Influence from the business environment on environmental purchasing — Drivers and hinders of purchasing green transportation services

Awareness of the business environment in which a company operates is important for its success in purchasing. Consideration to the natural environment is increasingly important for long-term success of purchasing. A mail survey is used to investigate the character of different factors that can influence the environmental purchasing of transportation services. Factor analysis suggests that the factors can, to a large extent, be grouped according to actors involved. The largest factors regard the internal management, image, resources of the firm, customer demands, carriers and governmental means of control. Most factors work as drivers. Some differences have been identified when comparing the surrounding environment of the environmental purchasing of transportation services and the surrounding environment commonly described in the more general purchasing and environmental management literature. The uniqueness of this study can be found in the large number of contingency factors considered, the focus on purchase of transportation services, as well as in the Swedish context in which the study has been conducted.