight the influence of local regulations on decision making processes relating to sustainable procurement. Institutional Theory Institutional theory suggests that business practices and organisational behaviour are influenced by institutional structures that are affected by political, social, economic and cultural forces (Nurunnabi, 2015). Equally, private organisations are renowned for operating in a domain and a context that is different from the public sector and thus would be generally be subject to differing regulatory requirements. Though this is the case, research suggests that the business decisions for advancing inclusive procurement conform to institutional structures that embody organisational values and appeal to various stakeholders (Theodorakopoulos, Ram, & Kakabadse, 2015).Vracheva and Mason (2015) argued that institutional theory aims to explain the inherent regulatory, social and cultural factors in various industries thatimpose inflexibility on how organisations strategically respond to external pressures.Consequently, organisations will be inclined to behave and act in a socially responsible manner within a context where regulatory compliance is enforceable (Vracheva & Mason, 2015). On the contrary, Yüksel (2012) suggested that macro-economic contexts may have a direct

An empirical investigation into the relationship between sustainability and supply chain compliance within the South African Public and the private sector