Organisational resources as facilitators and inhibitors of green performance: non-linearities, interactions and international differences

Abstract

While firms face pressure to improve their green (i.e., environmental) performance, little is known about how adapting their resources can help them to more successfully implement green practices and improve their green performance. Drawing on the resource-based view, this study develops novel hypotheses about the effects of a firm’s non-financial and financial resources on its green performance. These hypotheses are tested with hierarchical linear modelling of international, multi-source objective data. Regarding non-financial resources, this study finds a U-shaped effect of female board-of-directors representation on green performance, which is moderated by the directors’ education level. Moreover, the directors’ education level positively influences green performance in Asian countries, but not in Western countries. Regarding financial resources, financial slack and R&D intensity exert non-linear effects on green performance. These original findings help firms to maximise their green performance by resource adjustments, and help public policy makers spread knowledge to develop their economy sustainably.