A mediation-moderation model of environmental and eco-innovation orientation for sustainable business growth

Eco-innovation has become an essential driver of business to alleviate environmental problems and achieve sustainable growth. Due to increasing environmental concerns, many countries have enacted regulations so that businesses minimize their harmful environmental impacts. This paper investigates the linkages between eco-innovation strategy, governmental environmental regulations, and enterprises' sustainable growth considering the moderation effect of managerial environmental concern. A mediation-moderation model is proposed to test the direct and indirect effects. We harness partial least squares path modelling to examine how eco-innovation affects sustainable business growth in the Tunisian agricultural and agri-food sectors. The findings reveal that (1) management environmental concerns and government environmental regulations have a positive impact on eco-innovation strategies; (2) eco-innovation strategies significantly mediate the relationship between government environmental regulations and enterprises' sustainable business growth; and (3) managerial environmental concern has a significant moderating effect on the mediation model.