Understanding collaboration between stakeholders in sustainable public procurement

Purpose Sustainable public procurement (SPP) uses governments’ purchasing power to incorporate sustainability into commercial relationships between public buyers and suppliers. Collaboration between stakeholders can contribute to SPP implementation, but there is still limited research helping understand when to collaborate in SPP. This paper aims to provide depth on collaboration between stakeholders in SPP. Design/methodology/approach This paper discusses who collaborates with whom (collaboration channels), how to collaborate (mechanisms), why and why not collaborate (benefits and drawbacks), and who can facilitate collaboration in SPP. This research is based on semi-structured interviews with SPP practitioners from different contexts. Grounded Theory was used to support the research design, including data collection and analysis. Findings This paper offers a systemic approach interconnecting collaboration channels, mechanisms, benefits, drawbacks, and facilitators. This systematisation sheds light on decision-making processes towards collaborative initiatives, considering different contexts. The implementation of collaborative SPP initiatives may be determined by individual commitment and organisational capacity to navigate the legal and bureaucratic pathways to SPP. Practical implications This research offers a practical tool for planning, assessing, and improving collaborative SPP initiatives. Practitioners can use the 27 benefits to build the case for collaboration; the 10 drawbacks to mitigate risks; the 15 mechanisms to develop interaction formats for each procurement phase; and the stakeholder classification to engage potential collaborators. Originality/value This paper provides a more complete understanding of collaboration in SPP. The paper offers a categorisation of SPP stakeholders and a framework that contributes to decisions on collaborating, which require balancing benefits and drawbacks. Collaboration can break the public procurement walls, but it is not a silver bullet for addressing the complexity of SPP.