Acquire, disseminate and respond – greening the interplay of knowledge management and innovation speed on environmental performance

Purpose The surging globalization and environmentalism have prompted manufacturers to swiftly incorporate society's ecological concerns into their business models and innovation strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Drawing from the natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory and the dynamic capability theory (DCT), this study aims to examine how manufacturers' green knowledge management dimensions and green innovation speed translate into environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a structured questionnaire instrument to source cross-sectional survey data from 363 Ghanaian manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using purposive sampling techniques. The hypothesized relationships were analyzed using the SmartPLS data analytical tool. Findings The results revealed that green knowledge management dimensions (i.e. acquisition, dissemination and responsiveness) are positively related to both environmental performance and green innovation speed respectively, and these relationships are significant except for green knowledge dissemination, which has no significant effect on environmental performance. Further, green innovation speed significantly mediates the nexus between green knowledge management dimensions – acquisition, dissemination and responsiveness – and environmental performance. Practical implications This study has provided manufacturers with an imperative framework that can be adopted and operationalized to minimize the environmental impact of their activities and innovations. Social implications This study sensitizes global readers and policymakers about alternative strategies that can accrue environmental sustainability benefits to the manufacturing sector operations. Originality/value The originality of this study is embedded in its novel framework, which contributes to the empirical research on green innovation speed and the exploration of under-conceptualized green dimensions of knowledge management.