This research examines how innovation influences green practices in Southeast Asian manufacturing SMEs, suggesting pathways for sustainable growth.
Green economic practices are increasingly central to the global sustainability agenda, yet small and medium‐sized manufacturing enterprises in developing economies remain hindered by structural barriers, including limited financial capacity, technological constraints, and institutional inefficiencies. Drawing on innovation theory and the resource‐based view (RBV), this study examines how technological innovation and management practices jointly influence green economic practices and firm performance using a dataset of 2503 manufacturing firms from Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore. The results reveal that process innovation exerts a more substantial influence on CO 2 monitoring, while product innovation enhances both CO 2 monitoring and energy efficiency. However, management practices negatively moderate the relationship between green economic practices and performance, indicating a short‐term trade‐off in resource‐constrained contexts where managers must divert limited resources toward compliance and technological upgrades. Extending the RBV, this study introduces a temporal–contextual perspective, arguing that while managerial formalization may initially suppress financial outcomes, it ultimately enhances adaptive capacity and fosters sustainable competitiveness. These insights advance theory and practice by guiding policymakers toward sequenced, capability‐oriented transition strategies that balance immediate operational pressures with long‐term green industrial transformation in emerging markets.
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Thai et al. (2026) studied this question.