The technology-authenticity paradox: How technological capabilities dually enable and inhibit green marketing in a developing economy

This study investigates relationships among green content marketing (GCM), green brand equity (GBE), technological capabilities (TC), and sustainable bank performance (SBP) in Sierra Leone's banking sector—a context of institutional fragility and low digital infrastructure. Despite growing green marketing adoption in developing economies, critical gaps persist regarding how sustainability communication translates into performance and how technological investments moderate this process. Integrating Brand Equity Theory with the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory, we propose and test a conceptual model where GBE mediates the GCM–SBP relationship, while TC exhibits dual, paradoxical moderating effects. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) 4.0 on survey data from 350 banking professionals, we find that GCM positively influences SBP both directly and indirectly through GBE, confirming partial mediation. However, TC negatively moderates the direct GCM–SBP link—a "technology-authenticity paradox" where advanced marketing technologies signal inauthenticity in low-trust environments—while positively moderating the GBE–SBP relationship, functioning as a validation mechanism that substantiates brand trust into tangible performance. This study contributes theoretically by introducing the concept of "resource duality" to the Resource-Based View, demonstrating that TC's value is context-dependent and pathway-specific. Practically, it advises banks to prioritize authentic, community-embedded communication for building GBE, then deploy technology for back-end verification rather than customer-facing promotion. The findings offer critical insights for advancing sustainable banking and SDG achievement in developing economies and institutionally fragile contexts.