Green Digital Technology Capabilities and Environmental Performance in Retail SMEs : Digitally‐Enabled Eco‐Business Model Innovation as Mediator and Institutional Safeguard Quality as Moderator

ABSTRACT This study investigates how green digital technology capabilities (GDTC) influence retailers' environmental performance through the mediating role of digitally‐enabled eco‐business model innovation (DE‐EBMI) and the moderating role of institutional safeguard quality (ISQ). Drawing on the resource‐based view (RBV), transaction cost economics (TCE), and institutional theory, we develop an integrative framework linking GDTC, DE‐EBMI, and environmental performance outcomes. Using survey data from 303 managers in Vietnamese retail SMEs and applying partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) complemented by PROCESS analysis for hypothesis testing. The results reveal three key insights. First, eco‐digital intelligence capability (EDIC) and eco‐platform collaboration capability (EPCC) significantly enhance both DE‐EBMI and environmental performance, while eco‐digital transformation capability (EDTC) shows an indirect effect only through DE‐EBMI. Second, DE‐EBMI acts as a crucial transmission channel, partially mediating the effects of EDIC and EPCC on environmental performance and fully mediating the effect of EDTC—for which no significant direct effect exists—confirming DE‐EBMI as the necessary pathway for technical resources to generate ecological value. Third, ISQ moderates this relationship: preliminary evidence suggests that stronger institutional safeguards may attenuate the marginal environmental contribution of DE‐EBMI, consistent with an institutional substitution mechanism. This finding should be interpreted cautiously given its small effect size. The study contributes to theory by bridging RBV, TCE, and institutional perspectives in the context of digitalized retail and offers practical implications for managers and policymakers seeking to align digital transformation with sustainable development goals.