PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of environmentally sustainable innovation practices on consumer resistance to innovation in eco-hotel enterprises and the moderating influence of value co-creation based on the service-dominant logic and innovation resistance theory.Design/methodology/approachPartial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the study’s hypotheses on a sample of 382 eco-hotel enterprise consumers surveyed online.FindingsResults reveal that adopting environmentally sustainable innovation practices and consumers’ participation in value co-creation can negatively influence consumer resistance to innovation. In addition, value co-creation partially moderates the influence of environmentally sustainable innovation practices on consumer resistance to innovation, implying that other variables can influence this relationship. Finally, the results showed that value co-creation is a multidimensional construct with dimensions of meaningfulness, collaboration, contribution, recognition and affective response.Originality/valueThis study contributes significantly to knowledge of value co-creation and innovation resistance in service ecosystems through the lens of sustainability. Incorporating value co-creation as a moderator demonstrates how to address sustainable activities to decrease consumers’ resistance to eco-hotel enterprises’ environmentally sustainable innovation practices. By empirically analyzing these relationships, this study makes various contributions and gives helpful decision-making insights.