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PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS IN THE ROAD TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM PUBLIC SECTOR PROCUREMENT
Author(s) -
PREUSS LUTZ,
WALKER HELEN
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01893.x
Subject(s) - procurement , business , adaptation (eye) , process (computing) , conceptual framework , process management , sustainable development , comprehension , conceptual model , government (linguistics) , knowledge management , public sector , public relations , marketing , political science , sociology , psychology , computer science , social science , linguistics , philosophy , database , neuroscience , law , programming language , operating system
This article provides a conceptual framework for understanding key psychological barriers to implementing sustainable development in procurement process by local government and health care authorities. This task is an important one as a comprehension of psychological barriers is a prerequisite for understanding how individuals engage with the often more visible technical, budgetary or regulatory barriers in sustainable procurement. The article highlights how progress towards sustainable procurement is hampered by a combination of (1) individual factors; (2) organizational factors; (3) small group adaptation processes; (4) adaptation processes within the organization; and (5) external adaptation processes between organizations. The framework thus contributes to filling the conceptual space between human agent and organizational structure by pointing to the importance of cognitive filters and ideational resources that interact at various levels within an organization and in the complex network of formal or informal partners that surround it.