Most research on institutional pressure focuses on mature enterprises. However, compared with mature enterprises, new ventures are more sensitive to institutional pressure due to their lack of legitimacy. Based on the theoretical path of “environment–strategy–performance”, this study investigated the influence of institutional pressure on entrepreneurial performance as well as the mediating role of green entrepreneurial orientation and the moderating role of network centrality. An empirical analysis based on 288 survey samples from China showed the following: coercive pressure has not only a direct positive impact but also an indirect positive impact on entrepreneurial performance through green entrepreneurial orientation; normative pressure and mimetic pressure positively affect entrepreneurial performance through green entrepreneurial orientation; green entrepreneurial orientation has a positive impact on entrepreneurial performance; network centrality positively regulates the relationships between coercive pressure, mimetic pressure, normative pressure and green entrepreneurial orientation. The paper concluded by highlighting the importance of the conclusions for new ventures to improve their performance as well as for policy makers to optimize the institutional environment for entrepreneurship.

Grounded in regulatory focus theory, this study investigates the double-edged sword effect of generative AI adoption on sustainable entrepreneurial intentions and its underlying mechanisms. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 357 business students from public universities in China. The results reveal that generative AI adoption exerts a double-edged effect: it enhances sustainable entrepreneurial intentions by strengthening sustainable entrepreneurial self-efficacy through a promotion-focused pathway, while simultaneously undermining such intentions by heightening sustainable entrepreneurial fear of failure via a prevention-focused pathway. Moreover, artificial intelligence literacy moderates these relationships, amplifying the positive influence of generative AI adoption on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and attenuating its negative effect on fear of failure. This study enhances understanding of sustainable entrepreneurship amid the rise in generative AI, extends regulatory focus theory, and informs the development of AI-integrated sustainability education in academic institutions.

The construction and enhancement of ecological niches are essential for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with digital platforms serving as key carriers for achieving niche improvement. However, SMEs encounter a “distinctiveness–conformity” paradox when leveraging digital platforms: they are expected to sustain differentiation to attract resource tilt while simultaneously integrating into the platform ecosystem to obtain a sense of belonging and complementary resources. Grounded in optimal distinctiveness theory, this study analyzes questionnaire data from 383 Chinese SMEs embedded in digital platforms. Results show that digital platform capabilities (integration and reconfiguration) enhance SMEs ecological niches through organizational agility and platform eco-embeddedness. Polynomial regression and response surface analyses reveal that balanced improvement in organizational agility and eco-embeddedness significantly strengthens niche enhancement, whereas imbalance between the two weakens it. This research clarifies how SMEs leverage digital platform capabilities to advance their ecological niches, offering theoretical and practical insights for achieving strategic balance between distinctiveness and conformity in digital platform ecosystems.