Management Readiness for Green Innovation and Entrepreneurial Success: The Role of Green Supply Chain Integration, Green Knowledge Management, and Corporate Environmental Ethics
Aug 2026· Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management· 0 citations· 28 references
Abstract
With the acceleration of the Chinese shift to sustainable development, companies are highly demanded to change the managerial preparedness to environmental innovation into quantifiable green entrepreneurial results. This paper investigates the effects of management readiness for green innovation (MRGI) on the success of green entrepreneurship based on green knowledge management (GKM) and green supply chain integration (GSCI), and evaluates the mediating nature of corporate environmental ethics (CEE). Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire from middle‐ and senior‐level managers in manufacturing and high‐technology companies in the environmentally sensitive industries across key industrial areas in China. Of the 1200 questionnaires distributed, 378 valid responses were retained for analysis using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) in Smart‐PLS. The results indicate that the MRGI is a significant contributor to the GKM, GSCI, and green entrepreneurial success. GKM and GSCI partially mediate the relationship between MRGI and green entrepreneurship success, with GSCI demonstrating a stronger mediating effect. CEE enhances the impact of GSCI on green entrepreneurial success. Theoretically, the research expands green entrepreneurship literature by conceptualizing management readiness as a higher‐order strategic capability. In practice, it emphasizes how companies should enhance preparedness, knowledge bases, supply‐chain partnerships, and moral environmental investment to achieve green entrepreneurial success. The novelty of the research lies in integrating readiness, knowledge, supply‐chain, and ethical mechanisms into a single framework within the Chinese industrial setting.
PURPOSE: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies face increasing pressure to improve Environmental Management Performance (EMP) under severe resource constraints. Within the green economy paradigm, green dynamic capabilities (GDCs), a firm’s ability to sense environmental opportunities, seize green markets, and reconfigure processes, are important organizational capabilities associated with improving environmental outcomes. Although green technologies (GT) are widely promoted as a solution, adoption alone may be insufficient. This study examines the association between GT and EMP in SMEs by investigating the mediating role of GDCs and the moderating role of green innovation (GI), drawing on green resource orchestration (GRO) and dynamic capabilities view. METHODOLOGY: A quantitative, cross-sectional design using survey data from 266 Green SMEs in Addis Ababa was employed. Data from owner-managers were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). FINDINGS: The total GT–EMP association (estimated from a model without the mediator GDCs) was β = 0.280 (p < 0.001). GDCs show a statistically significant but substantively modest complementary role in the GT–EMP relationship, with an indirect effect through GDCs of β = 0.030 (95% CI [0.008, 0.062]). GI negatively moderates the GDCs–EMP relationship (β = -0.186, p = 0.002) in the main model. However, this effect is not robust to the inclusion of firm-level controls.The cross-sectional design precludes causal claims. IMPLICATIONS: The study contributes to the GRO and GDCs literature by providing findings consistent with a GRO interpretation, suggesting that EMP is associated with managerial coordination beyond mere resource possession. For practitioners and policymakers, the findings highlight the importance of balancing technology adoption and innovation with internal capability development. ORIGINALITY & VALUE: This research provides novel empirical evidence from an underexplored African emerging economy and demonstrates a negative moderating role for GI in the sustainability capability nexus.
Leul Girma Haylemariam· Journal of Entrepreneurship,...· 0 citations
Green supply chain management (GSCM) has become a strategic requirement for industrial firms seeking to reduce environmental harm while improving long-term sustainability performance. Despite growing interest in green procurement, eco-design, green manufacturing, and green distribution, limited empirical evidence explains how these practices are converted into sustainability performance through collaborative environmental action in the Sultanate of Oman. Guided by the Natural Resource-Based View, this study examines the effects of four GSCM practices on environmental collaboration and investigates the mediating role of environmental collaboration in the relationship between GSCM practices and sustainability performance. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain professionals working in Omani industries. From 520 questionnaires distributed, 342 valid responses were retained for analysis. The data were analyzed using Smart PLS 4.0 and partial least squares structural equation modelling. The measurement model demonstrated acceptable reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The structural results show that eco-design, green procurement, green manufacturing, and green distribution have significant positive effects on environmental collaboration. Environmental collaboration, in turn, has a strong positive effect on sustainability performance. The indirect effects also support the mediation of the relationships between the GSCM practices and the sustainability performance, confirming the mediation chain. The results indicated that green practices are not enough; they have to be integrated with the collaboration of suppliers, customers, logistics and other functions within the company to make green practices produce results in terms of performance. The study adds to GSCM and sustainability literature by providing a relational mechanism that determines the contribution of green practices to the industrial sustainability of the Oman context.
Shahzad Ahmad Khan, D. Muniyanayaka, Khalifa Al Adabi et al.· Journal of Intelligent Decis...· 0 citations
The increasing role of sustainability and digitalization in the Chinese manufacturing industry signifies the necessity to learn how the new technologies can facilitate the positive results of environmentally responsible performance. This paper analyzes the associations between AI Integration Capability and Digital Twin Traceability and Sustainable Business Performance, considering Circular Economy Implementation and Environmental Transparency as mediators and Regulatory Pressure as a moderator. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data on manufacturing firms in major industrial zones in China, with 334 valid responses. The data were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) using Smart‐PLS. The results show that the implementation of the circular economy is positively correlated with technological capabilities and green supply chain practices, which are in turn associated with increased environmental transparency and sustainable business performance. The findings also indicate that regulatory pressure reinforces the associations between AI‐, traceability‐, and sustainability‐related practices and the use of the circular economy, which emphasizes the role of external regulation in forming organizational responses to sustainability. The research is relevant to sustainability literature because it builds a theoretical framework that is largely based on the Dynamic Capabilities Theory, although some additional information is drawn on the Resource‐Based View and Institutional Theory to clarify the relationship between digitally enabled capabilities and sustainability performance. The results provide practical implications for managers and policymakers who aim to align digital innovation projects with the concepts of the circular economy and environmental transparency practices to achieve long‐term environmental and economic benefits. The paper also recognizes its limitations and provides future research directions on digitally enabled sustainability transitions.
Lixia Wu, P. Du, Jamshid Pardaev· Corporate Social Responsibil...· 0 citations
Growing pressures for environmental responsibility have intensified the need for manufacturing SMEs to pursue sustainability as a core strategic priority, especially as these firms often operate under severe resource constraints. In this context, firms increasingly adopt advanced digital technologies such as big data analytics–artificial intelligence to strengthen their environmental, social, and economic performance. Guided by the Resource‐Based View (RBV), this study contributes to the ongoing discussion on how digital technologies support sustainable development by proposing the mediating roles of green supply chain management and green innovation in the relationship between BDA–AI capability and sustainable performance. The study further examines whether organizational green culture enhances the ability of BDA–AI to foster green capabilities. Using survey data from 388 Chinese manufacturing SMEs and structural equation modeling through SmartPLS, the findings show that BDA–AI significantly improves GSCM, GI, and sustainable performance. Mediation results confirm that GSCM and GI act as essential mechanisms through which BDA–AI generates environmental and operational benefits. However, the moderating influence of OGC is uneven: it significantly strengthens the pathway from BDA–AI to GI, whereas its effect on the BDA–AI to GSCM relationship remains insignificant. These insights highlight that digital adoption alone is insufficient; sustainability gains emerge when technological investment is accompanied by strong green capabilities and supportive cultural values.
Qing Chong, T. Ramayah· Business Strategy and the En...· 0 citations
The growing necessity for sustainability has made environmental performance a vital concern for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), especially within the service industry. This research explores the impact of Fintech Innovation and Green Transformational Leadership on Corporate Environmental Performance (CEP), with Green Innovation acting as a mediator. A quantitative method was employed to gather data from 180 MSMEs in the service sector in Indonesia, which were then analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings suggest that Fintech Innovation greatly improves Green Innovation, yet has no direct impact on CEP. Green Transformational Leadership has a beneficial effect on both Green Innovation and Corporate Environmental Performance (CEP). Additionally, Green Innovation entirely mediates the connection between Fintech Innovation and CEP, while it partially mediates the relationship between Green Transformational Leadership and CEP. These results highlight the significance of combining digital resources with leadership-focused environmental dedication to promote sustainable methods. The research enhances Ecological Modernization Theory and the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) framework, providing actionable insights for MSMEs, policymakers, and Fintech providers to facilitate green transformation.
Fauzan Abdul Rizki, Raihan Putera Ramadhan, Idi Jahidi· 2026 11th International Conf...· 0 citations
This study investigates the influence of green entrepreneurial orientation on green radical innovation and environmental performance, with supply chain learning serving as a mediating variable. A quantitative research approach was employed using a structured questionnaire distributed to 265 employees across four 4-star hotels in Yogyakarta. Analysis was conducted using PLS-SEM. Results show green entrepreneurial orientation positively affects green radical innovation and supply chain learning but does not directly improve environmental performance. Supply chain learning is found to significantly enhance both green radical innovation and environmental performance and mediates the effect of green entrepreneurial orientation on both outcomes. The originality of this study lies in integrating dynamic capability theory and the knowledge-based view to explain the mechanisms through which green entrepreneurial orientation fosters learning and innovation in the hospitality supply chain. Findings contribute theoretically by clarifying the indirect pathways through which green entrepreneurial orientation generates environmental value. Practically, the study highlights that hotel managers should strengthen cross-supply chain learning processes, optimize environmental performance, and accelerate green innovation.
M. Fikri, S. Anggraini, A. Rahmatullah· Asian Management and Busines...· 0 citations
