Women as Key Agents in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Gender Multigroup Analysis of the SEO-Performance Relationship

Literature points out that the effect of sustainable entrepreneurship on firm performance may be contingent on internal factors, such as top manager characteristics. This paper proposes that the gender of a firm’s chief executive officer (CEO) greatly influences the sustainable entrepreneurial orientation (SEO)-firm performance relationship. An empirical study was conducted on a stratified random sampling, collecting 210 questionnaires from top managers of firms in Valencia (Spain). A multigroup moderation analysis method was used. The results confirm that women tend to increase the positive effect of SEO in firm performance.