This study investigates how CEO entrepreneurial orientation drives technology-based corporate sustainable development in small and medium-sized mining enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on innovation and technology management perspectives, green product innovation is conceptualized as a strategic technological capability that enables sustainability in environmentally intensive industries. Survey data were collected from 301 executives and senior managers of Pakistani mining SMEs and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that CEO entrepreneurial orientation has a significant direct effect on corporate sustainable development and indirect effects through green product innovation and employees’ green commitment. Green product innovation plays a dominant mediating role, highlighting the importance of technology-oriented innovation decisions in translating entrepreneurial leadership into sustainable outcomes. The study contributes to the innovation and technology management literature by explaining how leadership-driven green innovation capabilities support sustainability in resource-intensive SMEs.
Bux et al. (Wed,) studied this question.