Abstract
This paper presents a systematic, evidence-based review of Green Intellectual Capital (GIC) management, a construct first introduced in 2008 and increasingly recognized as a management concept in recent years. This review covers the literature on GIC from 2008 to 2020 and addresses the role played by intellectual capital as a framework to promote sustainability in organizations. With the aim of clarifying our knowledge on the application of the GIC paradigm, this paper reviews the findings on the outcomes achieved by organizations that adopt the GIC paradigm, the antecedents and possible mediation-moderation factors that enhance this process, and the contexts in which such outcomes emerge. Findings show that GIC offers a significant framework for promoting sustainability in organizations. However, even though this study underlines the increasing trend of GIC, there remains very little reliable data on the subject, particularly addressing the role played by GIC as a framework to promote sustainability in organizations. This literature review is valuable for both researchers and practitioners. From a theoretical point of view, it allows one to synthesize the outcomes of GIC to better delineate how it affects organizations and the environment. From a practical point of view, opening a debate about the actual outcomes of GIC allows one to overcome the theory–practice divide, making the value of GIC more accessible to practitioners and managers and pushing them to opt for a green shift in their organizations.
Highlights
The publication of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, known as the Brundtland Report [1], is widely considered as the beginning of the continuously growing calls for sustainability and sustainable development
According to the steps described for the data analysis, the findings of the study are According to the steps described for the data analysis, the findings of the study are shown below and are divided according to the papers’ three characteristics, namely the shown below and are divided according to the papers’ three characteristics, namely the year of publication, the participants’ characteristics, and the papers’ content, year of publication, the participants’ characteristics, and the papers’ content, with regards to Green Intellectual Capital (GIC)’s constructs, antecedents, outcomes, and mediators/moderators of its with regards to GIC’s constructs, antecedents, outcomes, and mediators/moderators of effects
The findings show that GIC was measured as a three-dimensional construct in eighteen out of thirty-two studies, confirming the tripartite model proposed by the intellectual capital (IC) framework [22]
Summary
The publication of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, known as the Brundtland Report [1], is widely considered as the beginning of the continuously growing calls for sustainability and sustainable development. The report defined sustainability as “a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [1]. The Bruntland definition of sustainability has been the basis for the blossoming of environment-friendly strategies and practices among a growing number of companies, especially among manufacturing firms because of their strong impact on the environment. As a consequence of this new managerial direction, the concept of corporate sustainability was drawn up, encompassing three dimensions: Economic, referring to its financial performance; environmental, referring to preventing and reducing environmental damages; and social, referring to the wellbeing of stakeholders, societies, customers, and employees [3]. Two factors exert a growing pressure on organizations to move towards a greening approach and to implement the concept of corporate sustainability: Firstly, the adoption of international declarations and subsequent regulations on environmental protection, such
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