Abstract
Green purchasing is environmentally-conscious purchasing practice that takes into consideration reduction or elimination of hazardous materials, recycling, reuse, and resource reduction during purchasing process. Despite the significant role that green purchasing can play in improving environmental performance of firms, little is known about the drivers that motivate firms to adopt green purchasing, especially in Malaysia. This paper examines the effect of four drivers; regulations, customer pressures, social responsibility, and expected business benefits on green purchasing in the Malaysian manufacturing sector. The empirical findings suggest that green purchasing is affected by regulations, customer pressures, and expected business benefits. The results also suggest that, although Malaysian firms show high level of social responsibility, this level does not constitute genuine driver for these firms to adopt green purchasing. The results provide insight into why Malaysian firms adopt green purchasing activities. They also provide managers and policy makers with a list of drivers that can be used as directions for setting appropriate policies that encourage firms to adopt green purchasing initiatives.