Description

This study examined how public procurement law in supply chain can be transformed to drive sustainable economic, social and environmental impact in Kenya. The research addressed four key objectives: determining public procurement laws under supply chain in Kenya, assessing sustainability criteria adopted in procurement legislation, examining procurement professionals’ practices, and investigating the relationship between public procurement and sustainable economic growth. The study was grounded on five key theories: Competition Theory, Transaction Cost Economics, Social Exchange Theory, Institutional Theory, and Public Value Theory, which collectively provided a multidimensional lens for analyzing the transformation of public procurement law toward sustainable economic, social and environmental impact. The study employed a positivistic philosophy with a cross-sectional survey design, collecting data from 667 top management team members across 52 commercial state corporations in Kenya. The findings revealed that Kenya’s public procurement legal framework, while comprehensive, requires significant modernization to fully support sustainable development objectives. The study found strong awareness of procurement laws among professionals (mean score 4.31) and effective support for SME inclusion (mean score 4.00), though enforcement challenges persist. Sustainability criteria were found to be well-integrated into procurement legislation, with economic sustainability criteria scoring 4.20, social responsibility 4.05, and environmental considerations 4.15, although implementation effectiveness scored lower at 3.90. The research demonstrated that procurement professionals are actively integrating sustainability criteria into their practices (mean score 4.10), though limitations in training and capacity building were identified (mean score 3.65). The regression analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between public procurement and sustainable economic growth, with procurement laws having the most significant impact (coefficient 0.5069, p-value 0.0273), followed by procurement professionals’ practices (coefficient 0.4226) and sustainability criteria (coefficient 0.2956). The study recommends strengthening enforcement mechanisms, enhancing capacity building for procurement professionals, and developing more robust monitoring and evaluation systems for sustainable procurement practices. Policy recommendations include amending the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act to strengthen sustainability provisions and developing comprehensive guidelines for implementing sustainable procurement practices. The government should institutionalize the use of digital technologies across the entire procurement lifecycle to enhance transparency, efficiency, and accountability. Moreover, digitalization will enable procurement entities to make timely, data-driven decisions that align with national development goals, while enhancing accessibility for marginalized and remote suppliers. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of sustainable public procurement by highlighting the need to expand existing theoretical frameworks to better account for sustainability considerations. The study suggests that future research should focus on longitudinal studies evaluating the long-
term impact of sustainable procurement practices and investigating the role of technology in promoting sustainable procurement. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, procurement professionals, and researchers working to enhance the effectiveness of public procurement as a tool for sustainable development in Kenya.