Customer environmental pressure, environmental initiatives and innovation as pathways to overcoming operational obstacles: The critical role of gender diversity

Environmental sustainability has become a critical focus for many companies globally. Customer expectations increasingly pressure Tunisian firms to adopt environmentally sustainable practices. This study examines the relationships between customer environmental pressure, environmental initiatives, innovation, and firms' operational obstacles. We analyze these interactions using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and quantitative data from the 2020 World Bank Enterprise Survey on Tunisian firms. The results reveal that customer-driven environmental pressure significantly encourages firms to adopt environmental initiatives, which fosters innovation and helps mitigate operational obstacles. Furthermore, gender diversity moderates the relationship between environmental initiatives and innovation and the link between innovation and firms' operational obstacles. These findings have significant policy implications, underscoring the need to strengthen customer-driven environmental pressure and support firms in adopting sustainable practices, as well as promoting gender diversity, to achieve environmental sustainability and mitigate operational challenges.