An empirical investigation of the relationship between green intellectual capital and corporate sustainable development

Abstract

Increasing concern for environmental issues makes it important to investigate the relationship between green intellectual capital (GIC) and organisational sustainability (Yussof et al., 2019). GIC is considered a viable solution to sustainability issues (Jermsittiparsert, 2021). This study aims to examine the relationship between GIC, green human capital (GHC), green relational capital (GRC), green structural capital (GSC), with each dimension of corporate sustainable development (CSD) — social development (SD), economic development (ED), environmental development (EnD). This study used a sample of 168 medium-sized companies in Bali Province, Indonesia, and collected data using a direct questionnaire sent to the chief executive officers (CEOs). Data analysis employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (SEM-PLS) with WarpsPLS 8.0 software. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between GHC and GSC with each CSD dimension. The study also showed that GRC only had a significant positive relationship with ED, while SD and EnD were found to be positively insignificant. An important contribution of this study is to provide a new conception of the role of GIC in building a sustainable company and can increase understanding of the important role of GIC and stimulate managers’ interest in developing GIC to achieve sustainable results through the strategic management of GIC.