The Role of Top Management in Integrating Environmental Orientation and Perfor-Mance Into a Sustainable Green Business Strategy

Purpose: This study investigates the influence of top management in integrating environmental orientation and performance into a sustainable green business strategy.It highlights the mediating role of top management in the relationship between strategic orientation and performance, as well as its implications for the long-term sustainability of SMEs.Research Methodology: This study analyzes 103 SMEs in East Java using a quantitative approach.Data from semi-structured questionnaires were examined via SEM-PLS with SmartPLS to explore the role of top management in integrating environmental considerations into sustainable business strategies and assessing causal relationships in green business strategy implementation.Findings: The empirical results reveal that environmental orientation and environmental performance do not directly influence the green business strategy.However, both environmental orientation and environmental performance significantly affect top management's environmental awareness, which subsequently influences the green business strategy.Thus, top management's environmental awareness serves as a mediating factor in the relationship between environmental orientation, environmental performance, and the green business strategy.Future studies are encouraged to include data from SMEs across both Asian and European contexts to provide more comprehensive and robust policy implications.Contribution: This research demonstrates that SMEs can strategically implement a green business strategy by integrating environmental orientation, environmental performance, top management's environmental awareness, and overall SME performance.Such integration ensures long-term sustainability and significantly enhances business success.