DRIVING GREEN INNOVATION IN SMES: THE MEDIATING ROLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL MOTIVATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

Abstract

Amid the worldwide shift toward green and low-carbon development, along with China’s pursuit of its “dual carbon” objectives, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are confronted with diverse challenges, including stricter environmental regulations, intensified market rivalry, and increasing public awareness of environmental responsibility. Compared with resource-rich large enterprises, SMEs are often constrained in the green innovation process by insufficient knowledge reserves, limited technical capabilities, and capital shortages. Grounded in dynamic capability theory and the resource-based view, this study examines the mechanisms through which absorptive capacity influences green innovation performance via environmental motivation and organizational learning, using SMEs in Shanghai as the research context. The study constructs a four-dimensional absorptive capacity model—knowledge acquisition, knowledge assimilation, knowledge transformation, and knowledge exploitation—and incorporates environmental motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and organizational learning (knowledge transfer, learning culture, managerial commitment) as dual mediating variables. Employing a quantitative cross-sectional research design with 602 valid survey responses from SMEs in Shanghai, the study applies Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings indicate that absorptive capacity has a significant positive effect on green innovation performance, with environmental motivation and organizational learning serving as partial mediators. Furthermore, a sequential mediation effect exists from “environmental motivation → organizational learning.” This research enriches theoretical studies on the mechanisms of absorptive capacity in green innovation and provides empirical evidence and practical recommendations for SMEs.