This paper highlights how environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) leads to green competitive advantage in emerging market manufacturing SMEs by clarifying the capability-building process through which ECSR initiatives add value under institutional restrictions.
This paper draws on the Natural Resource-Based View and ambidexterity theory to develop and test a serial mediation model whereby ECSR leads to green ambidextrous innovation that results in enhanced environmental performance and, ultimately, improved green competitive advantage. A sample of 385 managers from manufacturing SMEs in Jordan was surveyed, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.
Our findings show a significant sequential pathway where ECSR leads to green ambidextrous innovation, which in turn improves environmental performance and leads to green competitive advantage. ECSR also has direct effects. Green ambidextrous innovation and environmental performance play a key role in converting ECSR to competitive advantage.
Managers must integrate ECSR as a dynamic ability and strive to develop ambidextrous green innovation, balancing incremental enhancements and radical eco-innovations. It is recommended that policymakers put in place enabling regulatory and financial policies to support green resource transitions in resource-constrained industrial sectors.
Using evidence from Jordan's manufacturing SMEs, this study advances the CSR–performance literature by providing a process-based explanation of how ECSR translates into competitive outcomes. By identifying a sequential capability-building pathway linking ECSR, green ambidextrous innovation and environmental performance, the study clarifies how sustainability advantages emerge over time in resource-constrained and institutionally constrained contexts.
