| Environmental purchasing is defined as the procurement of reusable and recyclable materials, involvement in the simultaneous of less engineering environmentally damaging products, and other purchasing activities that result in resource reduction, reuse, or recycling. A review of the literature shows that environmental purchasing is relative and important to both domestic and international firms; however, the majority of the research to date has several critical gaps, including a focus on only limited aspects of environmental purchasing and the omission of a theoretical framework. In addition, most studies lack empirical support, particularly when comparing domestic and international environmental purchasing activities.;The sampling frames consist of American and German purchasing managers. A survey methodology is used to gather the data, and structural equation modeling is used to test the model. The statistical analyses reveal that downstream channel members are the key interorganizational drivers of environmental purchasing activities, rather than government regulation. The results also show that a lack of coordination with suppliers of environmentally friendly materials can act as a critical constraint. Finally, a comparison of the German and American sampling frames confirms that German firms are significantly more involved in environmental purchasing activities than are their American counterparts.;The findings suggest that companies should not focus entirely on lobbying efforts to develop new regulations and standards. Instead, firms should also focus attention towards retailers and consumers, and should increase coordination within the firm, between purchasing on the inbound side and marketing on the outbound side.;Lastly, the hypothesis testing provides empirical evidence for some of the earlier propositions put forth in the marketing and management literature. Vertical coordination between buyers and suppliers is shown to positively impact the adoption of new processes and activities. In turn, the dependence of a firm on a resource is shown to be positively related to the establishment of interorganizational linkages.;A nomological network is developed which shows how the interorganizational environment both drives and constrains environmental purchasing activities. The model is grounded in the political economy framework, and integrates literature from the diffusion of technology paradigm and the resource dependence perspective to develop the research hypotheses. |
