What is it about?
This study looks at whether the attitudes and behaviour of managers affect how well firms innovate and adopt environmentally friendly practices. Using survey data from Hungarian wineries, we find that firms led by managers who are more proactive, open to new ideas, and willing to take calculated risks tend to perform better in both business innovation and eco-innovation. In other words, managers who are more forward-looking are more likely to introduce new products, improve marketing, and support greener business practices. The findings suggest that business performance and sustainability do not depend only on money, technology, or regulation. They also depend on the people making decisions inside firms. This matters especially for small and medium-sized businesses, where managers often play a central role in shaping strategy and change.
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Why is it important?
This study is timely because many firms today are trying to balance competitiveness with sustainability. Its unique contribution is to show that managers themselves can be a key part of that process. Using evidence from Hungarian wineries, the paper finds that proactive, opportunity-seeking managers are linked not only to stronger innovation performance, but also to better environmental innovation. The findings matter because they shift attention from technology and regulation alone to the people making decisions inside firms. This could help shape future research as well as practical policies aimed at supporting greener and more innovative businesses.
Perspectives
For me, the main contribution of this publication is that it highlights something that is often overlooked in discussions of competitiveness and green transition: the role of the manager as a decision-maker. I find this especially compelling because in smaller firms, strategic change is rarely abstract or automatic — it depends on how managers interpret challenges and opportunities. I also appreciate that the paper treats sustainability not as a separate issue from business performance, but as something closely connected to innovation more broadly. I hope the study helps shift attention toward the people inside firms who make adaptation possible.
Professor Imre Fertő
Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegyetem
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Do Managers Shape Enterprise Outcomes? Managerial Orientation, Innovation Performance, and Demographic Moderators in the Hungarian Wine Sector, Business Strategy and the Environment, March 2026, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/bse.70782.
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