Knowledge Management Capabilities and Green Innovation: A Knowledge-Based View Model of Organisational Performance

Abstract

This article examines the influence of knowledge management (KM) capabilities on green innovation (GI) and organisational performance (OP) from a knowledge-based perspective (KBV). KM is defined as a set of interconnected processes (knowledge acquisition (KA), knowledge creation (KC), knowledge sharing (KS), knowledge retention (KR)) that enable organisations to create and utilise organisational knowledge for innovative purposes. The analysis utilised secondary data from the publicly available ICPSR dataset to examine the full sequential pathway from KM to GI and from GI to OP. Findings demonstrated a positive relationship between a firm's KM capabilities and its ability to create GI, and newly developed GI can produce both operational and strategic performance outcomes. Mediation analysis found that GI is an important mechanism for applying KM capabilities to produce performance gains. Finally, robustness checks confirmed the robustness of the primary relationships. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence that KM capability processes are important components in the development of innovation-related competitive advantage through the generation of knowledge-driven and sustainability-oriented innovation by organisations.