The role of technological absorption capacity, enviropreneurial orientation, and green marketing in enhancing business' sustainability: evidence from fast-moving consumer goods in Tanzania

Abstract

PurposeGiven current global environmental concerns, traditional marketing and entrepreneurial practices of small businesses are considered ineffective. This is because sustainability requires the involvement of social, economic, and environmental dimensions. This study, therefore, aims at analyzing the moderating effect of technological absorptive capacity (TEOC) in the relationship between green marketing mix (GMX), enviropreneurial orientation (ENVO) and the sustainability of small businesses (SUST).Design/methodology/approachThis study is cross-sectional. This study used data from 243 fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries, such as food and beverages, cleaning products, office supplies, cosmetics, and toiletries. Structural equation mdeling (SEM) and the PROCESS macro test were employed during data analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that GMX and ENVO are significant determinants of SUST. Also, TEOC is a significant moderator of GMX, ENVO, and SUST.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used owner-managers as the respondents; future studies can use employees and customers to find out how small businesses involve other stakeholders in designing GMX and ENVO and adopting technologies for business sustainability and adopting technologies for business sustainability.Practical implicationsThe study has practical implications for policymakers and owner-managers, especially on the significant contributions of GMX, ENVO, and TEOC to business sustainability.Originality/valueDepending only on traditional marketing and entrepreneurial practices is no longer a reliable technique for business sustainability. By bringing environmental aspects into business management through a green marketing mix and enviropreneurial orientation, the study provides a unique and new way of thinking about sustainability. Also, the study adds knowledge to the body of literature through a moderating effect of TEOC in the relationship between GMX, ENVO, and SUST.

The influence of green dynamic capabilities on brand sustainability among manufacturing enterprises in Tanzania: mediation of green technology innovation

“…The investigation centered on small enterprises operating in the manufacturing sector located in Dar-es-salaam and Dodoma, Tanzania, where a diverse range of small enterprises actively engage in green initiatives. The decision to include small businesses was made due to the diverse nature of their operations which places the world at the greatest risk for environmental issues (Ismail, 2022a). The data was collected through a combination of both online and field visit-based survey questionnaires, which were distributed to 384 small business owners.…”

“…In spite of the fact that small businesses are major contributors to the economy of the world, the diverse nature of their operations places the world at the greatest risk for environmental issues (Ismail, 2022a). Therefore, business processes across the board, from production to marketing, need to be redesigned to accommodate an increasing demand on a global scale while also taking environmental factors into account.…”

“…The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2754-1312.htm academia and business practitioners to come up with modern business sustainable practices (Ismail et al, 2023). The idea is that proper green business practices can minimize the environmental impact of manufacturing processes while also maximizing resource efficiency (Mungai and Ndiritu, 2023).…”

Thinking big while small

“…A great deal of this comes down to adopting various technological innovations and methods into their practice to facilitate this shift. As a result, the research by Ismail (2022) investigates the effect of how technology adoption can influence the green marketing mix and enviropreneurial orientation within small businesses in Tanzania.…”

Psychological time of green entrepreneurs: a mixed methods study of SMEs

“…The attempts to understand why entrepreneurs choose (or do not choose) to engage in green business are mainly examined through the lens of external factors, such as state (legislative) support (Liargovas et al ., 2017; Quartey and Miskolci, 2017), regulatory pressure (Bernal et al ., 2022), financing (Bergset, 2018; Bobkova et al ., 2020; Kraus et al ., 2018; Prędkiewicz and Kalinowska-Beszczyńska, 2021), marketing (Ismail, 2022), innovation (Frare and Beuren, 2021; Gasbarro et al ., 2018; Hu et al ., 2021; Martin et al ., 2019; Prince et al ., 2021; Quartey and Miskolci, 2017; YahiaMarzouk and Jin, 2022), technologies (Oke, 2022), regional specifics (Demirel et al ., 2019), stages of organizational development (Bernal et al ., 2022) and business education (Bergset, 2018). Hence, the internal (psychological) factors of green entrepreneurship have largely been understudied.…”