When do strategic orientations matter to innovation performance of green-tech ventures? The moderating effects of network positions

As a result of the rapid development and diffusion of information and communication technologies, enterprises are consistently improving their ability to respond to environmental changes. With regard to green entrepreneurship, an increasing number of green-tech ventures have been launched in response to various environmental challenges such as carbon emissions, environmental pollution, and climate change. This study examined the relationship among strategic orientations (i.e., technological orientation and marketing orientation), network positions (i.e., network centrality and bridging position), and innovation performance of green-tech ventures. With original data from 116 green-tech ventures of the Yixing Environmental and Cleaner Technology Park, the results identified both technological orientation and marketing orientation as important antecedents of innovation performance. However, unlike previous literature, this study did not find direct effects of network centrality and bridging position on innovation performance. Identified as a moderating effect, bridging position might enhance the innovation performance of strategic orientations, but no significant moderating role of network centrality was found. Overall, these findings enable a better understanding of the network positions of green-tech ventures that represent an asset for the creation of superior innovation performance. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study found that the technological and marketing orientations of green-tech ventures significantly influence their innovation performance, while network centrality and bridging position do not have a direct impact on innovation performance.