Green entrepreneurship and SDG performance: evidence from small and medium enterprises

Abstract This study investigates the roles of green entrepreneurship, green strategic planning, and governmental policy support in enhancing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) performance, particularly for SDG 8, regarding social innovation, and SDG 12, regarding eco-innovation. Grounded in the Resource-Based View (RBV) and its stakeholder extension (SRBV), we proposed and empirically tested a model in which green entrepreneurship is positioned as a critical organizational resource driving sustainability outcomes. Using data from 2512 responses from senior managers in 726 manufacturing and service small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan, our findings reveal that green entrepreneurship contributes significantly to SDG performance. Furthermore, green strategic planning mediates the relationship between green entrepreneurship and SDG performance, translating green entrepreneurship into actionable strategies. Moreover, governmental policy support moderates that mediation effect, amplifying the impact of green entrepreneurship on SDG performance through green strategic planning. This study extends the RBV by highlighting the strategic value of green entrepreneurship as an essential resource that aligns organizational capabilities with sustainability objectives, and it contributes to the SRBV by demonstrating how external mechanisms, such as policy support, interact with internal resources to enhance firm performance. By addressing gaps in sustainability research, our findings provide actionable insights for firms and policymakers who are seeking to navigate the transition toward green entrepreneurship while achieving their SDG targets.