An Exploratory Study on the Influencing Factors of SMEs Employees' Participation Intentions about ESG Management: Focusing on the Theory of Planned Behavior

This study was conducted to empirically analyze the factors that influence employees' intention to participate in ESG management in relation to the introduction and activation of ESG management(environmental, social, and governance) in SMEs. For this purpose, the causal relationships between entrepreneurial orientation, approval goals, expertise, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and employees' participation intentions about ESG management were analyzed among white-collar employees in Korean SMEs. We tested the mediating effects of attitudes and subjective norms on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and approval goals and employees' participation intentions about ESG management, respectively, and demonstrated the moderating effect of perceived behavioral control on the relationship between attitudes and subjective norms and employees' participation intentions about ESG management. The results of this empirical study, which are 276 employees of SMEs included with ventures and startupss in Korea are as follows. First, entrepreneurial orientation, approval goals, and expertise positively influenced attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control toward ESG management engagement, respectively. Second, attitudes and subjective norms toward ESG management engagement had partial mediating effects on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and participation intentions about ESG management and the relationship between approval goals and participation intentions about ESG management, respectively. Third, we demonstrate that perceived behavioral control moderates the relationship between attitudes toward ESG management engagement and participation intentions about ESG management and the relationship between subjective norms toward ESG management engagement and participation intentions about ESG management. Fourth, as the level of attitude toward ESG management engagement increases, participation intentions about ESG management increases, regardless of whether perceived behavioral control is high or low. Fifth, contrary to the fourth point, as the level of subjective norms toward ESG management engagement increased, participation intentions about ESG management increased proportionally for those with high perceived behavioral control, but inversely for those with low perceived behavioral control. Finally, the implications of the study, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are presented.