Humane Entrepreneurship in the Circular Economy: The Role of Green Market Orientation and Green Technology Turbulence for Sustainable Corporate Performance

The modern business world is confronted with growing social and environmental issues, which pose a serious challenge to pursuing sustainable growth. Drawing from the natural resource base view and stakeholder theory, this study examines the effect of humane entrepreneurship on sustainable corporate performance through the mediating mechanism of green market orientation and the moderating role of green technology turbulence. Cross-sectional data were obtained from Turkish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across various sectors. This research adopts a quantitative approach. In total, 393 valid responses obtained from managers of SMEs were utilized to examine the above relationships. The results indicate that humane entrepreneurship has a positive effect on sustainable corporate performance. Humane entrepreneurship has a positive effect on green market orientation. Green market orientation has a positive effect on sustainable corporate performance. The relationship between humane entrepreneurship and sustainable corporate performance is partially mediated by green market orientation. The relationship between humane entrepreneurship and sustainable corporate performance is further strengthened in a highly green technology turbulent environment. The indirect positive effect of humane entrepreneurship on sustainable corporate performance through green market orientation is the strongest when green technology turbulence is high. Simultaneously examining the mediation and moderation relationships, we provide novel insights that extend traditional entrepreneurial vision to a more environmentally conscious humane entrepreneurship approach. The study provides a comprehensive picture of how green market orientation and green technology turbulence are involved in using humane entrepreneurship to achieve superior sustainable corporate performance in the circular economy context.