Top management’s green transformational leadership and competitive advantage: the mediating role of green organizational learning capability

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to develop an original green organizational learning capability (GOLC) framework to examine the effects of green transformational leadership (GTL) on competitive advantage (CA) through GOLC by making use of the natural resource-based view (NRBV). Design/methodology/approach The current research proposes GOLC as a novel construct that simultaneously integrates green absorptive capability (GAC) and green transformative capability (GTC). Furthermore, this study presents a theoretical model that investigates GOLC as an intermediate mechanism in the relationship between GTL and CA based on the NRBV. The partial least squares method is used to test the data collected from 265 firms included in the list of Turkey’s Top 500 Industrial Enterprises in 2019 and having ISO 14001 certificate. Findings Top management’s GTL positively affects the firm’s GOLC. Moreover, GOLC positively affects the firm’s CA. This study further shows that GTL has a significant indirect effect on CA through GOLC. Practical implications This study demonstrates how firm managers can be persuasive in adopting GOLC with a critical role in developing and promoting green products and services to improve the firm’s environmental sustainability and CA by exhibiting GTL. Originality/value This research applies the NRBV theory to propose a novel concept, GOLC and develops an integral conceptual model to discover its managerial impacts, antecedent and consequence. No prior literature has examined the impact of top management’s GTL on GOLC and CA.

Antecedents of Competitive Advantage for Vietnamese Firms: The Roles of Transformational Leadership, Organizational Learning and Innovation

“…Leaders make important decisions in the process of attraction, development and deployment of firm resources, conversion of these resources into valuable goods, as well as delivery of value to organizational stakeholders. So, transformational leaders are the valuable sources for sustaining competitive advantage (Lado et al, 1992;Chen et al, 2020;Özgül & Zehir, 2022).…”

The relationship between green transformational leadership, corporate social responsibility, and task performance

“…Supervisors urge workers to achieve ecological goals and stimulate them to enhance their performance and voluntary sustainable activities (Babiak & Trendafilova, 2011; Chua & Han, 2022; Norton et al, 2015). Supervisors should engage in GTL to create and foster inner skillset necessary for green novelty and achievement of firm ecological objectives (Özgül & Zehir, 2022). Thus, workers performance is impacted by GTL (Tosun et al, 2022).…”

“…Idealized persuade is represented in two facets; supervisor ecological behaviors and workers behavior. GTL is associated with mentorship wherein supervisor supports deliberate inspirational motivation (Özgül & Zehir, 2022). As in, supervisors CSR actions act as modeling for workers ecological actions.…”

“…Yet the process between GTL and workers performance remain unclear. Researchers have called for more studies to examine the mediation role between GTL and results such as responsible behavior and performance (Moin, Omar, Wei, et al, 2021; Özgül & Zehir, 2022; Tosun et al, 2022).…”

“…Novel transformational roots are advanced by firms with green aspects. Thus, bridging this green issue, supervisors should focus on firm policies and reinforce control (Özgül & Zehir, 2022). Firm's responsible activities can be evolved by enhancing the link between workers and company, which may mediate the impact of CSR on workers wellbeing and their job actions.…”