From EMA literacy to green investment intention among women-owned MSMEs: A moderated-mediation model

This study examines how environmental management accounting (EMA) literacy shapes green investment intention among women-owned MSMEs. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory, it proposes that EMA literacy affects green investment intention directly and indirectly through perceived cost-benefit (PCB), with self-efficacy as a moderator. Data from 201 women-owned MSMEs in Indonesia were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The findings show that EMA literacy positively influences both green investment intention and PCB, while PCB also positively affects green investment intention and provides qualified support for a partial mediating pathway. However, this mediation should be interpreted cautiously because discriminant validity evidence involving PCB was marginal. Self-efficacy weakens the EMA literacy–PCB relationship, indicating that structured accounting-based literacy is more influential when entrepreneurs have lower confidence in independently evaluating green investment decisions. Overall, EMA literacy is an important micro-level accounting capability, although PCB should be viewed as a qualified rather than fully distinct psychological mechanism.