Two independent coders were used to review the
articles, and classify them using a q-sort procedure, shown in
Table A3. These articles were all reviewed and coded for subject
matter. The subject matter classifications included a full range of
purchasing-related activities, from green purchasing, to environmental
supplier selection and supplier involvement in product
design. This analysis process revealed that 122 of the 279 articles
mentioned ‘‘supplier’’ or related terms in only a peripheral way,
but did not actually pertain to supplier related issues beyond a
mention. The classification resulting from this analysis is included
in Table 1 in the paper.