Drawing on environmental sustainability and indigenous conservationism literature, we examine the influence of chief executive officers' (CEOs) beliefs on firms’ sustainability expenditure through the mediating mechanism of managerial attitudes towards the natural environment. Using data collected from 494 small and medium-sized enterprises in a developing country, we found that superstition positively affects managerial attitudes towards the national environment and this relationship is moderated by gender, such that the relationship is amplified for female chief executive officers (CEOs). In addition, the results suggest that the effect of superstition on sustainability expenditure is mediated by managerial attitudes towards the natural environment. The implications for sustainability literature and practices are discussed.