The impact of green leadership and green commitment on green performance the mediating role of green it empowerment in SMEs
Abstract
This study examines the influence of Green Transformational Leadership (GTL) and Green Commitment (GC) on Green Performance (GP), with Green IT Empowerment (GITE) as a mediating mechanism, within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. Grounded in sustainability and leadership theories, the research explores how environmentally oriented leadership and organizational commitment enhance technological empowerment to improve sustainability performance in SMEs operating in a developing-country context. A quantitative explanatory design was employed, with data collected through structured questionnaires from 100 respondents across ten SMEs in Gresik, East Java, selected based on their engagement in sustainability initiatives and technology-based processes. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS to evaluate both measurement and structural models. The results indicate that GTL and GC have significant positive effects on both GITE and GP, while GITE significantly mediates the relationships between leadership, commitment, and green performance outcomes. The model explains 60.8% of the variance in GITE and 64.9% of the variance in GP, demonstrating substantial explanatory power and underscoring the pivotal role of green leadership and commitment in driving environmental performance. These findings contribute to the literature on sustainable management in SMEs within emerging economies and offer strategic implications for SME leaders and policymakers to strengthen green leadership capabilities and technology-driven empowerment initiatives to enhance long-term sustainability performance.References
Ahmad, M., Wu, Q., & Sualeh Khattak, M. (2026). Linking green intellectual capital to sustainability and sustainable business model innovation in manufacturing SMEs: the role of green dynamic capability. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 27(1), 139-184.
Algan, N. (2019, June). The importance of SMEs on world economies. In Proceedings of International Conference on Eurasian Economies, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (Vol. 12, pp. 56-61).
Alkandi, I. (2025). Green transformational leadership and its impact on employee environmental performance through internal environmental orientation and green rewards and incentives. Discover Sustainability, 6(1), 1352.
Alqatan, A., Simmou, W., Shehadeh, M., AlReshaid, F., Elmarzouky, M., & Shohaieb, D. (2025). Strategic pathways to corporate sustainability: The roles of transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, and innovation. Sustainability, 17(12), 5547.
Angela, O. C., Okeke, M. C., Assumpta, O. C., & Ojukwu, C. O. (2025). Green Performance Management and Economic Sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) in Anambra State, Nigeria.
Arellano, M. C., Meuer, J., & Netland, T. H. (2021). Commitment follows beliefs: a configurational perspective on operations managers' commitment to practice adoption. Journal of Operations Management, 67(4), 450-475.
Bai, C., Sarkis, J., & Wei, X. (2022). Digital technologies and supply chain sustainability: A comprehensive review and future research directions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 357, 131952.
Bibri, S. E. (2020). The eco-city and its core environmental dimension of sustainability: green energy technologies and their integration with data-driven smart solutions. Energy Informatics, 3(1), 4.
Bocken, N. M. P., et al. (2021). A sustainable business model framework for SME sustainability transformation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(8), 3805–3821.
Castro, R., & Moreira, A. C. (2024). Unveiling paradoxes: navigating SMEs readiness in the post-pandemic normality. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2330114.
Chen, X., Chen, Y., Zhang, X., & He, Q. (2025). Green transformational leadership and green innovation in megaprojects: is green knowledge sharing a missing link?. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 32(1), 194-213.
Chen, Y. S. (2011). Green organizational identity: Sources and consequence. Management Decision, 49(3), 384–404.
Chen, Y. S., & Chang, C. H. (2013). The determinants of green product development performance: Green dynamic capabilities, green transformational leadership, and green creativity. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(1), 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1452-x
Coldwell, D., Venter, R., Joosub, T., & Duh, H. (2022). The tension between SMEs’ growth and sustainability in emerging and developed countries’ internationalization: towards a conceptual model. Sustainability, 14(8), 4418.
Cui, R., Wang, J., & Zhou, C. (2023). Exploring the linkages of green transformational leadership, organizational green learning, and radical green innovation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(1), 185-199.
Dawkins, E., & Ngunjiri, F. (2021). Digital transformation for environmental sustainability: A framework for SME adoption. Sustainability, 13(4), 2212.
De Moura, G. B., & Saroli, L. G. (2021). Sustainable value chain management based on dynamic capabilities in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The International Journal of Logistics Management, 32(1), 168-189.
Del Río, P., et al. (2021). Institutional and market drivers of sustainability performance: A multi-level analysis. Journal of Business Research, 134, 386–397.
Deng, Q., & Ji, S. (2015). Organizational green IT adoption: Concept and evidence. Sustainability, 7(12), 16737–16755.
Eikelenboom, M., & de Jong, G. (2019). The impact of dynamic capabilities on the sustainability performance of SMEs. Journal of Cleaner Production, 235, 1360-1370.
El Nemar, S., El-Chaarani, H., Dandachi, I., & Castellano, S. (2025). Resource-based view and sustainable advantage: a framework for SMEs. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 33(6), 798-821.
Elnour, M., Ahmad, A. M., Abdelkarim, S., Fadli, F., & Naji, K. (2024). Empowering smart cities with digital twins of buildings: Applications and implementation considerations of data-driven energy modelling in building management. Building Services Engineering Research & Technology, 45(4), 475-498.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2022). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using R. Springer.
Haldorai, K., Kim, W. G., & Phetvaroon, K. (2025). Top management commitment, institutional pressures and green supply chain practices: pathways to sustainable performance. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 8(8), 2860-2879.
Helfat, C. E., & Martin, J. A. (2015). Dynamic managerial capabilities: Review and assessment of managerial impact on strategic change. Journal of Management, 41(5), 1281–1312.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Hitt, M. A., et al. (2020). Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization (13th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Hossain, M. S., Hussain, K., Kannan, S., & Kunju Raman Nair, S. K. (2022). Determinants of sustainable competitive advantage from resource-based view: implications for hotel industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 5(1), 79-98.
Jabbour, C. J. C., et al. (2021). Green human resource management and environmental performance: New insights from SMEs. Journal of Environmental Management, 298, 113506.
Latan, H., Chiappetta Jabbour, C. J., & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, A. B. (2018). ‘Too-much-of-a-good-thing’? The role of advanced eco-learning and contingency factors. Journal of Cleaner Production, 184, 330–341.
Martínez-Conesa, I., et al. (2020). Green innovation, environmental management and firm performance: A resource-based view. Journal of Business Research, 120, 320–326.
Minkov, M., Sokolov, B., Tasse, M. A., Jamballuu, E., Schachner, M., & Kaasa, A. (2023). A transposition of the Minkov-Hofstede model of culture to the individual level of analysis: Evidence from Mongolia. Cross-Cultural Research, 57(2-3), 264-293.
Mittal, S., et al. (2020). Digital transformation and SME performance: A review of literature and future research agenda. International Journal of Information Management, 54, 102181.
Molina, A., & Rajagopal. (2023). People, planet, and profit: crossing the triple bottom line. In Challenge-Based Learning, Research, and Innovation: Leveraging Industry, Government, and Society (pp. 35-65). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Molla, A., & Abareshi, A. (2024). Digital capability development for sustainable performance: Evidence from SMEs. MIS Quarterly Executive, 23(1), 45–60.
Muzakki, M., Herachwati, N., Nadia, F. N. D., Perdani, D. P., & Pramesti, G. A. (2026). Unlocking innovation in Indonesia’s electricity sector: the role of transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, and psychological empowerment. International Journal of Energy Sector Management, 20(1), 240-262.
Nasir, M., Asad, N., Hashmi, H. B. A., Fu, H., & Abbass, K. (2023). Analyzing the pro-environmental behavior of pharmaceutical employees through Green HRM practices: the mediating role of green commitment. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(3), 7886-7903.
Nguyen, N. T. T., Nguyen, P. V., Nguyên, K. T. T., & Huynh, H. T. N. (2026). Leveraging sustainable performance through government policy and green human resource management: the interplay of green transformational leadership and employee commitment. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 34(1), 283-306.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
OE C D. (2023). OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2023. In OECD Publishing.
Purba, J. T., Gumulya, D., Hariandja, E., & Pramono, R. (2023). Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Non-Substitutable of Resources in Building Innovation Capability for Sustainable Development: Evidence from Creative Social Enterprises. International journal of sustainable development & planning, 18(2).
Qasim, A., Pandi, O. D., Saleem, F., & Danila, N. (2024). Impact of green transformation leadership on environmental knowledge learning and work pro-environmental behaviors: The mediating role of green self-efficacy and green creativity. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(8), 5022-5039.
Raut, R. D., et al. (2020). Role of digitalization in green supply chain management: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 252, 119869.
Robertson, J. L., & Barling, J. (2013). Greening organizations through leaders’ influence on employees’ pro-environmental behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(2), 176–194. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1820
Salisu, Y., & Abu Bakar, L. J. (2020). Technological capability, relational capability and firms’ performance: The role of learning capability. Revista de Gestão, 27(1), 79-99.
Sarstedt, M., Hair, J. F., Pick, M., Liengaard, B. D., Radomir, L., & Ringle, C. M. (2022). Progress in partial least squares structural equation modeling use in marketing research in the last decade. Psychology & Marketing, 39(5), 1035–1064. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21640
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (7th ed.). Wiley.
Shmueli, G., Sarstedt, M., Hair, J. F., Cheah, J. H., Ting, H., Vaithilingam, S., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). Predictive model assessment in PLS-SEM: Guidelines for using PLSpredict. European Journal of Marketing, 53(11), 2322–2347. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0189
Sikder, A. S., Ahmed, S., & Islam, J. (2023). Leveraging information technology for green IT and sustainable development: an analysis of environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, and carbon footprint reduction initiatives.: IT for green IT and sustainable development. International Journal of Imminent Science & Technology., 1(1), 48-63.
Siregar, C. H., et al. (2023). Digital readiness and sustainability performance among Indonesian small businesses. Sustainability, 15(9), 7234.
Song, X., et al. (2021). Leadership for sustainability: A multilevel systematic review and future directions. Journal of Business Ethics, 172, 1–22.
Sun, W., Chen, K., & Mei, J. (2024). Integrating the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities: a comprehensive framework for sustaining competitive advantage in dynamic markets. EPRA International Journal of Economic and Business Review, 12(9), 1-8.
Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic management journal, 28(13), 1319-1350.
Udin, U., Chanthes, S., & Dananjoyo, R. (2025). Green Transformational Leadership and Environmental Performance: Insights from Bibliometric Analysis for Future Research Agenda. International Journal of Sustainable Development & Planning, 20(6).
Zhang, L., et al. (2023). Artificial intelligence in sustainable operations: Performance implications for SMEs. Production Planning & Control, 34(4), 650–666.
Zhu, Q., Sarkis, J., & Lai, K. H. (2012). Green supply chain management innovation diffusion. International Journal of Production Economics, 140(1), 183–195.
Copyright (c) 2026 AURA PUTRI

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.





.jpeg)

