The base-of- the-pyramid orientation and export performance of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises

•Base-of-the-pyramid orientation (BOPO) examined.•Impact of BOPO on export performance analysed.•The mediating mechanism of BOPO-export performance relationship articulated.•The moderating role of social innovation examined. This study explores the impact of the baseofthepyramid orientation (BOPO) on export performance (EP) through the mediating mechanism of environmental sustainability practices (ESPs). In addition, it examines the moderating role of social innovation (SocInnno) on the relationship between BOPO and ESPs. The proposed model and its hypotheses were tested, using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) on the data from 163 internationalized Vietnamese small and medium enterprises collected through a survey. The following were the study’s conclusions: (1) BOPO positively affects ESPs; (2) the impact of BOPO on ESPs is amplified when SocInno is high; and (3) ESPs mediate the relationship between BOPO and EP. These findings reveal how BOPO contributes to the export success of small and medium enterprises in emerging markets through ESPs. Additionally, the present study elucidates the mechanism by which BOPO influences EP even as it adds to the current understanding of BOPO by introducing SocInno as a boundary condition.