Green by genuine concern or strategic interest? unravelling the entrepreneurial pathway to responsible consumption and production

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12) advocates the inclusion of environmental impacts in business owners’ decision-making; however, the motivational mechanisms behind such behavior are not well understood. This study therefore explores the relationship between eco-altruism, eco-egoism and Responsible Consumption and Production practices via the mediation of Green Entrepreneurial Orientation and the moderating effect of eco-guilt. More importantly, the present study focuses on responsible consumption and production as a firm-level empirical construct that captures respondents' perceptions of responsible practices, rather than achievement of SDG 12 itself. The study was designed quantitatively, with data collected from 349 sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs from southern and western India. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the proposed model. Results show that the association of eco-altruism is significant with both Green Entrepreneurial Orientation and Responsible Consumption and Production Practices, while there is no significant association of eco-egoism. Green Entrepreneurial Orientation mediated the effect between eco-altruism and Responsible Consumption and Production Practices but not between eco-egoism and Responsible Consumption and Production Practices. In addition, eco-guilt does not affect the link between eco-egoism and Green Entrepreneurial Orientation, but negatively moderates the link between eco-egoism and Responsible Consumption and Production Practices. The results show that SDG-12 practices are determined more by intrinsic environmental values than by strategic self-interest. The study contributes to the sustainable entrepreneurship literature by incorporating the motivational and moral-emotional aspects of entrepreneurship and provides useful implications for entrepreneurs and policymakers interested in promoting responsible consumption and production.