Advancing Environmental Sustainability: Exploring Pathways of SMEs' Green Innovation in Different Green Performance Levels within Sustainable Supply Chain Management
研究了263家中国中小企业，发现高绿色绩效企业的创新依赖绿色技术拼凑和网络嵌入，而低绿色绩效企业则需要高层绿色认知和网络嵌入来克服创新惰性。
Existing literature on small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) green innovation within sustainable supply chains often assumes a uniform adoption path, overlooking the critical role of green performance heterogeneity. This study addresses this gap by investigating how green performance levels fundamentally alter the configurational pathways to SMEs' green innovation. Grounded in a context-specific technology organization-environment (TOE) framework—integrating green technology bricolage (GTB), top management's green cognition (TMGC), and network embeddedness (NE), we triangulate data from 263 Chinese SMEs using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and necessary condition analysis, supported by extensive robustness checks to ensure a high level of research rigor. The results reveal causal asymmetry and distinct innovation logics. For high-green performance SMEs, green innovation is primarily driven by the synergy of green technology bricolage and network embeddedness, often without high managerial cognition. Conversely, low-green performance SMEs necessitate high top management's green cognition and network embeddedness to overcome green innovation inertia. By demonstrating that SMEs' green innovation pathways are contingent on past green performance, this study resolves fragmentation in the literature and offers tailored guidance for fostering sustainability in diverse SME contexts.