Aug 2026· Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management· 0 citations· 42 references
Abstract
This study investigates the influence of digital leadership, digital dexterity, and digital culture on green innovation and circular manufacturing, while examining the moderating role of government regulatory intervention within an integrated Resource‐Based View theoretical framework. A quantitative cross‐sectional survey methodology was employed, collecting primary data from 372 manufacturing firm employees across China with a response rate of 32%. Hypothesized relationships were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) via SmartPLS 4.0, with all measurement scales adapted from validated prior research works. Empirical results confirmed all seven hypotheses, establishing that digital leadership, digital dexterity, and digital culture each exert significant positive effects on green innovation, which in turn positively influences circular manufacturing adoption. Government regulatory intervention significantly moderated and strengthened the relationships between all three digital capability dimensions and green innovation, confirming its role as a critical institutional amplifier. This study makes an original theoretical contribution by integrating digital organizational capabilities, green innovation, and circular manufacturing within a unified RBV framework, while introducing regulatory intervention as a boundary condition. Practically, findings advocate for firm‐level investments in digital capabilities and progressive regulatory policy strengthening as complementary mechanisms for accelerating sustainable industrial transitions.
The findings suggest that digital transformation contributes to innovation performance not only through technological efficiency but also through enhanced organizational learning and knowledge utilization capabilities.
S. Jang· Human Resources Management a...· 0 citations
Digital transformation has come to the fore as a pivotal force behind corporate green innovation in the digital economy. Although previous research has documented that digital transformation can promote green innovation, the underlying organizational mechanisms remain theoretically fragmented. Moreover, the external conditions that shape the effectiveness of this relationship are not yet fully understood. To address these gaps, we develop an integrated analytical framework anchored in Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT) and the Resource-Based View (RBV). This framework explains how digital transformation promotes green innovation through two complementary organizational mechanisms—resource investment and technology application—and incorporates the moderating role of digital infrastructure. Using panel data on Chinese A-share-listed firms covering 2015–2024, this study examines the proposed relationships through a Bidirectional Fixed Effects Model, mediation analysis, and moderation analysis. The findings demonstrate a significant positive association between digital transformation and green innovation. This effect is partially mediated by increased R&D(Resource and Development) investment and deeper digital organizational embedding, which constitute complementary pathways reflecting resource investment and enhanced resource utilization, respectively. Additionally, digital infrastructure positively moderates this relationship by providing a more supportive external digital environment. This study enriches the existing literature by synthesizing previously dispersed perspectives on mechanisms into an OIPT-RBV framework, offering a more comprehensive account of how and under what circumstances digital transformation facilitates green innovation. Our findings also carry practical implications for managers seeking to strengthen innovation capabilities and for policymakers aiming to advance digital infrastructure and firms’ sustainable development.
This study is among the first to integrate innovation, agility, and digital resilience into a unified parallel mediation framework linking digital transformation to sustainable business growth, empirically validated in a multi-country Middle Eastern context.
Khodor Shatila· Journal of Entrepreneurship,...· 0 citations
This study examines the relationship between digital transformation and green innovation in Malaysian ICT firms. It specifically investigates the mediating roles of organizational agility and innovation capabilities and the moderating role of institutional pressures. By integrating dynamic capabilities and institutional theory, the research aims to explain how digital transformation supports environmentally sustainable innovation and helps organizations achieve sustainable competitive advantage. A quantitative research design was employed using survey data from 400 employees in Malaysian ICT firms. Data were collected in two phases to minimize bias. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the relationships among variables. At the same time, conditional process analysis examined the mediation effects of organizational agility and innovation capabilities and the moderating role of institutional pressures. The findings show that digital transformation positively influences green innovation. Organizational agility and innovation capabilities significantly mediate this relationship, indicating that digital transformation enhances sustainable innovation by improving adaptability and strengthening innovation capacity. Institutional pressures further strengthen the effects of organizational agility and innovation capabilities on green innovation. This study provides an integrated framework linking digital transformation to green innovation through organizational agility and innovation capabilities while considering institutional pressures as a moderator. It contributes to the literature on digital transformation and sustainability and offers practical insights for managers seeking to use digital technologies to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.
Kamil Hussain, S. Shah, Faisal Khan et al.· Future Business Journal· 0 citations
Green digital technologies are increasingly used to improve environmental visibility, resource efficiency, and sustainability-oriented decision-making. However, their association with sustainable business performance may depend on whether firms convert digital resources into organizational capabilities and implemented circular practices. Drawing on the Natural Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities Theory, and Institutional Theory, this study examines a moderated serial mediation model in which eco-innovation and circular economy adoption sequentially mediate the relationship between green digital technologies and sustainable business performance, while institutional support moderates the relationship between eco-innovation and circular economy adoption. Survey data were collected from managers and professionals in Saudi industrial and manufacturing firms. Of the 450 questionnaires distributed, 420 were returned, and 386 usable responses remained after data-quality screening and were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 4. The results show that green digital technologies are positively associated with eco-innovation (β = 0.662, p < 0.001) and circular economy adoption (β = 0.263, p < 0.001). Eco-innovation is positively associated with circular economy adoption (β = 0.487, p < 0.001), which, in turn, is strongly associated with sustainable business performance (β = 0.726, p < 0.001). The serial indirect association through eco-innovation and circular economy adoption is significant (β = 0.234, p < 0.001). Institutional support also strengthens the eco-innovation–circular economy adoption relationship, although the interaction is comparatively modest (β = 0.118, p = 0.002). The study contributes by distinguishing eco-innovation as a resource-conversion capability from circular economy adoption as an implemented organizational practice and by identifying institutional support as a boundary condition within Saudi industrial firms.
This study investigates the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on sustainable performance within the Chinese industrial context. Specifically, it examines the mediating roles of adaptive capabilities, organizational innovativeness, and organizational resilience, alongside the moderating role of managerial cognition, within an integrated conceptual framework grounded in the resource‐based view (RBV) and dynamic capability theory (DCT). A quantitative cross‐sectional survey design was employed, collecting data from 356 managers and executives across Chinese manufacturing and technology‐intensive firms. Structured questionnaires utilizing validated scales from prior literature were administered, achieving a response rate of 29.7%. Data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM) via ADANCO 2.3. All seven hypothesized relationships were empirically supported. Industry 4.0 technologies positively influenced adaptive capabilities and organizational innovativeness, both of which strengthened organizational resilience, which subsequently enhanced sustainable performance. Two serial mediation pathways were confirmed, and managerial cognition significantly moderated the technology‐capability relationships. This study makes an original contribution by integrating serial mediation and moderation within a unified Industry 4.0 resilience framework, specifically contextualized within Chinese industrial firms. The findings offer actionable guidance for managers and policymakers seeking to leverage digital technologies to build organizational resilience and achieve long‐term sustainable performance.
