How Does Green Intellectual Capital Promote Green Innovation? The Mediating Role of Green Dynamic Capability and the Moderating Role of Organisational Slack

Green intellectual capital (consisting of green relational capital, green structural capital and green human capital) serves as a valuable resource for environmental protection, providing firms with green information and technologies that contribute to green innovation. However, the resource-based view emphasises that the relationship between resources and performance can be complex and indirect. Unlocking the value of resources and enhancing firm performance require a resource integration process. In this context, the mechanism linking green intellectual capital to green innovation warrants further exploration. While recent studies have focused on external integration, this study underscores the importance of internal integration processes to understand the relationship between green intellectual capital and green innovation. Specifically, we investigate how green dynamic capability mediates the relationship between green intellectual capital and green innovation. Additionally, we examine the positive moderating effect of organisational slack on the relationship between green intellectual capital and green dynamic capability. To achieve this goal, we collected data from 211 firms in Anhui Province, China, and employed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and SmartPLS software. Our findings indicate that both green relational capital and green structural capital positively impact green innovation, with green dynamic capability mediating these relationships. Additionally, organisational slack positively moderates the relationship between green relational capital and green dynamic capability, whereas it negatively moderates the relationship between green structural capital and green dynamic capability. Our study contributes to the existing body of research on the relationship between the green intellectual capital and green innovation by explaining the mediating role of green dynamic capability and the moderating effects of organisational slack. Additionally, we offer practical implications for firms striving to transform green intellectual capital into green innovation.