Institutional context and the adoption of green entrepreneurship in religious cities: Insights from Makkah and Madinah

An investigation into how regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive institutional variables impact the uptake of green entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized enterprises in Makkah and Madinah, two of the world's most religiously important cities, was conducted. Because these holy cities attract international attention, hosting millions of pilgrims every year, the environmental sustainability of their local businesses has global implications. Here, a qualitative multi-case approach was adopted, involving interviews with, and observations from, 53 entrepreneurs with small and medium-sized enterprises in Makkah and Madinah. The data were interrogated using a thematic analysis, with member validation and triangulation being employed to enhance the credibility of the data. Employing Scott's institutional theory, it was found that, while national efforts, such as Vision 2030, promote green entrepreneurship, weak incentives and fragmented governance hold back its implementation. Cultural-cognitive barriers, such as poor environmental education and technical training, also limit its adoption. Although green entrepreneurship is compatible with Islamic environmental ethics, its normative influence is limited in the absence of public education or market pressure. Institutional congruence, public education, and outreach are critical in defining green practices with regional impact and global significance. Also, institutional theory, at the level of contextual mechanisms, was extended to explain the challenge of translating green intention into actual operations among Saudi entrepreneurs in Makkah and Madinah. This study makes a unique theoretical contribution through its application of institutional theory in a culturally and religiously distinct context. Although the findings have policy and managerial implications, these are context-specific and not statistically generalizable.