Does Stakeholder Pressure Promote Green Innovations and Performance of Agribusiness Companies?

ABSTRACT The sustainability of agribusiness companies is guided by multiple, sometimes paradoxical, interests. Green innovation is strategic for sustainable development; however, literature shows inconsistencies regarding its impact on environmental and economic‐financial performance. Stakeholder pressure plays an important role in directing these companies. This study analyzes, from a serial perspective, the influence of stakeholder pressure on green innovation; green innovation on environmental performance; and environmental performance on the economic‐financial performance of Brazilian agribusiness companies. Structural equation modeling was applied to survey data collected from 172 managers. The serial mediation results confirm that the analyzed variables are self‐promoting, leading to higher performance. The total mediation observed indicates that stakeholder pressure leads to green innovation, impacting the environmental performance through innovation, which acts as a strategic resource for achieving environmental management goals and improving the economic‐financial performance of the companies. As far as we know, this is one of the first studies to explore these associations from a serial perspective in the context of agribusiness. These findings suggest that stakeholder pressure is the driving force behind companies' investment in resources and engagement in innovative green practices.