Green entrepreneurship in the EU and Turkey through policies capabilities and innovation ecosystems

Green entrepreneurship has increasingly been recognized as a strategic pathway through which firms integrate environmental objectives with innovation-driven competitive advantage. This study provides a comparative analysis of green entrepreneurship ecosystems in the European Union (EU) and Turkey, examining how policy frameworks, financial architectures, digital infrastructures, and stakeholder coordination mechanisms shape green entrepreneurial outcomes. Drawing on the Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV), Stakeholder Theory, and Institutional Theory, the study employs qualitative content analysis of academic articles, policy documents, and empirical studies published between 2010 and 2025. The findings indicate that the EU exhibits a high level of institutional alignment, reflected in an institutionally coherent ecosystem supported by diversified green finance, digitally enabled innovation infrastructures, and coordinated policy instruments such as the European Green Deal. Although green entrepreneurship in Turkey is expanding, it remains concentrated in a limited number of sectors, particularly renewable energy and agriculture, where institutional fragmentation, financial constraints, and uneven digitalization restrict broader diffusion. Across both contexts, Green Entrepreneurial Orientation (GEO) enhances environmental and innovation performance; however, its effectiveness in Turkey is strongly conditioned by ecosystem maturity and resource availability. By demonstrating that green entrepreneurial outcomes depend not only on firm-level strategic orientation but also on institutional configurations, this study contributes to the emerging literature interpreting GEO as a context-dependent strategic capability. The findings provide policy-relevant insights to align Turkey’s Net Zero 2053 strategy with European sustainability frameworks and to strengthen ecosystem conditions conducive to scalable green innovation.