IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v30y2021i8p4281-4296.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pursuing sustainable development through green entrepreneurship: An institutional perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Mengli Zhao
  • Jinxin Liu
  • Chengli Shu

Abstract

Pursuing sustainable development through green entrepreneurship has been advocated, conceptualized, and empirically examined in the recent environmental management and entrepreneurship literature. However, green entrepreneurs are embedded in institutional environments that may discourage them from embracing sustainable development because of the “paradox of embedded agency.” How can a firm overcome the liability of such an agency issue and escape what has become known as a “green prison”? This study proposes that, because international venturing exposes firms to foreign institutions, it provides them with opportunities for institutional learning. Thus, we examine how international venturing influences green entrepreneurship which, in turn, impacts firm performance. Specifically, based on institutional theory, this study develops a firm‐level green entrepreneurship framework with three dimensions: green initiatives (a firm's active adoption of green practices), received government green support (benefits that a firm gains from the government by adapting to governmental incentives, programs, and policies related to green practices), and green political influence (a firm's attempts to influence legislation that enacts laws, rules, and regulations related to green practices). The results obtained by analyzing 152 firms that engage in international venturing activities and 151 firms that do not show that international venturing is positively associated with green initiatives and government green support while these two factors further directly enhance firm performance and mediate the effects of international venturing on performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Mengli Zhao & Jinxin Liu & Chengli Shu, 2021. "Pursuing sustainable development through green entrepreneurship: An institutional perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 4281-4296, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:30:y:2021:i:8:p:4281-4296
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2869
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2869
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.2869?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sultan Sikandar Mirza & Tanveer Ahsan, 2020. "Corporates' strategic responses to economic policy uncertainty in China," Post-Print hal-02567142, HAL.
    2. Paul Lanoie, 2008. "When And Why Does It Pay To Be Green?," CIRANO Papers 2008n-02a, CIRANO.
    3. Gregory G. Dess & G. T. Lumpkin & J. G. Covin, 1997. "Entrepreneurial strategy making and firm performance: tests of contingency and configurational models," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(9), pages 677-695, October.
    4. John Antonakis & Samuel Bendahan & Philippe Jacquart & Rafael Lalive, 2010. "On making causal claims : A review and recommendations," Post-Print hal-02313119, HAL.
    5. Garry D. Bruton & David Ahlstrom & Han–Lin Li, 2010. "Institutional Theory and Entrepreneurship: Where Are We Now and Where Do We Need to Move in the Future?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(3), pages 421-440, May.
    6. David M. Townsend & Timothy A. Hart, 2008. "Perceived Institutional Ambiguity and the Choice of Organizational Form in Social Entrepreneurial Ventures," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(4), pages 685-700, July.
    7. Frank Martin Belz & Julia Katharina Binder, 2017. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Convergent Process Model," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Sultan Sikandar Mirza & Tanveer Ahsan, 2020. "Corporates' strategic responses to economic policy uncertainty in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 375-389, February.
    9. Yunyue Zhou & Chengli Shu & Wei Jiang & Shanxing Gao, 2019. "Green management, firm innovations, and environmental turbulence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 567-581, May.
    10. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    11. David Ahlstrom & Garry D. Bruton, 2010. "Rapid Institutional Shifts and the Co–evolution of Entrepreneurial Firms in Transition Economies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(3), pages 531-554, May.
    12. Christos Kalantaridis & Denise Fletcher, 2012. "Entrepreneurship and institutional change: A research agenda," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3-4), pages 199-214, April.
    13. George P. Huber, 1991. "Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 88-115, February.
    14. Die Hu & Lu Qiu & Maoyan She & Yu Wang, 2021. "Sustaining the sustainable development: How do firms turn government green subsidies into financial performance through green innovation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2271-2292, July.
    15. Justin Doran & Geraldine Ryan, 2016. "The Importance of the Diverse Drivers and Types of Environmental Innovation for Firm Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 102-119, February.
    16. Johanna Gast & Katherine Gundolf & Beate Cesinger, 2017. "Doing business in a green way: A systematic review of the ecological sustainability entrepreneurship literature and future research directions," Post-Print hal-02008555, HAL.
    17. Hall, Jeremy K. & Daneke, Gregory A. & Lenox, Michael J., 2010. "Sustainable development and entrepreneurship: Past contributions and future directions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 439-448, September.
    18. Pelin Demirel & Qian Cher Li & Francesco Rentocchini & J. Pawan Tamvada, 2019. "Born to be green: new insights into the economics and management of green entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 759-771, April.
    19. Oana Branzei & Teri Jane Ursacki‐Bryant & Ilan Vertinsky & Weijiong Zhang, 2004. "The formation of green strategies in Chinese firms: matching corporate environmental responses and individual principles," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(11), pages 1075-1095, November.
    20. Maria Vincenza Ciasullo & Raffaella Montera & Nicola Cucari & Francesco Polese, 2020. "How an international ambidexterity strategy can address the paradox perspective on corporate sustainability: Evidence from Chinese emerging market multinationals," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 2110-2129, July.
    21. Stefan Schaltegger & Marcus Wagner, 2011. "Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: categories and interactions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 222-237, May.
    22. Daphne W Yiu & ChungMing Lau & Garry D Bruton, 2007. "International venturing by emerging economy firms: the effects of firm capabilities, home country networks, and corporate entrepreneurship," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 519-540, July.
    23. Robert D. Klassen & Curtis P. McLaughlin, 1996. "The Impact of Environmental Management on Firm Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(8), pages 1199-1214, August.
    24. Christopher L. Shook & David J. Ketchen & G. Tomas M. Hult & K. Michele Kacmar, 2004. "An assessment of the use of structural equation modeling in strategic management research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 397-404, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Yi-Chun & Chen, Chih Ta, 2022. "Exploring institutional pressures, firm green slack, green product innovation and green new product success: Evidence from Taiwan's high-tech industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    2. Fei Zhou & Xue Li & Chunjia Han & Lan Zhang & Brij B. Gupta, 2023. "Unpacking the effect of institutional support on international corporate entrepreneurship in entrepreneurial support systems," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1101-1130, September.
    3. Linda Westman & Christopher Luederitz & Aravind Kundurpi & Alexander Julian Mercado & Sarah Lynn Burch, 2023. "Market transformations as collaborative change: Institutional co‐evolution through small business entrepreneurship," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 936-957, February.
    4. Lars Speckemeier & Dimitrios Tsivrikos, 2022. "Green Entrepreneurship: Should Legislators Invest in the Formation of Sustainable Hubs?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-26, June.
    5. Agata Niemczyk & Zofia Gródek-Szostak & Donata Adler & Michał Niewiadomski & Eva Benková, 2023. "Green Entrepreneurship: Knowledge and Perception of Students and Professionals from Poland and Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-24, December.
    6. Anna Misztal & Magdalena Kowalska, 2024. "Factors of green entrepreneurship in selected emerging markets in the European Union," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 28269-28292, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Régis Y. Chenavaz & Alexandra Couston & Stéphanie Heichelbech & Isabelle Pignatel & Stanko Dimitrov, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurial Ventures: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-30, May.
    2. Aikaterini Argyrou & Nicolas Chevrollier & Andre Nijhof, 2023. "The versatile role of sustainable market entrepreneurs in market transformation: An intervention framework for institutional change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 259-273, January.
    3. Séverine Le Loarne Lemaire & Meriam Razgallah & Adnane Maalaoui & Sascha Kraus, 2022. "Becoming a green entrepreneur: An advanced entrepreneurial cognition model based on a practiced-based approach," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 801-828, June.
    4. Lars Speckemeier & Dimitrios Tsivrikos, 2022. "Green Entrepreneurship: Should Legislators Invest in the Formation of Sustainable Hubs?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-26, June.
    5. Matthias Filser & Sascha Kraus & Norat Roig-Tierno & Norbert Kailer & Ulrike Fischer, 2019. "Entrepreneurship as Catalyst for Sustainable Development: Opening the Black Box," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-18, August.
    6. Qing Ye & Rongting Zhou & Muhammad Azfar Anwar & Ahmad Nabeel Siddiquei & Fahad Asmi, 2020. "Entrepreneurs and Environmental Sustainability in the Digital Era: Regional and Institutional Perspectives," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-21, February.
    7. Paul Sarango-Lalangui & Jane Lucia S. Santos & Esther Hormiga, 2018. "The Development of Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, June.
    8. Constantine S. Katsikeas & Constantinos N. Leonidou & Athina Zeriti, 2016. "Eco-friendly product development strategy: antecedents, outcomes, and contingent effects," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(6), pages 660-684, November.
    9. Neil A. Thompson, 2018. "Biofuels are (Not) the Future! Legitimation Strategies of Sustainable Ventures in Complex Institutional Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, April.
    10. Manpreet Rajpal & Bindu Singh, 2024. "How to drive sustainable entrepreneurial intentions: Unraveling the nexus of entrepreneurship education ecosystem, attitude and orientation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1705-1721, May.
    11. Jim Andersén, 2023. "Green resource orchestration: A critical appraisal of the use of resource orchestration in environmental management research, and a research agenda for future study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5506-5520, December.
    12. Iftikhar Hussain & Mehrab Nazir & Saadia Bano Hashmi & Assunta Di Vaio & Imrab Shaheen & Muhammad Arfaq Waseem & Adeel Arshad, 2021. "Green and Sustainable Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Mediation-Moderation Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-13, August.
    13. Denise Fischer & Malte Brettel & René Mauer, 2020. "The Three Dimensions of Sustainability: A Delicate Balancing Act for Entrepreneurs Made More Complex by Stakeholder Expectations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 87-106, April.
    14. Matthew P. Johnson & Stefan Schaltegger, 2020. "Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Review and Multilevel Causal Mechanism Framework," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(6), pages 1141-1173, November.
    15. Agnieszka Konys, 2019. "Towards Sustainable Entrepreneurship Holistic Construct," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-33, November.
    16. Shaker A. Zahra & Anders P. Nielsen & William C. Bogner, 1999. "Corporate Entrepreneurship, Knowledge, and Competence Development," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 23(3), pages 169-189, April.
    17. Fokko J. Eller & Michael M. Gielnik & Hendrik Wimmer & Corinna Thölke & Sara Holzapfel & Silke Tegtmeier & Jantje Halberstadt, 2020. "Identifying business opportunities for sustainable development: Longitudinal and experimental evidence contributing to the field of sustainable entrepreneurship," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1387-1403, March.
    18. Joana Carolina, Chaves-Vargas & Gabriela, Ribes-Giner & Ismael, Moya-Clemente, 2024. "Effect of the economic, social and technological factors on sustainable entrepreneurship over time," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    19. Abdesselam, Rafik & Kedjar, Malia & Renou-Maissant, Patricia, 2024. "What are the drivers of eco-innovation? Empirical evidence from French start-ups," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    20. Neil Aaron Thompson & Roosje Eijkemans, 2018. "Why Do Sustainable Ventures Fail to Attract Management Talent?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-14, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:30:y:2021:i:8:p:4281-4296. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.