Stakeholder and resource-based antecedents and performance outcomes of green export business strategy: insights from an emerging economy

Purpose Building upon insights from institutional theory and resource-based view (RBV), the aim of this study is to investigate the direct effects of stakeholder pressures on organizational resources, organizational capabilities and green export business strategy and to explore the indirect impacts of organizational resources and capabilities on the link between stakeholder pressure and green business strategy from an emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative study was conducted to test the conceptual model within this study. In total, 235 questionnaires were collected from Turkish exporting manufacturing companies and the data was analyzed through structural equation modeling. Findings The results of the study demonstrated that stakeholder pressures have strong and positive effects on organizational resources and organizational capabilities for firms from emerging markets. Also, organizational resources, capabilities and stakeholder pressures have significant impacts on green export business strategy, which in turn, influences positively export market and financial performance. Practical implications Several implications were presented in this study via examining the forces affecting companies' environmental strategies and how implementing these strategies result in favorable gains in their international operations for emerging country exporters. Originality/value The contribution of this study lies in the under-researched context, in discussing the mutually and contradictory roles played by stakeholders and in examining determinants of the adoption of green strategies by emerging-market exporters. In this sense, stakeholders make the life of the company tougher at home by demanding a greener posture; on the other hand, by doing so, they prompt the company to be competitive when selling to developed markets.