EVERGREEN

Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences and Green Asia Strategy

ISSN:2189-0420 (Print until Mar 2020)
ISSN:2432-5953 (Online)

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Open Access
Scopus
Google Scholar
Crossref
SCImago Journal & Country Rank
4.3
2024CiteScore
 
69th percentile
Powered by Scopus
Metrics by SCOPUS 2024
CiteScore
4.3
SJR
0.391
SNIP
1.192

Extending Legitimacy Theory for Sustainable Business Performance through the Lens of Green Innovation and Financial Synergy

Phu Thi Cam Nguyen1, Bui Thanh Khoa2,*
1Center for Distance training and Technology transfer consultation, Ho Chi Minh University of Banking, Viet Nam
2Faculty of Commerce and Tourism, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
E-mail: bui.thanh.khoa.example@university.edu (BTK)
Evergreen, Vol. 12, Iss. 02, pp. 1369–1379, 2025
DOI: 10.5109/7363514
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Received: April 14, 2025 | Revised: May 01, 2025 | Accepted: May 10, 2025 | Published: June 2025
Abstract
This study examined the influence of innovative capacity on sustainable company performance, enhancing legitimacy theory by including green money as both a mediator and moderator. A quantitative research methodology was utilized, gathering data from 142 seafood export enterprises in Vietnam. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was employed to examine the hypotheses. The results indicated that innovative capacity improved sustainable performance. Moreover, the result determined that green finance, a vital mediator and moderator, is crucial for enhancing the influence of innovative capability on sustainability results. This work conceptually advanced legitimacy theory and provided practical insights for governments and corporations.
Keywords
structural equation modeling ; green finance ; legitimacy theory ; innovative capacity ; sustainable business performance
Available Repositories
Journal DOI Zenodo Archive
Share Article
Article Metrics
--
Views
--
Downloads
--
Citations
Export Citation
BibTeX RIS Semantic Scholar CrossRef Mendeley Google Scholar
Full Text
Download PDF
References
  1. 1) R. Hahn, D. Reimsbach, and F. Schiemann, "Organizations, Climate Change, and Transparency". Organization & Environment, 28(1) 80-102 (2015) doi:10.1177/1086026615575542
  2. 2) P. S. Borah, S. Iqbal, and S. Akhtar, "Linking social media usage and SME's sustainable performance: The role of digital leadership and innovation capabilities". Technology in Society, 68 101900 (2022)
  3. 3) B. T. Khoa, "The Mediating Role of Environmental Knowledge Sharing on the Impact of Green Leadership on Innovation in Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises". Dalat University Journal of Science, 15(1) 3-26 (2024) doi:10.37569/DalatUniversity.15.1.1294(2025
  4. 4) P. Velte, "Determinants and financial consequences of environmental performance and reporting: A literature review of European archival research". Journal of Environmental Management, 340 117916 (2023) doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117916
  5. 5) T. K. Bui, "The Mediating Role of Environmental Knowledge Sharing on the Impact of Green Leadership on Innovation in Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises". Dalat University Journal of Science, 15(1) 3-26 (2024) doi:10.37569/DalatUniversity.15.1.1294(2025
  6. 6) A. Venketsamy and C. Lew, "Intrinsic and extrinsic reward synergies for innovative work behavior among South African knowledge workers". Personnel Review, 53(1) 1-17 (2022) doi:10.1108/pr-02-2021-0108
  7. 7) B. T. Mai, P. V. Nguyen, U. N. H. Ton, and Z. U. Ahmed, "Government policy, IT capabilities, digital transformation, and innovativeness in Post-Covid context: case of Vietnamese SMEs". International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 32(2) 333-356 (2024)
  8. 8) Y. Zhang, X. Li, and C. Xing, "How does China's green credit policy affect the green innovation of high polluting enterprises? The perspective of radical and incremental innovations". Journal of Cleaner Production, 336 130387 (2022) doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130387
  9. 9) B. T. Khoa, "The role of information technology in food business performance: The mediator of electronic green supply chain management". International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 1-14 (2023) doi:10.1504/ijlsm.2023.10058691
  10. 10) A. Arfe, C. Narang, S. G. DuBois, G. Reaman, and F. T. Bourgeois, "Clinical development of new drugs for adults and children with cancer, 2010-2020". Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 115(8) 917-925 (2023) doi:10.1093/jnci/djad082
  11. 11) R. E. Freeman, J. S. Harrison, and A. C. Wicks. "Managing for stakeholders: Survival, reputation, and success". Yale University Press, 2007
  12. 12) X. Zhao, Y. Shang, X. Ma, P. Xia, and U. Shahzad, "Does Carbon Trading Lead to Green Technology Innovation: Recent Evidence From Chinese Companies in Resource-Based Industries". IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 71 2506-2523 (2024) doi:10.1109/tem.2022.3186905
  13. 13) Y. Chen and Z. J. Zhao, "The rise of green bonds for sustainable finance: global standards and issues with the expanding Chinese market". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 52 54-57 (2021) doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2021.06.013
  14. 14) A. Sinha, S. Mishra, A. Sharif, and L. Yarovaya, "Does green financing help to improve environmental & social responsibility? Designing SDG framework through advanced quantile modelling". Journal of Environmental Management, 292 112751 (2021) doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112751
  15. 15) B. Bui, M. N. Houqe, and M. Zaman, "Climate governance effects on carbon disclosure and performance". The British Accounting Review, 52(2) 100880 (2020) doi:10.1016/j.bar.2019.100880
  16. 16) Z. Guang-Wen and A. B. Siddik, "The effect of Fintech adoption on green finance and environmental performance of banking institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of green innovation". Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(10) 25959-25971 (2023) doi:10.1007/s11356-022-23956-z
  17. 17) X. Xie, J. Huo, and H. Zou, "Green process innovation, green product innovation, and corporate financial performance: A content analysis method". Journal of Business Research, 101 697-706 (2019) doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.010
  18. 18) R. Agrawal, S. Agrawal, A. Samadhiya, A. Kumar, S. Luthra, and V. Jain, "Adoption of green finance and green innovation for achieving circularity: An exploratory review and future directions". Geoscience Frontiers, 15(4) 101669 (2024) doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2023.101669
  19. 19) B. Jagadeesh and K. Ravinder, "Sustainable and Resilient Manufacturing in the Age of Digitalization: Analysis of Challenges". Evergreen, 11(4) 2926-2938 (2024) doi:10.5109/7326934
  20. 20) P. Soundarrajan and N. Vivek, "Green finance for sustainable green economic growth in India". Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská ekonomika), 62(1) 35-44 (2016) doi:10.17221/174/2014-agricecon
  21. 21) J. Dowling and J. Pfeffer, "Organizational Legitimacy: Social Values and Organizational Behavior". The Pacific Sociological Review, 18(1) 122-136 (1975) doi:10.2307/1388226
  22. 22) C. Nuber and P. Velte, "Board gender diversity and carbon emissions: European evidence on curvilinear relationships and critical mass". Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(4) 1958-1992 (2021) doi:10.1002/bse.2727
  23. 23) F. Haque and C. G. Ntim, "Executive Compensation, Sustainable Compensation Policy, Carbon Performance and Market Value". British Journal of Management, 31(3) 525-546 (2020) doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12395
  24. 24) N. Glanemann, S. N. Willner, and A. Levermann, "Paris Climate Agreement passes the cost-benefit test". Nat Commun, 11(1) 110 (2020) doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13961-1
  25. 25) S. Sassen. "Global Networks, Linked Cities". Routledge, 2016 doi:10.4324/9781315538808
  26. 26) I. Radhouane, M. Nekhili, H. Nagati, and G. Paché, "Is voluntary external assurance relevant for the valuation of environmental reporting by firms in environmentally sensitive industries?". Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 11(1) 65-98 (2020) doi:10.1108/sampj-06-2018-0158
  27. 27) M. I. A. Rasyid and M. Stepanus, "The Influence of Green Leadership and Entrepreneurship on the Sustainability of Manufacturing Companies: Mediation of Green Innovation and Knowledge Management". Al Qalam: Jurnal Ilmiah Keagamaan dan Kemasyarakatan, 18(3) 1705-1725 (2024) doi:10.35931/aq.v18i3.3299
  28. 28) H. Huang and J. Zhang, "Research on the Environmental Effect of Green Finance Policy Based on the Analysis of Pilot Zones for Green Finance Reform and Innovations". Sustainability, 13(7) 3754 (2021) doi:10.3390/su13073754
  29. 29) Y. Huang, C. Chen, L. Lei, and Y. Zhang, "Impacts of green finance on green innovation: A spatial and nonlinear perspective". Journal of Cleaner Production, 365 132548 (2022) doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132548
  30. 30) C. Chueca Vergara and L. Ferruz Agudo, "Fintech and Sustainability: Do They Affect Each Other?". Sustainability, 13(13) 7012 (2021) doi:10.3390/su13137012
  31. 31) A. Zakari, I. Khan, D. Tan, R. Alvarado, and V. Dagar, "Energy efficiency and sustainable development goals (SDGs)". Energy, 239 122365 (2022) doi:10.1016/j.energy.2021.122365
  32. 32) A. M. Omer, "Energy, environment and sustainable development". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 12(9) 2265-2300 (2008) doi:10.1016/j.rser.2007.05.001
  33. 33) A. Tariq, Y. Badir, and S. Chonglerttham, "Green innovation and performance: moderation analyses from Thailand". European Journal of Innovation Management, 22(3) 446-467 (2019) doi:10.1108/ejim-07-2018-0148
  34. 34) S. Akhtar, C. Li, J. M. Sohu, Y. Rasool, M. I. U. Hassan, and M. Bilal, "Unlocking green innovation and environmental performance: the mediated moderation of green absorptive capacity and green innovation climate". Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31(3) 4547-4562 (2024) doi:10.1007/s11356-023-31403-w
  35. 35) J. F. Hair, W. C. Black, B. J. Babin, and R. E. Anderson. "Multivariate data analysis". Hampshire, United Kingdom: Cengage Learning, 2019
  36. 36) C. Fornell and D. F. Larcker, "Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error". Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1) 39-50 (1981) doi:10.1177/002224378101800104
  37. 37) N. J. Marín-Rodríguez, J. D. González-Ruiz, and S. Botero, "Evolution of Green Finance: Mapping Its Role as a Catalyst for Economic Growth and Innovation". Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 17(11) 507 (2024) doi:10.3390/jrfm17110507
  38. 38) Q. Tang and L. M. Tang, "Toward a Distributed Carbon Ledger for Carbon Emissions Trading and Accounting for Corporate Carbon Management". Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, 16(1) 37-46 (2019) doi:10.2308/jeta-52409
  39. 39) E. Kurniasari, N. A. H. Astuti, and A. Giovanni. "Green Finance As An Innovative Solution For Transforming The Tourism Industry: A Bibliometric Study". Paper presented at the International Student Conference on Business, Education, Economics, Accounting, and Management (ISC-BEAM) 2024, Indonesia (2024 of Conference), doi: https://10.21009/ISC-BEAM.012.47
  40. 40) R. Blasiak et al., "Evolving perspectives of stewardship in the seafood industry". Frontiers in Marine Science, 8 671837 (2021) doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.671837
  41. 41) A. Arton, A. Leiman, G. Petrokofsky, H. Toonen, and C. S. Longo, "What do we know about the impacts of the Marine Stewardship Council seafood ecolabelling program? A systematic map". Environmental Evidence, 9 1-20 (2020) doi:10.1186/s13750-020-0188-9
  42. 42) M. Todosijevic, R. Todosijevic, and S. Todosijevic Lazovic. "Development of Capacity Through Digital Transformation". Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 27th International Scientific Conference Strategic Management and Decision Support Systems in Strategic Management, (2022 of Conference), doi: https://10.46541/978-86-7233-406-7_178
  43. 43) U. Awan, M. G. Arnold, and I. Gölgeci, "Enhancing green product and process innovation: Towards an integrative framework of knowledge acquisition and environmental investment". Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(2) 1283-1295 (2020) doi:10.1002/bse.2684
Other Papers in This Issue