Does Entrepreneur Moral Reflectiveness Matter? Pursing Low-Carbon Emission Behavior among SMEs through the Relationship between Environmental Factors, Entrepreneur Personal Concept, and Outcome Expectations

Li Cai,Agyemang Kwasi Sampene,Adnan Khan,Wenjuan Tu,Fredrick Oteng-Agyeman,Brenya Robert

doi:10.3390/su14020808

Abstract

The intensity and severe impact of carbon emissions on the environment has been witnessed globally. This study aims to unravel how environmental factors, personal factors, and entrepreneur outcome expectations affect entrepreneur low-carbon emission behavior (LCB) through the lens of social cognitive theory (SCT). To achieve the aims of this study, we gathered data from 1015 entrepreneurs and small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Jiangsu province of China to analyze the predictors of entrepreneur low-carbon behavior. The proposed relationships were tested using the partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings from the study indicate that environmental factors (i.e., climate change (CC), public media (PM), and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have a significant and positive relationship with entrepreneur LCB. Moreover, entrepreneur green production self-efficacy (GPS) is positively associated with entrepreneur LCB. The findings further revealed that entrepreneur personal concepts such as entrepreneur self-monitoring (SM), entrepreneur self-esteem (SE), and entrepreneur self-Preference (SP) significantly and completely affect entrepreneur GPS. Likewise, entrepreneur moral reflectiveness (EMR) substantially moderates the relationship between entrepreneur green production outcome expectation and LCB. This study concludes with recommendations for researchers interested in enhancing knowledge in this field. In summation, this study shows that a behavioral science viewpoint is critical for improving knowledge of low-carbon environment, CC drivers, mitigation strategies, and sustainable transition to our complex environment.

Highlights

The competitive business environment in transition economies, such as China, has made it difficult for entrepreneurial-based high-tech small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to survive and grow
This study argues that when entrepreneurs monitor their activities and impact on the environment, producing more green products can lead to Low-Carbon Behavior (LCB)
The study results revealed that entrepreneur perception. Entrepreneurs’ individual outcome expectations (POE) and Entrepreneur Green Production Outcome Expectation (EGO) are significantly related to entrepreneur LCB, confirming Hypothesis 8 (H8) and Hypothesis 9 (H9)

Summary

Introduction

The competitive business environment in transition economies, such as China, has made it difficult for entrepreneurial-based high-tech small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to survive and grow. Organizations that want to succeed in such a tumultuous environment must rethink their priorities to align their business models with technological advancements and climate change (CC) issues [1]. Along with this challenge, growing public awareness of environmental problems has compelled businesses to invest in environmentally friendly practices to improve their green innovation performance, as predicted by a set of green activities [2]. Global warming has resulted from rising average atmospheric temperatures, which has caused a series of changes in the earth’s weather and climate mechanisms. Sustainability 2022, 14, 808 the atmosphere, these rapid changes occur [3].

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