The mediating role of organisational learning capability in the relationship between green intellectual capital and business sustainability / Yusmazida Mohd Yusoff

Over the last decade, a number of scholars have paid considerable attention to sustainability issues. As a result, various “green” strategies have been developed. However, very limited studies focused on green intellectual capital that provide organisations with a competitive advantage, minimise environmental impact and comply with strict international environmental regulations. In addition, competition on the twenty-first-century market requires organisations to continuously change, learn how to sustain and grow. The organisation requires a management mechanism to support the creation of organisational knowledge. In this regards, organisational learning capability acts as a set of management practices that facilitate the learning process within organisations with a view to increasing organisational performance. It is essential to examine how green intellectual capital affects the business sustainability. The aim of this study is therefore to examine the relationship between green intellectual capital dimensions (green human capital, green structural capital, and green relational capital) and business sustainability through the use of organisational learning capability as a mediator. A quantitative survey technique is used to collect data from the manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. 168 usable responses were received and further analysed using appropriate statistical methods. The research model was then tested using a partial least square (PLS) technique. Smart PLS 3.2.7 has been used to validate the research model and to test the proposed research hypotheses. The results of this study led to a number of significant findings. This study confirms that green structural capital and green relational capital have a positive relationship to business sustainability, while green human capital does not. The results also show that organisational learning capability play a mediating role in the relationship between green relational capital and business sustainability. Overall, the research model explains a significant amount of variance (70.7 percent) in business sustainability. In view of the substantial explanatory power of the model findings, this study has made significant theoretical and practical contributions. This study also provides theoretical inputs on the natural resource-based view, intellectual capital-based view, and dynamic capability view theory. There are currently very few scholars who link these theories together. In addition, this study also provides practical suggestions on how green intellectual capital, organisational learning capability, can influence business sustainability.