PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to reveal the antecedents of the new green product success (NGPS) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that manufacture in T & uuml;rkiye with a middle-income economy. To this end, a research model for the serial mediating role of green human capital (GHC) and green adaptive ability (GAA) in the relationship between green mindfulness (GM) and NGPS was developed and tested. Determining the driving forces of NGPS is essential due to the contributions of SMEs manufacturing, especially in middle-income economies, such as T & uuml;rkiye, to the national economy.Design/methodology/approachThe present study used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesized relationships. The study hypotheses were tested in a sample of 396 manufacturing enterprises, qualified as SMEs in T & uuml;rkiye with ISO 14001 certificates.FindingsEmpirical evidence indicates that GM, GHC and GAA act as significant antecedents of NGPS. Furthermore, empirical evidence demonstrates that GHC and GAA, in turn, mediate the relationship between GM and NGPS.Research limitations/implicationsManagers, especially in manufacturing SMEs, should be aware that they need to develop intangible resources to improve NGPS. Increased investment in GM results in higher levels of GHC and GAA, which collectively leads to improved NGPS.Originality/valueThe current literature has not previously explained the mechanism of the relationship between GM and NGPS. The originality of the present study, which discusses the relevant research gap, is to develop an integrated framework to investigate how GM impacts NGPS, specifically for SMEs, and to test it empirically.