Enviropreneurial orientation in SME supply chains: construct measurement development

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model that is inclusive and practical because of the deficiencies in models for construct measurement. Further, the authors demonstrate the value of the proposed model by describing its application to the development and validation of a multi-dimensional construct, enviropreneurial orientation. Although used in the literature, enviropreneurial orientation had not been developed nor tested as a construct. The paper provides detailed explanation of development and validation processes exemplified by experiences of research into the factors that motivate individual enviropreneurial orientation among owner/managers in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach The authors review models of construct development and propose an eight step model to overcome the deficiencies in the existing models. The eight steps are: defining the construct; identifying its dimensions; generating measurement items for each dimension; pretesting the measurement items; collecting data; constructing scales; analysing reliability; and evaluating the relationships. Each step is explained through examples based on the authors’ experience in using the model to develop the new construct – enviropreneurial orientation. Findings All correlation results were positive and significant as were the multiple regression results with one exception, competitive aggressiveness. Originality/value The authors provide a practical model to guide new construct measurement development which can be used by researchers and research students for multi-dimensional constructs, especially they are constrained by time and financial resources. By using an example to demonstrate the applicability of the model, the authors go beyond the usual description of construct development models to make the proposed model more comprehensible and thus useful.

Measuring Sustainable Marketing Orientation—Scale Development Process

“…Banerjee, Iyer and Kashyap [70] modeled environmental orientation through the lens of internal and external dimension, whereas environmental strategy was measured through the corporate and marketing dimensions. Namagembe [71] developed enviropreneurial orientation as a unidimensional measure based on RA theory that was used and confirmed in other published research on the sample of SMEs. [58].…”

The Impact of Enviropreneurial Orientation on Small Firms’ Business Performance: The Mediation of Green Marketing Mix and Eco-Labeling Strategies

“…A six-point Likert scale was used to avoid 'central tendency bias', with the scale ranging from 1 'we strongly disagree' to 6 'we strongly agree.' To test the enviropreneurial orientation of small firms, this study used five items of the scale developed in Namagembe et al's [31] study. We used five items of Fraj et al's [35] study to measure small firms' green marketing mix strategy.…”

“…Thus, this study fills this void by conceptualizing these three factors-enviropreneurial orientation, green marketing mix strategy, and eco-labeling strategy-in a single model and framing their effects on critical firm financial outcomes. The proposed model differs substantially from the extant theoretical frameworks (e.g., [23,31,[35][36][37][38]) by articulating the enviropreneurial orientation, green marketing mix strategy, and eco-labeling strategy of small firms and by evaluating the overall effects and mediating effects of green marketing mix and eco-labeling strategies on firms' business performance. The conceptual model ( Figure 1) is based on the literature on strategic management, marketing, and sustainability as the study focuses on the relationship between the green marketing mix strategy-mediated and eco-labeling strategy-mediated enviropreneurial orientation, and the small firm's business performance.…”

“…Enviropreneurial orientation, or 'ecopreneurship', has been acknowledged as one of the most important competencies of small firms, presenting them with a wider range of responsibility [31,40,51,52]. Enviropreneurial orientation refers to the manager/owner's inclination towards the environment and the business that leads to environmental and business goals, inspiring proactive, innovative, risk taking and the aggressive design and execution of ecological policies and plans that immediately increase the firm's competitive position and business results [31].…”

“…These issues include the types of capabilities and resources [7][8][9][10][11] and management practices [12][13][14][15][16][17] in relation to a firm's operations and supply chain system [18][19][20][21], its branding and marketing strategies [22][23][24][25], investment and financing [26][27][28], and matters related to services [29,30]. Although small firm entrepreneurship scholars have long believed that a small firm's developed level of enviropreneurial orientation (i.e., proactive, innovative, risk-taking, or aggressive) will advance its strategic fitness toward ecological matters, and subsequently its outcome [31], their belief has not yet been fully tested. Scholars also recognize the business benefits for firms that are linked to enviropreneurial practices and green marketing strategies [23,24,32] in terms of marketing mix strategies (e.g., package and product design; selection of channel; promotion; and communication), and eco-labeling strategy.…”