Bricolage, Green Creativity, and Paradox Mindset in New Ventures: A Moderated Mediation Analysis of Dual Performance

New ventures pursuing sustainability face a persistent tension between mission and financial viability, yet the behavioral and cognitive factors associated with dual performance in this context remain poorly understood. This study aims to examine whether social and green entrepreneurial orientations are associated with financial and SDG-aligned performance through entrepreneurial bricolage and green creativity, with paradox mindset as a boundary condition. Drawing on paradox theory, survey data from 323 new-venture founders in China were analyzed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4, supplemented by Hayes’ PROCESS macro for conditional indirect effects. Six control variables were included; none significantly predicted either outcome. Results confirm that both orientations are significantly associated with bricolage and green creativity. Bricolage is positively associated with both financial and SDG-aligned performance, while green creativity is significantly associated only with SDG-aligned performance, where its contribution is statistically comparable to that of bricolage. Formal moderated mediation testing confirms that paradox mindset amplifies most orientation-to-mechanism pathways, with the exception of the SEO-to-bricolage relationship, where resource recombination appears to operate as a structural necessity independent of cognitive disposition. Because the study measures the two performance domains rather than founders’ experienced tension, the paradox serves as the motivating theoretical lens rather than a directly tested construct. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference. The study extends paradox theory into sustainable entrepreneurship and offers actionable guidance for founders and policymakers seeking to support new ventures in pursuing both financial viability and SDG contribution.