The role of strategic environmental orientation in environmental design practices

Purpose: The current study aims to investigate the role of strategic environmental orientation (SEO) in implementing environmental design practices (EDPs). Design/methodology/approach: On the basis of survey data collected from 212 US manufacturing firms, structural equation modeling and regression analysis are used to test the proposed research model. Findings: The findings of the present study suggest that SEO not only drives firms' design of environmental products but also moderates the relationship between EDPs and environmental performance. However, SEO turns out not to moderate the relationship between EDPs and operational performance. This study also highlights that firms' EDPs play a critical role in enhancing environmental performance as well as operational performance. Originality/value: By examining the important role of SEO, this research unpacks the moderating role of SEO between EDPs and firm performance, thus shedding light on how SEO promotes EDPs and the effectiveness of EDPs.