Abstract:
Motivated by the growing attention on climate change and the crucial role that businesses could
play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this study investigates entrepreneurial energy
efficiency orientation in the context of carbon emission reduction initiatives of small-and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We enhance the understanding of climate change action of
SMEs by taking into account the mediating mechanism (i.e., identifying barriers to green
practices) through which firm entrepreneurial energy efficiency orientation leads to superior
carbon emission reduction initiatives. A survey of 224 SMEs in the Greater Accra region,
Ghana, West Africa supported the direct impact of entrepreneurial energy efficiency
orientation on overcoming barriers to green practices, as well as the mediating role of
identifying barriers to green practices in this focal relationship. Structural Equation modelling
(SEM) technique has been used to analyse the data gathered. These findings reveal the
importance of entrepreneurial energy efficiency orientation and identification of green barriers
in helping SMEs overcome barriers to green practices and improving carbon emission
reduction initiatives. This study makes several new contributions to the extant SMEs carbon
emission literature and practical implications for SMEs and authorities those encourage green
economy and sustainable development. This study for first time examines the effects of
Entrepreneurial Energy efficiency Orientation on Green Planning, Green Barriers, Green
Networking and Green Innovation in a combined framework. Even though there are many
research papers have investigated the barriers to green practices in SMEs, these studies have
not examined the intermediary role of green practices in between entrepreneurial energy
efficiency orientation and Carbon emission reduction in SMEs. Apart from that, the direct and
indirect effects of entrepreneurial energy orientation on carbon emission reduction have been
less researched to date. These potential research gaps will be for first time addressed in this
paper and final contribution will cater a novel knowledge for the literature.
