Vol. 12 No. 3 (2026)
September 2026

Articles

Green public procurement as a research field in period 2005-2025

Published 2026-09-30

  • Marina Stojanov
    • ,
  • Blaženka Knežević

Marina Stojanov
University of Zagreb

Blaženka Knežević
University of Zagreb

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the article is to identify the scope and development of green public procurement as a research field over the last two decades. The article aims to provide a conceptual structure of literature in the field through identifying elaboration of research sub-areas and key words occurring in published papers on the topic of green procurement. In addition, based on the findings, article aims to suggest certain future directions of research.

Research Design & Methods: Methods of bibliometric literature and co-occurrence network were applied to identify the most important topics and trends in green public procurement and discuss directions for further research in the field. In addition, primary pilot research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with public procurement managers to complement the theoretical part of the research and to emphasise areas of green public procurement which are important from the practical point of view.

Findings: Results of the bibliometric analysis show that scientific interest for the field of green public procurement is significantly growing over the past twenty years. Based on the bibliometric analysis, the main six topics occurring within the green public procurement field are: (1) sustainability, (2) public procurement policies and process, (3) life cycle, (4) supply chain management and decision making, (5) cost analysis and (6) supplier selection. While the pilot research reveals significant scope to add more specific topics into the future research in the field.

Implications & Recommendations: The literature review together with described bibliometric analysis results can serve as a reference for understanding how the field of green public procurement literature has recently evolved. Elaborated co-occurrence network of keywords indicates research gaps in the field. Based on that, we offer suggestions and recommendations for future research directions based on which academics in the field can develop and design their future research projects in the field of green public procurement. Moreover, based on practical insights into managers’ opinions from the pilot research, academics can develop new questions for more complex quantitative research in the field.

Contribution & Value Added: This article addresses some limitations of previous bibliometric studies by broadening the period of research and by using a different bibliographic database as the data source: Scopus instead of Web of Science. Moreover, the article adds new practical knowledge based on the conducted pilot research on the sample of public procurement managers, which was suggested to be done in several previously published papers based only on bibliometric method. Both methods enabled recognition of new research gaps which can be investigated in future research in green public procurement field.

Keywords

green public procurement, bibliometric analysis, co-occurrence, interview, public procurement managers

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Author Biography

Marina Stojanov

Chief Executive Officer at Kemoboja-Dubrava Ltd., Croatia, and PhD candidate at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Croatia. Her research interests include public procurement and trade.

Blaženka Knežević

Full Professor at the Department of Trade and International Business at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Her research interests include retail information systems, e-commerce, sustainability in distributive trade, procurement and supply management.

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