Empowering ESG through digital capabilities: a strategic model for entrepreneurial performance and corporate governance transformation
International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal
Published online on April 14, 2026
Abstract
{"p"=>"This study investigates the influence of Strategic Digital Foresight (SDF) and Eco-Learning Network Embeddedness (ELNE) on the enhancement of environmental performance inside entrepreneurial firms via digitally enabled sustainability pathways. Utilising Digital Sustainability Capability Theory (DSCT), a sequential framework is formulated and hypothesized wherein Integrated ESG–Tech Synergy (IETS) and Sustainability-Embedded Organisational Ethos (SEOE) jointly mediate the relationship between SDF and the Eco-Performance Advancement Index (EPAI) as well as between ELNE and Socio-Governance Enablement Score (SGES). Survey data from 279 entrepreneurial businesses in the US and UK was analyzed using PLS-SEM. Results reveal that both SDF and ELNE positively change EPAI indirectly through dual mediation of IETS and SEOE. SGES is not part of the serial mediation path, implying that changes in eco-performance come before those in socio-governance. Also, the Regulatory ESG Pressure Intensity (REPI) fails to moderate the SEOE–SGES link, implying that an internal sustainability ethos has a greater impact than policy pressure. The findings show that a digitally embedded sustainability ethos shapes corporate governance outcomes, including transparency, accountability, and stakeholder inclusion, beyond compliance-driven ESG mandates. The study enhances DSCT by showing how techno-cultural integration strengthens the translation process of digital sustainability capabilities into measurable organisational innovation and environmental outcomes, thereby benefiting managers in their IETS alignment and long-term EPAI."}