1. Introduction
The most pressing challenge of today’s society is to attain a sustainable environment for future generations to live better [
1,
2,
3]. Thus, companies are also susceptible to environmental hazards due to social pressure and employing diverse initiatives to minimize these environmental hazards [
4,
5]. According to Genç and Benedetto [
6] and Hart and Ahuja [
7], the previous literature demonstrates the awareness and importance of environmental protection, and highlights several imperative variables for the companies’ green environment. According to Vithessonthi [
8] and Quazi et al. [
9], several pieces of research have advocated the prominence of distinctive determinants for proactive environmental strategies, for instance, planning and operating practices (POP) and communicational practices (CP). Society and industry should solve the protection of environmental issues; thus, companies have a vital role in saving the natural environment for the community [
10,
11]. Hence, global warming and other environmental issues have become pertinent factors for existing competitive circumstances on a globalized planet [
12]. The eco-friendly approach is described as “to preserve the edge between the natural environment and industrial progress” (Aragon-Correa and Sharma [
13], p. 7). The companies concerned with alleviating their collision in the natural environment should know the realistic inferences of environmental hazards management. Several researchers have addressed this critical issue, such as Hunt and Auster [
5], Seroka-Stolka and Fijorek [
14], and Min and Oh [
15]. They have differentiated the proactive companies for managing the environment rather than reactive towards the environmental hazards. According to Forés [
4], Hunt, and Auster [
5], if the organization devises and implements environmental protection initiatives with its motivation, it is a proactive environmental strategy. The self-motivated environmental precautions are free from any regulations. The proactive environmental protection strategies include preserving waste material and reducing energy, emissions, hazardous material, and chemical wastes regarding processes and products [
12,
16]. However, at the same time, the implementation of environment-related regulations to protect the ecosystem and community from pollution and smog is regarded as eco-friendly reactivity [
17]. The reactive strategy involves implementing minimal essential alterations to meet rules and laws to employ the smog controls to prevent penalties and bad reputation [
18,
19].
Proactive environmental practices have been debated for a long time regarding the dimensions and aspects. Some researchers have argued that the proactive environmental strategy (PES) is one-dimensional [
4,
20,
21]. However, Lucas [
22] and González-Benito and González-Benito [
23] have a different opinion, and they established that a proactive environmental strategy has multi-dimensional aspects. Hence, three reasonable practices are included in a proactive environmental strategy in which organizing and planning practices are the most important [
24]. This practice involves the allocation of resources, devising strategies, and the development of environmental policies and procedures. However, the second practice comprises operational practices, which involve implementing devised environmental responsibilities and practices. The third is known as the communicational practices, which are involved throughout the implementation process to track the practices in the right direction [
25,
26]. Ecofriendly companies are more competitive due to the proactive approach to environmental hazards [
4,
6]. Recent studies are reinvestigating, not only the factors which have remained eco-friendly, but how and with whose efforts these companies remain eco-friendly [
27,
28,
29,
30]. As such studies’ findings are not conclusive, the debate is still open vis à vis focusing on the eco-friendly concerns. Additionally, current research outcomes demonstrated that the association is not direct between companies’ performance and execution of volunteer eco-friendly exercises [
2,
31,
32]. According to Do and Nguyen [
33], Hoang et al. [
34], and Cheng et al. [
35], the association between environmental strategies and companies’ performance is meditated through some prominent factors. Thus, the reinvestigation of this association has become very vital. Hence, the research has addressed the mediation and moderation association, evaluated the novel modified conceptual framework, and examined the company’s performance, taking proactive environmental strategy as an independent variable and eco-innovation as a mediator and technological advances as moderator [
25,
36,
37].
1.1. The Novelty and Significance of the Research Study
The novelty and significance of this research are embedded in a unique and modified conceptual framework and questionnaire that can be replicated by future researchers for other industries. Additionally, this is the first kind of study that addresses the environmental concerns of Asian pharmaceutical sectors, which will benefit the practitioners and senior managers to reduce the intensity of environmental hazards for consistent operational and financial performance. This research also introduces three different statistical techniques for analyzing the data. Thus, this unique modeling will be helpful for future researchers and industry practitioners. Therefore, the research has imperative theoretical implications for providing new knowledge amid determinants of proactive environmental, mediator, and moderator in a modified conceptual framework for future investigations. On the other hand, the findings also contributed to the practical implications of providing green business strategies for operating and financial performance in the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, this research’s findings offer guidelines to the policymakers, companies, communities, and regulatory bodies regarding practices of environmental exercises.
1.2. The Objectives of the Research Study
The research evaluates the direct effect of proactive environmental strategy and its determinants, such as organization and planning practices, operating practices, and communicational practices, on pharmaceutical firms’ financial and operational organizational functioning. Moreover, the indirect (mediation) effects of eco-innovation and moderation of technological advances between proactive environmental strategies and its determinants, and financial and operational performances, have been analyzed in the context of pharmaceutical sectors of China and south Asian countries, for instance, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. This research proves that proactive environmental strategies and their determinants, technological advances, and eco-innovation concurrently positively contribute to the companies’ eco-friendly aspects and sustainable development. This research’s prime objective is to evaluate the scope of independent variables, mediators, and moderators on the operational and financial performance of the pharmaceutical sector of Asian economies.
1.3. Research Questions of the Undertaken Study
We have addressed the following questions to fulfill the objectives of the research study:
Are proactive environmental strategies, such as organization and planning practices, improving the financial and operational functions of pharmaceutical sectors of south Asian countries?
Are proactive environmental strategies, for instance, operating practices, improving the financial and operational functions of the pharmaceutical sector?
Are proactive environmental strategies, for instance, communicational practices, improving the financial and operational functions of the pharmaceutical sector?
Is eco-innovation (mediator) an efficient and effective strategy to improve the financial and operational practices of the pharmaceutical industry?
Are technological advances (moderator) improving environmental hazards for the pharmaceutical industry’s long-term financial and operational performance?
The remaining paper is structured as follows: section two contains the theoretical framework and hypotheses development; section three comprises of the materials and methods of the study; section four analyzes the data and provides the findings of the study; section five contains discussions; and section six provides conclusions, and followed by theoretical and practical implications, and limitations and areas of future studies.
6. Conclusions
The findings of the direct relationship concluded that the proactive environmental strategy positively and significantly impacts the financial and operational performances. It means proactive environmental strategy may enhance an organization’s operational and financial performance, distinguishing the firm from rival companies and acquiring a sustainable competitive advantage. The outcomes further concluded that the three determinants of proactive environmental strategy, such as planning and organizational practices, communicational practices, and operational practices, have an affirmative and significant influence on operational and financial performance. Thus, planning and organizational practices may boost the organizational financial and operational performance. Similarly, communicational and operational strategies can enhance the organizational performance imperative for long-term sustainable competitive advantage. The findings also concluded that eco-innovation has an affirmative and cogent influence on mediation in the association of proactive environmental strategy and its determinants, for instance, planning and organizational practices, operational practices, and communicational practices on the operational and financial performance. Hence, eco-innovation could be an efficient and effective strategy for a firm’s long-term growth and competitive advantage. Finally, the findings confirmed that technological advances have a compelling influence on moderation in a relationship of proactive environmental strategy and its determinants, for instance, planning and organizational practices and communicational and operational practices on the operational and financial performance. Thus, new technologies can boost a firm’s financial and operational performance. The overall findings of this research concluded that the incorporated modified model has proven its effectiveness, and could be used for effective management, environmental, and marketing strategies for an organization’s competitive and profitable performance.
6.1. Theoretical and Managerial Implications
This research’s findings provide imperative theoretical implications, such as results enhancing the body of existing knowledge regarding the proactive environmental strategy model regarding the financial and operational performances. Future researchers can also replicate similar models in other industries with the moderation of technological advances and eco-innovation mediation. The practitioners of CSR and higher management of the organizations can make effective CSR and green strategies for competitive advantage and sustainable development in light of the study’s outcomes. The government and regulators can devise vigilant strategies and regulations to minimize pollutions and other environmental hazards. Therefore, the undertaken studies demonstrated and concurrently ascertained towards sustainable development of ecological and economic leaders. The practical implications are equally important for every stakeholder, such as the community, policymakers, companies, and regulatory agencies concerned with fostering eco-friendly controlling exercises.
6.2. Limitations and Potential Areas of Future Studies
The undertaken study has specific limitations; for instance, we did not analyze the cause and effect between the variables. Thus, it is recommended that future researchers employ more robust models, which may also evaluate the cause and effect between the variables. The current study has incorporated limited independent factors as a proactive environmental strategy; therefore, future studies may incorporate more generalizable and robust results. Several other mediating and moderating factors can be incorporated in future studies for better environmental strategies. The undertaken study has taken only the pharmaceutical sector. Thus, the results cannot be generalizable to other sectors; hence, it is recommended that future studies incorporate multiple sectors for more generalizable outcomes.