IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/intemj/v21y2025i1d10.1007_s11365-024-01024-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of green entrepreneurship and digital transformation on eco-efficient e-commerce

Author

Listed:
  • Shuja Iqbal

    (Jiangsu University)

  • Hongyun Tian

    (Jiangsu University)

  • Shamim Akhtar

    (Jiangsu University)

  • Hasnain Javed

    (Jiangsu University)

Abstract

E-commerce is transforming business experiences for both sellers and buyers equally at a fast pace. This study investigates the complex relationship between green entrepreneurship, environmental strategy, digital transformation, and environmental knowledge within the Chinese e-commerce industry. The data were collected from 283 small and medium-sized enterprises indulged in online businesses within Jiangsu Province. The data was analyzed using SmartPLS (4.0). Findings show that green entrepreneurship significantly affects eco-efficient E-commerce. While digital transformation and environmental strategy positively and significantly to eco-efficient E-commerce both directly and through the mediation path from green entrepreneurship. Likewise, the findings revealed a positive and significant moderating role of environmental knowledge on the relationship between green entrepreneurship and eco-efficient E-commerce. Considering the pressure from domestic and global legislative bodies to maintain and report environmental sustainability activities by e-businesses, this study offers values theoretical and practical insights. Several theoretical and practical implications are explained in this study to add into the existing literature, assist e-businesses, policymakers, and future studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuja Iqbal & Hongyun Tian & Shamim Akhtar & Hasnain Javed, 2025. "Effects of green entrepreneurship and digital transformation on eco-efficient e-commerce," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-25, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:21:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11365-024-01024-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11365-024-01024-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11365-024-01024-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11365-024-01024-x?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. ., 2022. "Consumer demand and producer responses," Chapters, in: Rethinking Agricultural and Food Policy, chapter 3, pages 42-61, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Halkos, George & Nomikos, Stylianos, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility: Trends in global reporting initiative standards," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 106-117.
    3. Kumar, Anil & Prakash, Gyan & Kumar, Gaurav, 2021. "Does environmentally responsible purchase intention matter for consumers? A predictive sustainable model developed through an empirical study," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    4. Saeed Nosratabadi & Amir Mosavi & Shahaboddin Shamshirband & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas & Andry Rakotonirainy & Kwok Wing Chau, 2019. "Sustainable Business Models: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-30, March.
    5. Lin, Boqiang & Xie, Yongjing, 2023. "Does digital transformation improve the operational efficiency of Chinese power enterprises?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    6. Albert Jolink & Eva Niesten, 2015. "Sustainable Development and Business Models of Entrepreneurs in the Organic Food Industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(6), pages 386-401, September.
    7. Sarstedt, Marko & Ringle, Christian M. & Smith, Donna & Reams, Russell & Hair, Joseph F., 2014. "Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): A useful tool for family business researchers," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 105-115.
    8. Elia, Gianluca & Margherita, Alessandro & Passiante, Giuseppina, 2020. "Digital entrepreneurship ecosystem: How digital technologies and collective intelligence are reshaping the entrepreneurial process," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    9. Lena Partzsch & Rafael Ziegler, 2011. "Social entrepreneurs as change agents: a case study on power and authority in the water sector," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 63-83, March.
    10. Gaofeng Yi, 2021. "From green entrepreneurial intentions to green entrepreneurial behaviors: the role of university entrepreneurial support and external institutional support," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 963-979, June.
    11. Mansoora Ahmed & Sun Zehou & Syed Ali Raza & Muhammad Asif Qureshi & Sara Qamar Yousufi, 2020. "Impact of CSR and environmental triggers on employee green behavior: The mediating effect of employee well‐being," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2225-2239, September.
    12. Peter M. Bican & Alexander Brem, 2020. "Digital Business Model, Digital Transformation, Digital Entrepreneurship: Is There A Sustainable “Digital”?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, June.
    13. Banjo Roxas & Nicholas Ashill & Doren Chadee, 2017. "Effects of Entrepreneurial and Environmental Sustainability Orientations on Firm Performance: A Study of Small Businesses in the Philippines," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(S1), pages 163-178, December.
    14. Cristina Raluca Gh. Popescu & Gheorghe N. Popescu, 2019. "An Exploratory Study Based on a Questionnaire Concerning Green and Sustainable Finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Performance: Evidence from the Romanian Business Environment," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-79, October.
    15. Ik Muo & Adebayo Azeez, A., 2019. "Green Entrepreneurship: Literature Review And Agenda For Future Research," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, Center for International Scientific Research of VSO and VSPP, vol. 7(2), pages 17-29, December.
    16. Yang Chen & Guiyao Tang & Jiafei Jin & Ji Li & Pascal Paillé, 2015. "Linking Market Orientation and Environmental Performance: The Influence of Environmental Strategy, Employee’s Environmental Involvement, and Environmental Product Quality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 479-500, March.
    17. Chen, Su & Shen, Wenbin & Qiu, Zhiqiang & Liu, Rongzhi & Mardani, Abbas, 2023. "Who are the green entrepreneurs in China? The relationship between entrepreneurs’ characteristics, green entrepreneurship orientation, and corporate financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Joseph F. Hair & G. Tomas M. Hult & Christian M. Ringle & Marko Sarstedt & Kai Oliver Thiele, 2017. "Mirror, mirror on the wall: a comparative evaluation of composite-based structural equation modeling methods," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 616-632, September.
    20. Wafa Alwakid & Sebastian Aparicio & David Urbano, 2021. "The Influence of Green Entrepreneurship on Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabia: The Role of Formal Institutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-23, May.
    21. Judit Oláh & Nicodemus Kitukutha & Hossam Haddad & Miklós Pakurár & Domicián Máté & József Popp, 2018. "Achieving Sustainable E-Commerce in Environmental, Social and Economic Dimensions by Taking Possible Trade-Offs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.
    22. Muhammad Mohiuddin & Abdullah Al Mamun & Fazal Ali Syed & Muhammad Mehedi Masud & Zhan Su, 2018. "Environmental Knowledge, Awareness, and Business School Students’ Intentions to Purchase Green Vehicles in Emerging Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    23. Fernando J. Garrigós Simón & Tomás González-Cruz & Orlando Contreras-Pacheco, 2017. "Policies to enhance social development through the promotion of SME and social entrepreneurship: a study in the Colombian construction industry," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1-2), pages 51-70, January.
    24. Szerena Szabo & Jane Webster, 2021. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Effects of Green Marketing on Environmental and Product Perceptions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 719-739, July.
    25. Mengying Feng & Wantao Yu & Xingyu Wang & Chee Yew Wong & Maozeng Xu & Zhi Xiao, 2018. "Green supply chain management and financial performance: The mediating roles of operational and environmental performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 811-824, November.
    26. 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.
    27. 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.
    28. Shuiwang Zhang & Qianlan Ding & Jingcheng Ding, 2023. "Return Strategy of E-Commerce Platform Based on Green and Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-18, July.
    29. Melinda Timea Fülöp & Dan Ioan Topor & Sorinel Căpușneanu & Constantin Aurelian Ionescu & Umair Akram, 2023. "Utilitarian and Hedonic Motivation in E-Commerce Online Purchasing Intentions," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(5), pages 591-613, September.
    30. Pejman Ebrahimi & Seyed Mozaffar Mirbargkar, 2017. "Green entrepreneurship and green innovation for SME development in market turbulence," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 7(2), pages 203-228, August.
    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. Haolang Qin & Yang Li & Md Billal Hossain, 2025. "Key Drivers of Sustainable Marketing in the Chinese Hotel Industry: The Mediating Role of Big Data Applications and Marketing Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-21, May.
    2. Hao Liang & Muttahir Hussain & Amir Iqbal, 2025. "The Dynamic Role of Green Innovation Adoption and Green Technology Adoption in the Digital Economy: The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Creative Enterprise and Financial Capability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-28, April.

    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. Harmanpreet Singh & Pawan Kumar & Leo Paul Dana, 2025. "The green entrepreneurship landscape: drivers, outcomes, and future directions," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-63, December.
    2. Nimit Soonsan & Hiran Prasankarn & Piangjit Tanticharatwarodom & Jiraporn Prasankarn & Zulfiqar Ali Jumani, 2025. "University entrepreneurial support and green entrepreneurial behavior: a quantitative serial mediation," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    3. Cai Li & Majid Murad & Sheikh Farhan Ashraf, 2023. "The Influence of Women’s Green Entrepreneurial Intention on Green Entrepreneurial Behavior through University and Social Support," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Iftikhar Hussain & Mehrab Nazir & Saadia Bano Hashmi & Imrab Shaheen & Sabahat Akram & Muhammad Arfaq Waseem & Adeel Arshad, 2021. "Linking Green and Sustainable Entrepreneurial Intentions and Social Networking Sites; The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy and Risk Propensity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-13, June.
    5. Maryam Soleimani & Elahe Mollaei & Mojgan Hamidi Beinabaj & Aidin Salamzadeh, 2023. "Evaluating the Enablers of Green Entrepreneurship in Circular Economy: Organizational Enablers in Focus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-22, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Ali Saleh Alshebami & Abdullah Hamoud Ali Seraj & Ibrahim A. Elshaer & Abdullah Sultan Al Shammre & Salem Handhal Al Marri & Abdalwali Lutfi & Mostafa Aboulnour Salem & Ashraf Mahrous Nour Zaher, 2023. "Improving Social Performance through Innovative Small Green Businesses: Knowledge Sharing and Green Entrepreneurial Intention as Antecedents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, May.
    8. Lammers, Thorsten & Rashid, Lubna & Kratzer, Jan & Voinov, Alexey, 2022. "An analysis of the sustainability goals of digital technology start-ups in Berlin," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    9. Mina Nasiri & Minna Saunila & Tero Rantala & Juhani Ukko, 2022. "Sustainable innovation among small businesses: The role of digital orientation, the external environment, and company characteristics," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 703-712, August.
    10. Khalid Mehmood & Fauzia Jabeen & Shilpa Iyanna & Hui Zhang & Patrice Piccardi & Nagendra Singh Nehra, 2024. "Exploring drivers of behavioral willingness to reduce plastic consumption and socially responsible consumption behavior: A stimulus–organism–behavior–consequence paradigm based environmental managemen," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3098-3118, July.
    11. Nadia Preghenella & Cinzia Battistella, 2021. "Exploring business models for sustainability: A bibliographic investigation of the literature and future research directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2505-2522, July.
    12. Wang, Shaofeng & Zhang, Hao, 2024. "Green entrepreneurship success in the age of generative artificial intelligence: The interplay of technology adoption, knowledge management, and government support," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Bekolo Ngoa Celestin & Kouame Dangui Dorcas, 2024. "Eco-innovation in Waste Recycling Industry in Ghana: Modeling the Upper Echelon Behavioral Drivers of Grass Root Innovation Among SEED Award Winners," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440231, May.
    14. Alba Yela Aránega & Clara Gonzalo Montesinos & Raúl Castaño Urueña & Rafael Castaño Sánchez, 2025. "Digitalization intention in entrepreneurs and SMEs: a structural equation model of digital behavior and work-life balance," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-22, December.
    15. Muhammad Ishtiaq Ishaq & Huma Sarwar & Junaid Aftab & Simona Franzoni & Ali Raza, 2024. "Accomplishing sustainable performance through leaders' competencies, green entrepreneurial orientation, and innovation in an emerging economy: Moderating role of institutional support," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 1515-1532, February.
    16. Radha Yadav & Dharmendra Kumar & Anil Kumar & Sunil Luthra, 2023. "How does anticipatory trauma reaction and climate‐friendly behaviour make an affect at the individual level? The role of social norms and self‐efficacy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4028-4045, November.
    17. Jiahao Zhuang & Hongyi Sun, 2024. "Perceived Institutional Environment and Entrepreneurial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Risk-Taking Propensity and Moderating Role of Human Capital Factors," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(1), pages 21582440241, February.
    18. Kashfia Maisha & Sabakun Naher Shetu, 2023. "Influencing factors of e-learning adoption amongst students in a developing country: the post-pandemic scenario in Bangladesh," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    19. Sergio Camisón-Haba & José Antonio Clemente-Almendros & Tomás Gonzalez-Cruz, 2024. "Connecting Human and Information Resources in the Generation of Competitive Advantage," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 19262-19293, December.
    20. Ashish Ashok Uikey & Ruturaj Baber & Zericho R Marak, 2025. "Transforming Green Transparency into Green Brand Loyalty and Repurchase Intentions: The Role of Brand Image and Credibility among Electric Vehicle Users," Post-Print hal-04925852, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:spr:intemj:v:21:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11365-024-01024-x. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.