Beyond green marketing claims to ESG excellence in the automotive industry: unravelling the quality mechanism and leadership dependency

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how green marketing influences environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance through total quality management (TQM) and how green (sustainable) leadership moderates this mechanism. Design/methodology/approach The design of this study was explanatory and cross-sectional. A sample of 119 full-time employees of small but growing automotive companies in Ghana responded to an online survey questionnaire. The authors analysed the collected data using SmartPLS 4 at the 5% significance level. Findings Green marketing significantly strengthened TQM and ESG performance. TQM partially mediated in the green marketing–ESG performance relationship. The green marketing–TQM and TQM–ESG performance relationships were significantly reinforced when green leaders were present. Research limitations/implications Future research should focus exclusively on managerial respondents for strategic constructs or use hierarchical linear modelling to account for nested data structures. They should introduce other mediators into the green marketing–ESG performance. Practical implications Marketing managers should collaborate with quality managers to develop claim substantiation protocols before launching green campaigns. Consumers should choose companies that support their marketing claims with transparent quality metrics and consistent leadership messaging. Investors should choose companies that make sustainability a fundamental aspect of operational excellence. Regulators should mandate companies to report on the specific quality management processes supporting their environmental marketing claims. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to show that ESG performance arises from the systematic integration of environmental consciousness in core organisational processes. It uses sustainable leadership to resolve the conflicting perspectives in the green marketing and TQM literature, contributing to the fields of sustainability, marketing, operations management and leadership.