Digital roots, green fruits: can sustainable strategies blossom with digital transformation in project management organizations?

Purpose To achieve green innovation and enhance performance, the implementation of sustainable development strategies (SDS) is essential, particularly in light of limited available resources. Consequently, numerous scholars have explored how digital technologies can facilitate green innovation in an era marked by globalization and digitalization. However, research on the role of SDS in driving digitally supported green innovation remains in its early stages. Grounded in the resource-based view (RBV) theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of SDS and digital transformation on green innovation. Additionally, it examines the moderating effect of resource commitment in this context. Design/methodology/approach This study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data collected from 226 project management organizations. Findings The results reveal that SDS positively affects digital transformation, which in turn boosts green innovation. Digital transformation mediates the link between SDS and green innovation. The results also reveal that the digital transformation interacts with the resource commitment to significantly influence green innovation. The results further confirmed the moderated mediation-related hypothesis. Research limitations/implications The study used cross-sectional, which makes it hard for us to find a cause-and-effect connection between the different factors being studied. Future studies could use longitudinal or experimental data. Practical implications The findings of the paper are significant for companies to invest in digital technologies and to ensure their strategies for utilizing new technology align with their eco-friendly objectives. This research provides insights into the correlation between digital transformation and the integration of SDS with green innovation. Originality/value Our study is one of the pioneering studies contributing to a better understanding of the complex process that underlies the positive link between SDS, digital transformation and green innovation.