Human sustainability, entrepreneurial orientation and social sustainability in United Arab Emirates SMEs

Purpose This study examines the relationships among human sustainability, entrepreneurial orientation, and social sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Arab Emirates. It also proposes that entrepreneurial orientation mediates this relationship and that a formal sustainability strategy moderates these effects. Design/methodology/approach Evidence came from 305 informed responses. The primary test used Mode A composite path modeling with 10,000 BCa bootstrap resamples; HC3 regression and measurement, sample, distributional and predictive checks were used as supplements. Findings Human sustainability was strongly associated with entrepreneurial orientation and social sustainability. The entrepreneurial orientation second-stage, indirect pathway and strategy interaction were not supported by the prespecified BCa intervals, and alternative specifications also showed second-stage instability. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional, single-informant data, unverifiable organizational independence, weak common-factor fit, hospitality concentration and binary strategy measurement limit causal and firm-level interpretation. Practical implications The measured employee and social practices can serve as diagnostic indicators rather than evidence of intervention effects. Social implications Outward social practice is associated with employee-centered practice, but the causal sequence remains untested. Originality/value The contribution is narrowed to consistent human-sustainability associations. The unsupported indirect pathway and strategy interaction indicate that entrepreneurial orientation and strategy presence do not form a universal conversion process.