How do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance? A Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)

Green entrepreneurship has emerged as a critical research area, yet existing studies predominantly focus on the isolated impact of individual entrepreneurial traits on performance, overlooking the complex interplay of multiple factors, especially within specialized industry contexts. This study addr...

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Main Authors: Ying Ding, Hong Yang, Can Peng, Chaolin Lyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Results in Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025017827
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author Ying Ding
Hong Yang
Can Peng
Chaolin Lyu
author_facet Ying Ding
Hong Yang
Can Peng
Chaolin Lyu
author_sort Ying Ding
collection DOAJ
description Green entrepreneurship has emerged as a critical research area, yet existing studies predominantly focus on the isolated impact of individual entrepreneurial traits on performance, overlooking the complex interplay of multiple factors, especially within specialized industry contexts. This study addresses this gap by employing fsQCA to investigate the configurational effects of entrepreneurial traits on the green entrepreneurial performance of technology startups operating in the engineering sectors. The analysis reveals four key findings. First, diverse configurations of entrepreneurial traits generate multiple pathways to achieve green entrepreneurial performance, highlighting the importance of considering trait combinations rather than individual attributes. Second, social capital, prior engineering experience, and green innovativeness emerge as pivotal factors; social capital is present in five performance configurations, playing a central role in high-performance outcomes, while prior experience and green innovativeness feature in four configurations. Third, startups can attain strong green performance by leveraging substantial social capital, rich prior experience, and proactive green innovativeness, even with relatively moderate psychological traits. Fourth, a high degree of green innovativeness significantly enhances performance, underscoring its value in driving technological advancements within the engineering green entrepreneurship space. This research uncovers the synergistic mechanisms through which entrepreneurial traits influence green entrepreneurial performance in engineering startups, offering actionable insights for enhancing competitiveness, driving sustainable development, and informing strategic decision-making in the engineering management domain.
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spelling doaj-art-30f561924c2e4007870cc690e2b783bf2025-08-20T02:35:57ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-09-012710571110.1016/j.rineng.2025.105711How do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance? A Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)Ying Ding0Hong Yang1Can Peng2Chaolin Lyu3School of Fine Arts and Calligraphy, Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing 210013, ChinaSchool of Business, Jinling Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211169, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaSchool of Economics and Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China; Corresponding author.Green entrepreneurship has emerged as a critical research area, yet existing studies predominantly focus on the isolated impact of individual entrepreneurial traits on performance, overlooking the complex interplay of multiple factors, especially within specialized industry contexts. This study addresses this gap by employing fsQCA to investigate the configurational effects of entrepreneurial traits on the green entrepreneurial performance of technology startups operating in the engineering sectors. The analysis reveals four key findings. First, diverse configurations of entrepreneurial traits generate multiple pathways to achieve green entrepreneurial performance, highlighting the importance of considering trait combinations rather than individual attributes. Second, social capital, prior engineering experience, and green innovativeness emerge as pivotal factors; social capital is present in five performance configurations, playing a central role in high-performance outcomes, while prior experience and green innovativeness feature in four configurations. Third, startups can attain strong green performance by leveraging substantial social capital, rich prior experience, and proactive green innovativeness, even with relatively moderate psychological traits. Fourth, a high degree of green innovativeness significantly enhances performance, underscoring its value in driving technological advancements within the engineering green entrepreneurship space. This research uncovers the synergistic mechanisms through which entrepreneurial traits influence green entrepreneurial performance in engineering startups, offering actionable insights for enhancing competitiveness, driving sustainable development, and informing strategic decision-making in the engineering management domain.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025017827Entrepreneurial traitsConfigurational effectfsQCAGreen entrepreneurial performanceEngineering management practice
spellingShingle Ying Ding
Hong Yang
Can Peng
Chaolin Lyu
How do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance? A Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)
Results in Engineering
Entrepreneurial traits
Configurational effect
fsQCA
Green entrepreneurial performance
Engineering management practice
title How do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance? A Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)
title_full How do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance? A Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)
title_fullStr How do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance? A Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)
title_full_unstemmed How do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance? A Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)
title_short How do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance? A Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)
title_sort how do entrepreneurial traits affect green entrepreneurial performance a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis fsqca
topic Entrepreneurial traits
Configurational effect
fsQCA
Green entrepreneurial performance
Engineering management practice
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025017827
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AT canpeng howdoentrepreneurialtraitsaffectgreenentrepreneurialperformanceafuzzysetqualitativecomparativeanalysisfsqca
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