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Pursuing sustainable development through green entrepreneurship: An institutional perspective

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  • 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
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    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    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. 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).

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