Antecedents of Green Innovation among SMEs in Ghana: The Moderating Role of Organizational Green Core Competence

The drive toward sustainable production and consumption has gained momentum among academics, policymakers, and industry practitioners. A critical factor in this sustainability match is the recycling entrepreneur/firm. This study examines the internal and external factors that influence the green innovation performance of small and medium enterprises using a resource-based view as a theoretical lens. This study examines the relationship between stakeholder sustainability pressure, sustainability identity, green creativity, green core competence, and green innovation performance. Specifically, we examine the causal effects of stakeholder sustainability pressure and sustainability identity on green creativity and then the impact of green creativity on green product and process innovation performance. In addition, the moderating role of green core competence is assessed in the link between green creativity and green innovation performance. Data were collected from respondents in the landscape in Ghana. The result of the empirical analyses indicates that sustainability pressures have a significant impact on the green creativity of SMEs. In contrast, sustainability identity does not affect the green creativity of SMEs. In addition, green creativity affects the green processes and product innovation of SMEs in the sustainability ecosystem. In addition, green core competence has a significant impact on the green process and product innovation performance of firms. However, the moderating effect of green core competence is weak and quite insignificant.