Research on the Influencing Factors of Green Entrepreneurial Orientation of Manufacturing Start-ups

Faced with increasingly severe environmental problems and environmental protection requirements, green entrepreneurial orientation is considered a key strategy to guide environmental protection practices. With the increasing emphasis on green entrepreneurial orientation, the driving factors have also triggered considerations of scholars. This paper conducted a survey on manufacturing start-ups in various regions of China through online questionnaires and offline paper questionnaires, and a total of 178 valid questionnaires were obtained. Then, the data analysis is conducted through Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), so as to discuss the influence of configuration effects of the five driving factors (entrepreneurial calling, priori knowledge, organizational resilience, customer demand, and competitive pressure) on green entrepreneurial orientation. It is found that green entrepreneurial orientation is determined by the interaction of various factors, instead of a single one. There is a mutual substitution effect between high customer demand and high competitive pressure in the two configurations generating high green entrepreneurial orientation where organizational resilience is the core condition. High-level or non-high-level green entrepreneurial orientation can both be achieved through different combinations of the antecedents, and the configuration results are asymmetrical. Organizational resilience plays an essential role in improving green entrepreneurial orientation of manufacturing start-ups, while the lack of environmental factors is essential for developing non-high green entrepreneurial orientation. These findings enrich the literature on green entrepreneurial orientation and provide valuable inspiration for manufacturing start-ups. This paper explores the complex driving mechanism of green entrepreneurial orientation, as entrepreneurs continuously explore paths suitable for enterprise development, ultimately helping enterprises gain a sustainable competitive advantage and improve their performance.