Empirical evidence of SMEs' ecopreneurship posture, green competitiveness and community-based performance: the neglected missing linkages of green practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and mediation effects of small- and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) ecopreneurship posture (EP), green inbound practices (GIP), green production practices (GPP), green outbound practices (GOP), community-based performance (CBP) and green competitiveness (GC). Design/methodology/approach Empirical data for the study were garnered by utilizing questionnaire from Ghanaian manufacturing SMEs. Structural equation modeling, specifically partial least squares is applied to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings The findings suggest that SMEs' EP, GIP and GPP have significant positive effects on CBP and GC. However, while GOP has a significant effect on GC, it has no significant effect on CBP. Moreover, the mediation result demonstrates that while GIP and GPP significantly mediates the relationship between SMEs' EP and CBP, GOP does not provide any mediation mechanism through which SMEs' EP influence CBP. The result further confirms the mediation roles of GIP, GPP and GOP between SMEs' EP and GC. Originality/value This research offers novel empirical evidence by exploring the mediation roles of GIP, GPP and GOP between EP, CBP and GC through the lenses of the natural resource-based view and stakeholder theoretical perspectives.