Impact of Entrepreneurial Bricolage, Ecological Innovation, Entrepreneurial Mindset, and Green Entrepreneurial Orientation on Digital Entrepreneurial Intention

Authors

  • Ali Raza Bank AlBilad, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Assoc Prof. Jati Kasuma Ali Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Sarawak
  • Dr. Awang Rozaimie Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Sarawak

Keywords:

Digital Entrepreneurial Intention, Entrepreneurial Bricolage, Ecological Innovation, Green Entrepreneurial Orientation

Abstract

The study in hand analyzes digital entrepreneurial bricolage, ecological innovation, entrepreneurial mindset, and green entrepreneurial orientation on the digital entrepreneurship intention, associated with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. Highlighting the accelerated growth of the digital economy and a national agenda for economic diversification and sustainability, the research looks at their impact on SME owners' readiness to adopt and implement digital business solutions. With empirical support from 190 SME owners and managers, results indicated that entrepreneurial bricolage and the entrepreneurial mindset can enhance digital entrepreneurial intention via facilitation of resourceful innovation to address constraints experienced in early-stage digitally-based activities and by fostering proactive resiliency to engage more effectively with digital opportunities. On the other hand, ecological innovation and green entrepreneurial orientation show an insignificant level of direct effect on digital entrepreneurial intention, indicating that sustainability practices have provided limited motivation to start digital entrepreneurship, especially in the case of the Saudi SME context. The outcomes of this research have implications for policymakers, educators, and practitioners on how they could better improve resourcefulness and mindset to effectively support digital entrepreneurship activity with more meaningful linkages to sustainability in their initiatives. This multifaceted picture of digital entrepreneurship in digitally immature, sustainability-driven emerging markets, hence, provides a holistic lens on the underlying factors.

References

Abdelwahed, N. A. A. (2023). Nurturing the Entrepreneurial Path: Unraveling the Interplay Between Entrepreneurial Mindset and Intention Through the Lens of Entrepreneurial Culture. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development, 11(12), e2269–e2269.

Abdelwahed, N. A. A., Al Doghan, M. A., Saraih, U. N., & Soomro, B. A. (2023). Green entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia: shaping the landscape of the greener economy. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 30(7), 1352–1376.

Abdelwahed, N. A. A., Bastian, B. L., & Wood, B. P. (2022). Women, entrepreneurship, and sustainability: the case of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 14(18), 11314.

Ahmad, A., Albarrak, M. S., Akhtar, S., & Akram, H. W. (2023). Sustainable Development and Saudi Vision 2030: Entrepreneurial Orientation of Students Toward E‐Businesses and Proposed Model of “Virtual Business Incubator” for SEU. Education Research International, 2023(1), 6106580.

Akila, H. (2021). The Impact of Entrepreneurship on Saudi Arabia’s Economy.

Akram, H., Raza, M., Jan, M. F., Aslam, S., & Nivin-Vargas, L. (2024). Identified leadership practices and teachers’ professional development in Karachi, Pakistan: the moderation effect of training. Education 3-13, 52(8), 1309–1326.

Al Halbusi, H., Popa, S., Alshibani, S. M., & Soto-Acosta, P. (2024). Greening the future: Analyzing green entrepreneurial orientation, green knowledge management and digital transformation for sustainable innovation and circular economy. European Journal of Innovation Management.

Al Jameel, O. S., & Adam, S. (2025). Driving sustainable development: exploring social entrepreneurial behavior in Saudi Arabia universities. Foresight.

Al Koliby, I. S., Mehat, N. A. B., Al-Swidi, A. K., & Al-Hakimi, M. A. (2024). Is knowledge management a missing link? Linking entrepreneurial competencies and sustainable performance of manufacturing SMEs. The Bottom Line, 37(1), 71–97.

Al-Ayed, S. (2024). Effect of digital opportunity recognition on students’ digital entrepreneurial intentions and behavior. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 22(1), 673–686. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.22(1).2024.53

Al-Ghazali, B. M., Shah, S. H. A., & Sohail, M. S. (2022). The role of five big personality traits and entrepreneurial mindset on entrepreneurial intentions among university students in Saudi Arabia. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.964875

Al-Mamary, Y. H. (2025). Factors shaping green entrepreneurial intentions towards green innovation: an integrated model. Future Business Journal, 11(1), 21.

Al-Swidi, A. K., Al-Hakimi, M. A., Al Koliby, I. S., Zaid, M. A. K., & Khan, M. F. (2025). Harnessing intellectual capital for green innovation through entrepreneurial orientation. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication.

Albadry, O. M. (2025). Enhancing Digital Innovation Performance: The Role of Strategic Foresight, Entrepreneurial Bricolage, and Strategic Ambidexterity Among Female Entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan Journal of Life & Social Sciences, 23(1).

Alfayyadh, A. (2024). The Influence of Strategic Entrepreneurship on Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of Environmental Dynamism & Digital Business Model Innovation. Morgan State University.

Alferaih, A. (2022). Starting a new business? Assessing university students’ intentions towards digital entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights, 2(2), 100087.

Alghamdi, O. A. (2023). Combination of Decision Logics for Green Innovations in Saudi Arabian based Small and Medium Enterprises Experience.

Alkhalaileh, M. Y. (2021). Systematic review: Digital entrepreneurship intention. Network Intelligence Studies, 9(17), 25–34.

Almerri, A. S. (2024). Investigating The Impact of Emirati Entrepreneurial Innovation Strategies by SMEs Within Abu Dhabi’s Business Landscape. Khalifa University of Science.

AlMulhim, A. F., Mohammed, S. M., Benlaria, H., & Gheraia, Z. (2025). Refueling intellectual capital toward innovation performance of SMEs in Saudi Arabia: mediating the role of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. Business Process Management Journal, 31(1), 340–364.

Aloulou, W. J., Alsadi, A. K., Ayadi, F. M., & Alaskar, T. H. (2024). Exploring the Effects of Entrepreneurial and Digital Orientations on the Competitive Advantage of Saudi Firms: Is Strategic Agility the Missing Link? Administrative Sciences, 14(11), 306.

Aloulou, W., Ayadi, F., Ramadani, V., & Dana, L.-P. (2024). Dreaming digital or chasing new real pathways? Unveiling the determinants shaping Saudi youth’s digital entrepreneurial intention. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 30(2/3), 709–734. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-10-2022-0942

Alriyami, H. M., Alamimi, M. H., & Kampouris, I. (2025). Social Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance: The Mediating Role of Sustainable Practices and Open Innovation. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 1–35.

Alsaiary, S., Forsgren, E., & Shaw, N. (2024). Digital Transformation among Saudi SMEs: Exploring Contextual Factors.

Alshagawi, M., & Mabkhot, H. (2024). The impact of strategic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial marketing, entrepreneurship values on small and medium enterprises’ performance: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2316947.

Alsharif, H. Z. H., Shu, T., Obrenovic, B., Godinic, D., Alhujailli, A., & Abdullaev, A. M. (2021). Impact of entrepreneurial leadership and bricolage on job security and sustainable economic performance: An empirical study of Croatian companies during COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 13(21), 11958.

Alshebami, A. S. (2023). Green Innovation, Self-Efficacy, Entrepreneurial Orientation and Economic Performance: Interactions among Saudi Small Enterprises. Sustainability, 15(3), 1961. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031961

Alshebami, A. S., Fazal, S. A., Seraj, A. H. A., Al Marri, S. H., & Alsultan, W. S. (2024). Fostering potential entrepreneurs: An empirical study of the drivers of green self-efficacy in Saudi Arabia. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 21.

Alshebami, A. S., Seraj, A. H. A., Elshaer, I. A., Al Shammre, A. S., Al Marri, S. H., Lutfi, A., Salem, M. A., & Zaher, A. M. N. (2023). Improving social performance through innovative small green businesses: Knowledge sharing and green entrepreneurial intention as antecedents. Sustainability, 15(10), 8232.

Alshibani, S. M., Aloulou, W. J., & Ramadani, V. (2023). New-venture gestation processes amid Covid-19 pandemic: antecedents of Saudi female nascent entrepreneurs. Business Process Management Journal.

Alwakid, W., Aparicio, S., & Urbano, D. (2021). The Influence of Green Entrepreneurship on Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabia: The Role of Formal Institutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5433. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105433

Alzamel, S. (2024). Exploring the role of e-entrepreneurship in fostering future green economy and environmental policies: a study on Saudi women entrepreneurs. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 26(01), 2450002.

Babgi, M. (2023). Digitalization And Internationalization Among Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises: Born-Digital Companies And The Route To Internationalization In Saudi Arabia. 28ème Conférence de l’AIM.

Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(3), 329–366.

Bakry, D., Daim, T., Alzahrani, S., Dabic, M., & Yesilada, B. (2025). Exploring innovation ecosystems to facilitate the adoption of sustainable entrepreneurship: Looking beyond the Western World. Journal of Small Business Management, 63(1), 337–387.

Balubaid, M. (2025). Systematic literature review: exploring the influence of innovation on competitive advantage in entrepreneurial ventures. مجلة العلوم التجارية والبيئية, 4(2), 165–191.

Cai, W. and Li, G. (2018), “The drivers of eco-innovation and its impact on performance: Evidence from China”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Elsevier Ltd, Vol. 176, pp. 110–118, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.109.

Chaaben, N., Elleuch, Z., Hamdi, B., & Kahouli, B. (2024). Green economy performance and sustainable development achievement: empirical evidence from Saudi Arabia. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(1), 549–564.

Dote-Pardo, J., Ortiz-Cea, V., Peña-Acuña, V., Severino-González, P., Contreras-Henríquez, J. M., & Ramírez-Molina, R. I. (2025). Innovative entrepreneurship and sustainability: A bibliometric analysis in emerging countries. Sustainability, 17(2), 658.

Elnadi, M., & Gheith, M. H. (2023). The role of individual characteristics in shaping digital entrepreneurial intention among university students: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 47, 101236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101236

Fozia, M., & Ranabahu, N. (2022). A disadvantage to an advantage? Immigrant entrepreneurs’ use of effectuation in business start-up and development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In Disadvantaged minorities in business (pp. 153–175). Springer.

Hager, M., Alzafari, K., & Rashid, L. (2024). Media narratives on (ecological) sustainability: a topic modeling analysis of entrepreneurship news in the MENA region. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, 3(5), e0000107.

Iqbal, Q., Piwowar-Sulej, K., & Kallmuenzer, A. (2025). Sustainable development through frugal innovation: the role of leadership, entrepreneurial bricolage and knowledge diversity. Review of Managerial Science, 19(2), 573–594.

Islam, M. S. (2024). Linking green innovation to environmental quality in Saudi Arabia: an application of the NARDL approach. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1–22.

Kahia, M., Jarraya, B., Kahouli, B., & Omri, A. (2023). Do environmental innovation and green energy matter for environmental sustainability? Evidence from Saudi Arabia (1990–2018). Energies, 16(3), 1376.

Kahia, M., Jarraya, B., Kahouli, B., & Omri, A. (2024). The role of environmental innovation and green energy deployment in environmental protection: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15(1), 337–363.

Kahouli, B., Hamdi, B., Nafla, A., & Chabaane, N. (2022). Investigating the relationship between ICT, green energy, total factor productivity, and ecological footprint: Empirical evidence from Saudi Arabia. Energy Strategy Reviews, 42, 100871.

Khalid, R., Raza, M., Selem, K. M., Ghaderi, Z., & Raza, H. (2023). Natural disaster is a wakeup call before it becomes social disaster and tourophobia of eco-destinations. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 28(11), 1226–1240. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2023.2293789

Khan, M. A. (2022). Barriers constraining the growth of and potential solutions for emerging entrepreneurial SMEs. Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 16(1), 38–50.

Larabi, C. (2025). The role of resource orientation, technology innovation, and strategic flexibility in driving firm performance. Management & Sustainability: An Arab Review.

Li, C.Q., Harichandran, R.S., Carnasciali, M.-I., Erdil, N.O. and Nocito-Gobel, J. (2016), “Development of an Instrument to Measure the Entrepreneurial Mindset of Engineering Students”, American Society for Engineering Education, New Orleans, LA.

Mabkhot, H., Semlali, Y., Gelaidan, H. M., Abdelwahed, N. A. A., & Shaari, H. (2024). Green entrepreneurial intentions in Saudi youth: cultural insights and implications. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 480.

Mashhour, Q. M. Q. (2022). The role of frugal innovation and social entrepreneurship in supporting socioeconomic life in emerging markets. Journal for Research on Business and Social Science, 5(5).

Muangmee, C., Dacko-Pikiewicz, Z., Meekaewkunchorn, N., Kassakorn, N. and Khalid, B. (2021), “Green Entrepreneurial Orientation and Green Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)”, Social Sciences, Vol. 10 No. 4, p. 136, doi: 10.3390/socsci10040136.

Nguyen, P.N.-D. and Nguyen, H.H. (2024), “Examining the Role of Family in Shaping Digital Entrepreneurial Intentions in Emerging Markets”, Sage Open, Vol. 14 No. 1, doi: 10.1177/21582440241239493.

Qasim, S., Raza, M., Ilyas, M. A., Ansari, H. W. A., & Khalid, R. (2025). Do not take every workplace problem to home: a role of social support to manage employees’ work stressors and conflicts with family. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication.

Ragmoun, W. (2024). The Analysis of Trigger Factors of the Environmental Entrepreneurship Process in Saudi Arabia: An Innovative Approach. Economies, 12(9), 254.

Raza, M., Khalid, R., Loureirco, S. M. C., & Han, H. (2024). Luxury brand at the cusp of lipstick effects: Turning brand selfies into luxury brand curruncy to thrive via richcession. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 79, 103850. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103850

Raza, M., Khalique, M., Khalid, R., Kasuma, J., Ali, W., & Selem, K. M. (2025). Achieving SMEs’ excellence: scale development of Islamic entrepreneurship from business and spiritual perspectives. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 16(1), 86–106.

Samargandi, N., & Sohag, K. (2022). The interaction of finance and innovation for low carbon economy: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. Energy Strategy Reviews, 41, 100847.

Satar, M. S., Alharthi, S., Omeish, F., Alshibani, S. M., & Saqib, N. (2024). Digital learning orientation and entrepreneurial competencies in graduates: Is blended learning sustainable? Sustainability, 16(17), 7794.

Senyard, J., Baker, T., Steffens, P. and Davidsson, P. (2014), “Bricolage as a Path to Innovativeness for Resource‐Constrained New Firms”, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 211–230, doi: 10.1111/jpim.12091.

Sualeh Khattak, M., Wu, Q., Ahmad, M., & Ullah, R. (2024). The role of managerial competencies in managing resources for sustainable development strategy in SMEs. Social Responsibility Journal, 20(7), 1317–1344.

Sulaiman, M. A. B. A., Asad, M., Awain, A. M. S. B., Asif, M. U., & Shanfari, K. S. Al. (2024). Entrepreneurial marketing and performance: contingent role of market turbulence. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 492.

Tekala, K., Baradarani, S., Alzubi, A., & Berberoğlu, A. (2024). Green entrepreneurship for business sustainability: do environmental dynamism and green structural capital matter? Sustainability, 16(13), 5291.

Wang, Y.S., Tseng, T.H., Wang, Y.M. and Chu, C.W. (2020), “Development and validation of an internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy scale”, Internet Research, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 653–675, doi: 10.1108/INTR-07-2018-0294.

Wasiq, M., Kamal, M., & Ali, N. (2023). Factors influencing green innovation adoption and its impact on the sustainability performance of small-and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 15(3), 2447.

Yang, J., & Bentein, K. (2023). Entrepreneurial leadership and employee creativity: a multilevel mediation model of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Management Decision, 61(9), 2645–2669.

Yaseen, A., Omar, R. B. C., Osman, L. H., & Hamid, R. B. A. (2025). Evaluating the Framework of the Notion Entrepreneurial Intention and Resilience: A Prisma Approach. Administrative Sciences, 15(6), 224.

Zafar, S., Sohail, A., CA, B. S., Saeed, N., & Naeem, M. F. (2024). Driving Entrepreneurial Sustainability: Unveiling The Influence Of Performance, Social Dynamics, And Privacy Factors On Behavioral Intentions. Kurd. Stud., 12, 1068–1077.

Downloads

Published

2026-01-31