Sustainable sourcing practices and entrepreneurial intentions: the moderating role of innovation culture of the collaboration’s inter-organizational team

This specific study investigates the role of sustainable sourcing practices on entrepreneurial intentions and tests the moderating role of innovation culture within collaborative inter-organizational teams. From the literature, previous studies have largely emphasized the performance outcomes of sustainable procurement with limited attention to entrepreneurial implications and the role of innovation culture. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were collected from heads of procurement management units and procurement officers selected through convenience sampling between December 2025 and March 2026. The study distributed a total of 250 questionnaires through WhatsApp and Google Forms and yielded 210 usable responses, representing an 84% response rate. The sample calculation used Soper’s SEM sample size calculator, which recommended 119 responses, with the achieved 210 exceeding the recommended size. Collected data were analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling and moderation regression analysis (presented in table 8). Sustainable sourcing practices have a positive and statistically significant effect on entrepreneurial intentions. Innovation culture also has a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, the interaction effect is significantly positive, showing that innovation culture can strengthen the link between sustainable sourcing practices and entrepreneurial intentions. The study is limited by its cross-sectional design, which restricts causal inference, and by the use of convenience sampling, which may affect the generalizability of the findings. In addition, data were collected from public procurement practitioners within a specific developing-country context, which may limit wider contextual application. Future research may adopt longitudinal designs, probability sampling techniques, and comparative studies across sectors or countries to extend the robustness and applicability of the findings. Public organizations are called to integrate sustainability criteria into sourcing decisions while fostering collaborative environments that encourage learning, creativity, and experimentation to ignite sustainability-driven entrepreneurship. By promoting sustainable sourcing practices and innovation culture within collaborative inter-organizational teams, public organizations can contribute to broader social value creation. The study provides new evidence from collaborative inter-organizational procurement settings in a developing-country context.