Linking green marketing and SMEs performance: A psychometric meta-analysis

Drawing on the resource-based theory of the firm, contingency theory, and consumer behavioral theories, we investigate the extent to which green marketing—green products, green pricing, green distribution, and green promotion—influences the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and how contextual factors (for example, economic sector, economic development, national global sustainable competitiveness, and culture) influence this focal relationship. We analyzed 106 studies with 47,661 observations and 195 study effect sizes using a psychometric meta-analysis approach via subgroup and meta-regression analyses. Our results reveal that green marketing has a positive, moderate effect on the overall firm performance of SMEs and that the most critical antecedent is green promotion, while the performance indicator largely influenced by green marketing is innovation performance. Our moderator analysis shows that contextual factors significantly moderate green marketing/SME performance relationships. The study concludes with the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.