Purpose Industrialization has contributed to global environmental problems, especially in developed countries, but increasingly so in developing ones as well. Leveraging on the natural resource-based view theory, this study aims to examine the mediating role of environmental consciousness (EC) on the relationship between green intellectual capital (IC) and environmental performance among manufacturing firms in Ghana against a backdrop of increasing national drive towards greater industrialization. Design/methodology/approach This study used a cross-sectional survey design to obtain data from 245 manufacturing firms using purposive sampling technique. Structural equation modelling was used to test for the hypothesized relationships among variables. Findings Evidence suggests that green IC has a significantly positive effect on environmental performance. Furthermore, it was found that green IC has a positive and significant effect on EC, but EC only mediated the relationship between green IC and environmental performance. Practical implications Manufacturing firms within emerging economies like Ghana can improve on their green practices by incorporating these findings in their business models, while research could be guided to focus their inquiries on this and related genre of scholarly work. Originality/value This study is an early-stage study to identify EC as a variable which mediates the relationship between green IC and environmental performance among manufacturing firms in an emerging economy like Ghana.

Purpose The post-pandemic emerging market is competitive and green, which has contributed to the growing pressure on firms to adopt into their business models green strategies with competitive outcomes. Therefore, this paper aims to draw from the natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory to examine how green intellectual capital (IC) can influence green competitive advantage of manufacturing firms in Ghana, by elucidating the mediating role of eco-innovation speed and quality in the relationship. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional survey data were obtained from 212 manufacturing firms in Ghana, using purposive sampling techniques. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine the factor structure of the measurement models. Structural equation modelling technique was used to analyse the hypothesized relationships. Findings The study found that green IC has a positively significant effect on green competitive advantage of manufacturing firms. However, while eco-innovation speed positively mediates the relationship, eco-innovation quality plays a negative mediating role in the effect of green IC on green competitive advantage of manufacturing firms in Ghana. Practical implications The framework of this study provides to managers of manufacturing firms, a superior green strategy that is unique, valuable and non-substitutable with the capable to provide green competitive edge to firms in a turbulent sustainability-driven market. Originality/value Through the lens of the NRBV theory, this study provided a firstly knowledge on the crucial role of eco-innovation speed and quality in driving firms’ green competitive advantage within a post-covid emerging market.

PurposeThe current knowledge economy views firm competitive advantage from the strategic management of knowledge resources. Therefore, rooted in the resource-base view theory, this paper empirically investigated how organizational ambidexterity and innovative leadership behaviour mediate the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and firm performance among small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachUsing purposive sampling, cross-sectional survey data was obtained from 244 SMEs in Ghana. Structural equation modelling was used in testing for the hypothesized relationships.FindingsFindings show that IC has a significant positive effect on firm performance. Additionally, innovative leadership behaviour and organizational ambidexterity have a parallel mediating effect on the relationship between IC and performance.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study have exposed managers of SMEs in Ghana to develop unique behavioural and organizational resources that facilitate competitive edge through strategic utilization of IC, leadership innovation and ambidexterity to produce superior performance.Originality/valueThis study is a pioneering one that uniquely investigated how innovative leadership behaviour and organizational ambidexterity play a parallel mediating role in the IC–performance nexus in a less-industrialized economy.

Purpose The novel COVID-19 supply chain disruption has globally altered the environmental needs of society. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to examine how top managers are environmentally committed to integrating green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in the operational performance of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, within the post-pandemic economy. Design/methodology/approach The study used a cross-sectional survey to obtain data from 270 SMEs in Ghana, using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling to test seven hypothesized relationships. Findings The outcome of the analysis revealed that top management environmental commitment has a significantly positive effect on supply chain operational performance. The structural model also revealed that top management environmental commitment has a positive and significant effect on both internal and external GSCM practices. The results further revealed that both internal and external GSCM practices have positive and significant effects on supply chain operational performance. Finally, both internal and external GSCM practices mediate the path between top management environmental commitment and supply chain operational performance. Research limitations/implications The study provides a novel framework which contributes to both theoretical studies and managerial decisions on COVID-19 related supply chain management issues. However, the study was limited to the Ghanaian context, thus, further related studies are required in other contexts. Originality/value This study provides a novel framework by elucidating the intervening role of GSCM practices in the path between top management environmental commitment and supply chain operations in an emerging post-pandemic world context.