Table 5 Data coding and illustrative... | Emerald Publishing

Table 5

Data coding and illustrative quotations

Overarching dimension	Second-order themes	First-order categories	Type of tensions	Illustrative quotes from interviews
Overarching dimension	Second-order themes	Identified tensions	Type of tensions	Illustrative quotes from interviews
KPST1 – Cost-related tensions (entangled with supplier, company and buyer cost tensions)	Inter-organisational tensions	Supplier cost tension	Tension between supplier cost and the willingness of procurement to pay a premium for sustainability	R21, Procurement Director, Business Area Procurement: “To achieve our 50% emission target, we must address the issue of green steel. And this comes at a substantial cost premium. So, solving the green steel supply and cost issue is key to solving the entire problem.”
	Inter-organisational tensions	Supplier cost tension		R12, Procurement Director, Business Area Procurement: “How much are we willing to pay for a sustainable supply chain, and that is a very difficult question to answer …. but at the same time, we still have a business to run.”
	Intra-organisational tensions	Company cost tension	Tension between business metrics and procurement sustainability goals	R21, Procurement Director, Business Area Procurement: “ And if the business is making decisions around sustainability and it is a cost issue, then they are likely to choose the least costly option.”
				R2, Head of Procurement, Business Area Procurement: “The price should be 80% and sustainability accounts for 20%. We cannot govern in that way and then we have to put almost 100% environment or climate, and it can cost just about anything, and it doesn't work”
				R20, Head of Sustainability, Group Sustainability: “Procurement needs to show how it becomes profitable and better over the life cycle. They need to point to the business value of doing so. I think you find more conflicts than there really are.”
		Buyer cost tension	Tension between the individual buyer cost targets and procurement sustainability goals	R22, Procurement Project Manager, Business Area Procurement: “I believe that for most people, sustainability is seen as an added cost or responsibility on top of their existing workload. They view sustainability as a burden rather than an opportunity. I think this view is mainly due to a lack of knowledge.”
		Buyer cost tension		R20, Head of Sustainability, Group Sustainability: “The procurement organisation is governed by other parameters, so therefore you have no experience and find it difficult, you don't really know how to break it down and calculate the cost over a longer period of time.”
KPST2 – Supplier market tensions (entangled with supplier scarcity, customer attractiveness and sustainability ownership tensions)	Inter-organisational tensions	Supplier scarcity tensions	Tension between procurement sustainability demands and the ability of suppliers to deliver these	R10, Head of Procurement, Business Area Procurement: “The market is simply not there. Of course, you have the big, big players who have sort of a carbon neutral supply, but these are the top maybe 100 suppliers. And then we still have another 19,000 suppliers that are really not there.”
	Inter-organisational tensions	Supplier scarcity tensions		R17, Head of Procurement, Business Area Procurement: “Huge scarcity in the market. We only have a limited number of ships available and they are sailing all over the world. We are struggling to get capacity at the moment for all of our different scopes.”
		Customer attractiveness tensions	Tension between procurement and suppliers to be the customer of choice	R22, Procurement Project Manager, Business Area Procurement: “We are in a market where it is really difficult to find good suppliers, so we need to make sure that we are the customer of choice and not make it more difficult or costly to work with us. So, that is always a bit of tension.”
	Intra-organisational tensions	Sustainability ownership tensions	Tension between sustainability ownership and procurement sustainability goals	R1, Head of Sustainability, Business Area Sustainability: “The sustainability functions are there as a support, but it is in the line where the ownership is. Getting them to understand that this is not my goal, but theirs. If we do not get that, we will never be able to release enough resources to drive the change.”
KPST3 – People and functional tensions (entangled with skills, mindset and functional tensions)	Intra-organisational tensions	Skills and mindset tensions	Tension between buyer capabilities and sustainability knowledge due to change of mindset and skills	R9, Sustainability Director, Group Sustainability: “They are very skilled engineers, absolutely, but they really like rules and structures. They want to be told what to do and they see things as very black and white.”
				R22, Procurement Project Manager, Business Area Procurement: “They view sustainability as a burden rather than an opportunity. I think this view is mainly due to a lack of knowledge.”
				R16, Procurement Development Manager, Group Procurement: “Buyers and category managers will see that their profile is going to change. So instead of having people who focus on savings and are masters of negotiations, all of a sudden they become protectors of human rights and climate activists, and that is not always easy for a buyer to do.”
		Functional tensions	Tension between procurement, business and sustainability functions due to procurement new role and ambiguity	R10, Head of Procurement, Business Area Procurement: “It is tough discussions. I think procurement is a little in the middle there between sustainability and the business, you could say maybe more as a facilitator. I think everyone has their own interest and it is not always easy to align.”
				R5, Procurement Category Manager, Business Area Procurement: “I hear procurement directors say, but the business needs to call for sustainability and ask us to look into it, but are procurement just a tender machine, or actually run category management … much responsibility lays on procurement?”
				R1, Head of Sustainability, Business Area Sustainability: “We have a lot of scope 3 emissions, and it ends up on X, who is the buyer. But it is not X who decides what, the business must understand how they can make another order for the buyer”

Overarching dimension	Second-order themes	First-order categories	Type of tensions	Illustrative quotes from interviews
Overarching dimension	Second-order themes	Identified tensions	Type of tensions	Illustrative quotes from interviews
KPST1 – Cost-related tensions (entangled with supplier, company and buyer cost tensions)	Inter-organisational tensions	Supplier cost tension	Tension between supplier cost and the willingness of procurement to pay a premium for sustainability	R21, Procurement Director, Business Area Procurement: “To achieve our 50% emission target, we must address the issue of green steel. And this comes at a substantial cost premium. So, solving the green steel supply and cost issue is key to solving the entire problem.”
	Inter-organisational tensions	Supplier cost tension		R12, Procurement Director, Business Area Procurement: “How much are we willing to pay for a sustainable supply chain, and that is a very difficult question to answer …. but at the same time, we still have a business to run.”
	Intra-organisational tensions	Company cost tension	Tension between business metrics and procurement sustainability goals	R21, Procurement Director, Business Area Procurement: “ And if the business is making decisions around sustainability and it is a cost issue, then they are likely to choose the least costly option.”
				R2, Head of Procurement, Business Area Procurement: “The price should be 80% and sustainability accounts for 20%. We cannot govern in that way and then we have to put almost 100% environment or climate, and it can cost just about anything, and it doesn't work”
				R20, Head of Sustainability, Group Sustainability: “Procurement needs to show how it becomes profitable and better over the life cycle. They need to point to the business value of doing so. I think you find more conflicts than there really are.”
		Buyer cost tension	Tension between the individual buyer cost targets and procurement sustainability goals	R22, Procurement Project Manager, Business Area Procurement: “I believe that for most people, sustainability is seen as an added cost or responsibility on top of their existing workload. They view sustainability as a burden rather than an opportunity. I think this view is mainly due to a lack of knowledge.”
		Buyer cost tension		R20, Head of Sustainability, Group Sustainability: “The procurement organisation is governed by other parameters, so therefore you have no experience and find it difficult, you don't really know how to break it down and calculate the cost over a longer period of time.”
KPST2 – Supplier market tensions (entangled with supplier scarcity, customer attractiveness and sustainability ownership tensions)	Inter-organisational tensions	Supplier scarcity tensions	Tension between procurement sustainability demands and the ability of suppliers to deliver these	R10, Head of Procurement, Business Area Procurement: “The market is simply not there. Of course, you have the big, big players who have sort of a carbon neutral supply, but these are the top maybe 100 suppliers. And then we still have another 19,000 suppliers that are really not there.”
	Inter-organisational tensions	Supplier scarcity tensions		R17, Head of Procurement, Business Area Procurement: “Huge scarcity in the market. We only have a limited number of ships available and they are sailing all over the world. We are struggling to get capacity at the moment for all of our different scopes.”
		Customer attractiveness tensions	Tension between procurement and suppliers to be the customer of choice	R22, Procurement Project Manager, Business Area Procurement: “We are in a market where it is really difficult to find good suppliers, so we need to make sure that we are the customer of choice and not make it more difficult or costly to work with us. So, that is always a bit of tension.”
	Intra-organisational tensions	Sustainability ownership tensions	Tension between sustainability ownership and procurement sustainability goals	R1, Head of Sustainability, Business Area Sustainability: “The sustainability functions are there as a support, but it is in the line where the ownership is. Getting them to understand that this is not my goal, but theirs. If we do not get that, we will never be able to release enough resources to drive the change.”
KPST3 – People and functional tensions (entangled with skills, mindset and functional tensions)	Intra-organisational tensions	Skills and mindset tensions	Tension between buyer capabilities and sustainability knowledge due to change of mindset and skills	R9, Sustainability Director, Group Sustainability: “They are very skilled engineers, absolutely, but they really like rules and structures. They want to be told what to do and they see things as very black and white.”
				R22, Procurement Project Manager, Business Area Procurement: “They view sustainability as a burden rather than an opportunity. I think this view is mainly due to a lack of knowledge.”
				R16, Procurement Development Manager, Group Procurement: “Buyers and category managers will see that their profile is going to change. So instead of having people who focus on savings and are masters of negotiations, all of a sudden they become protectors of human rights and climate activists, and that is not always easy for a buyer to do.”
		Functional tensions	Tension between procurement, business and sustainability functions due to procurement new role and ambiguity	R10, Head of Procurement, Business Area Procurement: “It is tough discussions. I think procurement is a little in the middle there between sustainability and the business, you could say maybe more as a facilitator. I think everyone has their own interest and it is not always easy to align.”
				R5, Procurement Category Manager, Business Area Procurement: “I hear procurement directors say, but the business needs to call for sustainability and ask us to look into it, but are procurement just a tender machine, or actually run category management … much responsibility lays on procurement?”
				R1, Head of Sustainability, Business Area Sustainability: “We have a lot of scope 3 emissions, and it ends up on X, who is the buyer. But it is not X who decides what, the business must understand how they can make another order for the buyer”

Source(s): Authors' work