The current research theme is grounded in multiple innovation and organizational behavior theories. According to the diffusion of innovation theory by Rogers, Singhal, and Quinlan (2014), when a product is at its introduction level, there are some reasons, such as a lack of knowledge about green products and green activities. When green practices are in the initial stage, defects may need to be addressed to improve consumer utility. Furthermore, according to the expectancy theory (Ferris, 1977), until the consumers are fully aware of, know the performance and have motivations, they would like to use and think positively about the innovation. The diffusion of innovation theory and expectancy theory support the basis of the framework investigated in this study (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993).

As approaching evidence advocates, according to these theories, this is not the end of the narrative and consumers are not always as sensible or systematic as they appear to be regarding establishing attitudes. The diffusion of innovation theory has different stages according to the product life cycle, from introduction to decline. During the growth stage, green products are at the highest point of acceptance by consumers (Wang et al., 2020). However, consumers in the laggard stage are mostly resistant to green product innovation. In expectancy theory, customers see different benefits from the product based on environmental knowledge and may show pro-environment behavior. This knowledge helps them shape their attitudes toward green products, which are innovative and helpful in improving the environment (Chen, Chang, & Hsiao, 2022). Similarly, if consumers engage in pro-environmental behaviors, they expect that their attitude toward green innovation products will result in better environmental outcomes for society. The proposed theoretical framework of this study is presented in Fig. 3. Thus, the present study is grounded in the latest theories on innovation, consumers’ motivations, and expectations.

Green innovation will reduce specific environmental risks, such as CO2 emissions and other consequences of climate change, as well as product usage. Environmental design is defined as creating innovative environmental systems, developing sustainable processes, and applying eco-design principles (Anser, Yousaf, Nassani, Abro, & Zaman, 2020). Several researchers have presented definitions of green innovation in the past (Anser et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020). A description of ecosystem innovation has been provided. Green innovation involves generating new ideas and promoting creativity in products, services, processes, and procedures (Afridi et al., 2020). The procedure is environmentally friendly and can help reduce environmental dangers.If SMEs adopt green innovation practices, they decrease the consumption of natural resources, follow recycle, reuse, and remanufacture policies, use renewable technologies, produce environmentally friendly products through design and innovation, and use less toxic materials that are harmful to the environment (Mazhar, Jam, & Anwar, 2012; Sanni, Ngah, Karim, Abdullah, & Waheed, 2013; Wang et al., 2020). How the adoption of green innovation practices convinces consumers that it improves environmental quality is a gray area of research. Marketing scholars have paid little attention to this issue. Thus, when marketing green innovation products designed by SMEs, it is vital to explain new features with benefits to consumer utility and their utility to the environment, to create and develop a favorable attitude. According to Hoeffler (2003), truly novel items are associated with higher levels of uncertainty than incrementally new products. Based on the characteristics explained as green innovation practices and reasons for consumer resistance to innovation, it is expected that consumers with less environmental knowledge will resist the development of green innovation products by SMEs. Thus, we propose the following hypothesis:

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  H1: Green innovation practices are negatively related to consumer resistance to green innovation products.

Environmental knowledge entails the general knowledge of facts, concepts, and interactions relating to the natural environment and ecosystems (Fryxell & Lo, 2003). It concerns people's knowledge about how products are made, their environmental impact, and how collective responsibility is required for long-term growth. Consumers’ green purchase behavior requires collective awareness and friendly attitudes toward green products, and the intention to buy green products is imperceptibly generated (Xu et al., 2022). Consumers are familiar with the greenhouse effect, waste management, hazardous waste, and recycled materials. There is a strong link between environmental awareness and green purchasing behavior (Sadiq, Adil, & Paul, 2021). Businesses involved in environmentally responsible activities have high integrity (Khan et al., 2021). If a consumer is offered information on the causes and effects on the environment, their level of awareness will rise, and they will likely choose green products for daily activities. Thus, environmental knowledge has been reported as a key external factor influencing consumer resistance toward green innovation products (Huang, Jin, & Coghlan, 2021). Recent research has concluded that rituals and personal image are the strongest barriers to consumer acceptance of innovation (Sadiq et al., 2021; Shahbaz, Tiwari, Jam, & Ozturk, 2014; Waheed, Kaur, Ain, & Sanni, 2015). Additional findings have revealed that environmental concerns reduce the negative impact of value and image building on consumer resistance to green products (Sadiq et al., 2021). Another recent study reported that innovation resistance theory factors are negatively related to the intention to use innovative applications. However, some studies have reported that consumer communication significantly influences innovation resistance factors (Chen et al., 2022). Thus, pointing toward the interactive effects of consumer communication by increasing consumer knowledge may help overcome the resistance among consumers toward green innovation products. Thus, based on evidence from recent literature and theories, this study proposes the following hypothesis:

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  H2: Environmental knowledge moderates the relationship between green innovation practices and consumer resistance to green innovation products. If environmental knowledge is high, the negative relationship is weak.

Sustainability has become a prominent topic because of widespread environmental degradation. In recent years, environmental problems and their negative influence on society have prompted a movement toward environmental betterment, promoting green industry and consumption to prevent environmental damage (Fryxell & Lo, 2003). Consumer behavior is the root of the change in environmental difficulties; thus, most businesses and consumers face challenges in conserving resources and safeguarding the environment worldwide (Kashi, 2019). The recent increase in environmental quality during the lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) highlights that human actions are the primary cause of environmental degradation. Some recent studies reported that pro-environmental behaviors are valid predictors of employees’ environmental performance as it helps shape their attitudes (Ali, Nisar, Abidin, Qammar, & Abbass, 2022; Khan, Jianguo, Ali, Saleem, & Usman, 2019; Waheed, Klobas, & Kaur, 2017). Consumers are the most important participants in green marketing; thus, examining their green consumption habits is critical. Humans are responsible for conserving the environment by limiting their use of natural resources. Consumers must switch from conventional to green products to reduce their environmental impact. Green consumer behavior is a panacea for preventing future environmental devastation. A recent study on consumer innovation resistance factors reported pro-environmental behaviors as key influencers in determining consumer attitudes and resistance toward eco-friendly innovations (Huang et al., 2021). Another study reported similar findings that beliefs and attitudes, and people's political ideologies, are greatly influenced by pro-environmental behaviors compared to social and demographic attributes (Smiley, Chen & Shao, 2022). Another study investigated the adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) as a moderator between energy efficiency-based behavior, intrinsic motivation and green thinking. The study confirmed that pro-environmental behaviors have stronger associations with technology and innovation adoption (Mansoor & Paul, 2022). Thus, leading toward testing the moderating influence of pro-environmental behaviors on green innovation practices and consumer resistance to green innovation products. This notion was also grounded in the theory of innovation diffusion. Thus, the following hypothesis was proposed:

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  H3: Pro-environmental behavior moderates the relationship between green innovation practices and consumer resistance to green innovation products. If the pro-environmental behavior is stronger, the negative relationship will be weaker.

In summary, this research is an incremental advance to build theoretically grounded associations between the two unique constructs of marketing technology and innovation literature. Usually, consumers are reluctant or resistant to innovation due to the natural human tendency to avoid change and uncertainty. Consumers’ resistance to innovation has been explained as resistance to extended features of the new innovative product, its usability, the consumption procedure, or its lack of utility felt by consumers (Sun, 2021).

After obtaining formal permission from managers to include their personnel in this investigation, a letter detailing the study's aims was sent to the management of the Malaysian SMEs, requesting their voluntary participation. The identities of the business and its employees were kept private. It was guaranteed that no personal information would be used, published, or shared with a third party throughout the research project. SMEs from three different states, Johar, Penang, and Selangor, were included in this research to capture employees’ perceptions regarding the study variables. Researchers assume that all SME employees are users and consumers of products locally produced by other Malaysian SMEs. Thus, employee data was preferred over consumer data to avoid complicated consumer classifications. A total of 1000 employees from 100 SMEs were contacted via email. They were sent a questionnaire and a covering message stating the study's objectives and inquiring about their voluntary willingness to participate in this research. The researchers were able to enlist 820 employees to participate in the study. The language of the online survey was English, and only proficient English users were included in the survey. Further, 70 more respondents were excluded from the study due to poor language proficiency. The data gathering procedure began on January 5, 2022, and 760 valid data were administered on March 10, 2022. More data responses were excluded due to missing values and unengaged responses. In conclusion, the final number of responses was 750, with 80% of the final response rate.

A 24-item questionnaire was developed to investigate green innovation practices, consumer resistance to green product innovation, and the moderating influence of environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behavior on Malaysian SMEs employees.

A 7-item scale for green innovation practices was adopted, which included “lower consumption of e.g., water, electricity, gas, and petrol during production/use/disposal.” and “recycle, reuse, and remanufacture materials or parts” as items. The results were collected using a “7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

A 5-item scale for consumer resistance to green product innovation was adopted. Items included in this scale were “spending more time to adapt to new functions than before.” and “Do not consider this product the first choice.” The results were collected using a “7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

A 6-item scale was adopted for environmental knowledge. Items included in this scale are “I make it a point to stay up-to-date about changes in environmental laws and regulations related to this business” and “I put a lot of effort into being aware of the environmental aspects and impacts of my business.” The results were collected using a “7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

A 6-item scale of pro-environmental behavior was adopted. The items included in this scale are “I suggest workplace practices that could improve performance.” and “I undertake actions that contribute positively to my company's image.” The results were collected using a “7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

The measurement and structural models were evaluated using SmartPLS3. According to the simulation assessment, participants’ gender and marital status significantly impacted consumer resistance to green product innovation; as a result, demographic information was controlled across the research analysis. Demographic profiles are presented in Table 1.

Furthermore, the measurement model was used to calculate Cronbach's alpha (CA) and composite reliability (CR) to examine the consistency of the data (Raeder, Larson, Li, Kepko, & Fuller-Rowell, 2008). CA and CR values of more than 0.7 were found in all research components, showing that they fulfilled the accuracy criteria (Ramayah, Cheah, Chuah, Ting, & Memon, 2018). The constructs’ convergent validity was determined using factor loadings and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) (Ramayah et al., 2018). All factor loadings of the study constructs met the minimum threshold of 0.70 in both experiments, and the AVE was greater than 0.50 (Raeder et al., 2008). The results are presented in Table 2.

Moreover, all the study models demonstrated discriminant validity. According to Fornell and Larcker (1981), discriminant validity is “the amount to which a given latent variable differs from other latent variables.” It was calculated by examining the correlation between latent variables and the actual number of AVEs (Raeder et al., 2008). Raeder et al. (2008) recommend using latent components with a value of 0.50 or higher when establishing discriminant validity. According to Raeder et al. (2008), discriminant validity is demonstrated when the square root of AVE is greater than the value of the latent variable. The discriminant validity values for this research are presented in Table 3 below.

This study contributed to several theoretical advancements in the knowledge related to environmental management, marketing, and innovation. First, it unifies two distinct theories, diffusion of innovation and expectancy theories, into a single paradigm. The application and integration of these two famous theories in a single framework is a major incremental theoretical advance in current research. Such theoretical advances are scarce in the literature on green marketing and consumer innovation resistance. Second, customer aversion to new technologies or products can impact the spread of green products. Furthermore, depending on their use, consumers may have varying levels of resistance to different product offerings or advancements. Such key theoretical insights have opened ample avenues for theoretical exploration in literature. Third, this study is incremental to the body of knowledge by bridging theoretical gaps between consumer resistance to digital innovation, green innovation practices, environmental knowledge, and pro-environmental behavior constructs. Fourth, a major contribution of the study is to propose and test the moderation of environmental knowledge, and pro-environmental behaviors in a unique theoretical association pitched in the present study. This enlarged relationship study is a new theoretical contribution that has benefited from the empirical data from the unique context of Malaysian SMEs. Finally, this study is one of the earliest attempts to bring together and integrate green activities into a cohesive theoretical framework that includes consumer resistance to innovation.

Regarding practical implications, this study's findings imply that when developing innovative green products for customers, managers should consider green innovation practices and techniques while considering the psychological and attitudinal factors to manage consumer resistance to new technology or product change and innovation. First, managers should be influenced by the reduced potential market for current products if the green product and actual product offer many similar characteristics and thus have greater stability. Marketers are responsible for creating environmental knowledge in their target market and use pro-environmental behaviors as role models to overcome consumers’ resistance to new technology and innovation in green products. The key elements of innovation by Malaysian SME were green product innovation, green innovation practices, and the moderating impact of environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behavior. Therefore, the present study may provide key insights that consumer resistance to green product innovation, environmental knowledge, and pro-environmental behavior are linked in determining the success of any green product innovation. Therefore, managers, marketers, and design specialists are encouraged to work together to improve the physical, social, and psychological value of green products for the consumer. Finally, if consumers are more resistant to innovative green products, managers should be mindful that new green products may not be adopted as quickly as predicted to determine the success or failure of green products.

Like other studies, this study has substantial shortcomings that must be considered in future research attempts. The present survey was conducted among Malaysian SMEs’ employees for several reasons. For example, actual consumers may not be aware of the green innovation practices adopted by SMEs. Moreover, it was not convenient to identify if consumers are using some SME products of SMEs and its environmental knowledge is related to those SMEs products or not. Therefore, considering employees as consumers solved the purpose and matched the study objectives. Future studies should consider two different samples in a single study, one from employees and another from consumers separately to analyze comparative differences in attitudes and behaviors of both categories as consumers. As this study is based solely on SME data, its generalization to larger companies and FMCGs is limited. Comparative research on SMEs and large companies may help answer many unanswered questions. Second, the data were collected in a cross-sectional format despite the likelihood that future researchers may use a longitudinal study design for a better causal association. As the adoption of green innovation practices is more frequent in industrialized nations for consumer resistance to green product innovation, experts should investigate variables that may mediate the impacts in additional research to acquire more significant outcomes in managing consumer resistance to technology and innovation. Finally, future studies can collect a large amount of data for research for more accurate results. Additionally, a comparative study of developing and developed countries may highlight the differences in consumer attitudes and behaviors as well as environmental knowledge differences between the two dynamic settings.