How do corporate social responsibility and green innovation transform corporate green strategy into sustainable firm performance?

In the context of today's dynamic world with the development of technology, running a green-oriented business for long-term viability is no longer an option, particularly for businesses in general and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) for long-term viability and sustainability. The present research examines the relationship between corporate green strategy and sustainable firm performance for SMEs by exploring the mediating role of corporate social responsibility and green innovation in the given context in an emerging economy. This study applies a quantitative approach by using a well-structured questionnaire for data collection. The target respondents were managers at senior and middle levels. There were 469 valid responses obtained from the main survey. The final data was included in the analysis using Smart PLS (version 3.3.2) Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to investigate the relationships between constructs and latent variables and provides an extension to the current literature by providing an integrated model of corporate green strategy, green corporate social responsibility, green innovation and sustainable firm performance. In addition, the model's application to the emerging economy reinforces the originality of this study. This study therefore provides an integration of “three green” elements in a model which is also unexplored by the extant literature. Specifically, green strategy, green corporate social responsibility and green innovation are integrated, aiming to facilitate enterprises, improve environmental performance, enhance sustainable competitive advantages and achieve firm sustainability. Moreover, this study provides strategic thinking for long-term business development towards a sustainable balance of economic, social and environmental benefits, through which business leaders are encouraged to consider practical actions carefully to improve environmental performance as this is certain to develop business competitiveness and achieve sustainable business performance.