Sustainable procurement in a pandemic: A case study in pragmatic research

As organisations and Governments seek to tackle environmental, social, and economic issues, the role of the Procurement function has never been more important for driving sustainability throughout supply chains. In the UK’s largest employee-owned organisation, sustainable procurement had not been a priority leaving both opportunity and risk unaddressed. Existing behaviours of Procurement professionals in the organisation did not consider sustainable procurement a priority as they balanced competing demands for commercial and operational deliverables. Through this research, I sought to influence sustainable procurement attitudes and behaviours to create improved outcomes. This research used a blended model of appreciative inquiry and action research to explore pragmatic change. Pragmatism provided the research paradigm, and a decision-making approach that resulted in an exploration of the implications of pragmatism for organisational change. This thesis articulates how the research was tested by factors outside of its control, and how pragmatism enabled progress despite the many and significant challenges faced.