Factors Affecting Green Entrepreneurial Intention among Small and Medium Enterprise Owners in Western Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Disturbance to the ecological balance by enterprises in their entrepreneurial activities have led to the increased interest in green behaviours signifying the role of entrepreneurs within them. Green Entrepreneurship, a sustainable and a conservationist business model is a great platform to address this phenomena. Given the enormous contribution made by Small and Medium Enterprises for a country’s economy, their role in green entrepreneurial behaviours is noteworthy. As behaviour is substantially predicted by intention and motivational factors influencing a behaviour are assumed to be captured by intention, this study expects to find out the factors influencing Green Entrepreneurial Intention among Small and Medium Enterprise owners in Western Province, Sri Lanka, after identifying green entrepreneurship as a planned behaviour. Accordingly, based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, it is conceptualized that factors Attitudes towards green entrepreneurial behaviour, Social norms and Perceived behavioral control as factors that could be considered as predictors of Green Entrepreneurial Intention. Adopting a quantitative strategy, the data collection was carried out from a sample of 279 Small and Medium Enterprise owners in Western Province, Sri Lanka by means of a self-administered structured questionnaire. Tests on correlation and regression analyses indicated that the Green Entrepreneurial Intention among Small and Medium Enterprise owners in Western Province, Sri Lanka is significantly (p<.01) predicted by Attitudes towards green entrepreneurial behaviour and Perceived behavioral control. This finding is expected to have significant policy implications in promoting green entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka.