Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management
Green Pathways: From Environmental Strategies and Green Intellectual Capital to Environmental Performance, with the Mediating Role of Environmental Management Accounting
Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management 13(2) (2025) 107--124 | DOI:10.5890/JEAM.2025.06.001
Muhammad Amir$^{1,2}$,
Moin Uddin$^{3}$, Hafiza Safia Shaukat$^{1,2}$, Sadaf Khan$^{4}$, Saira Arshad$^{1}$,\\ Mahnoor Ansari$^{1}$, Amna Arshad$^{1}$
$^{1}$ Department of Commerce, University of the Punjab, Gujranwala Campus, Pakistan
$^{2}$ School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia
$^{3}$ Department of Finance, College of Administrative and Financial Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Saudi Arabia
$^{4}$ College of Business Administration, Princess Norah University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Download Full Text PDF
Abstract
Organizations are increasingly focusing on environmental sustainability as a crucial aspect of their operations in pursuit of sustainable development goals. This study investigates the influence of environmental strategies and green intellectual capital on environmental performance, while considering the mediating effect of environmental management accounting. Data were gathered through self-administered questionnaires from 411 manufacturing organizations in Pakistan. The analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software, employing structural equation modelling to test the study hypotheses. To the best of our knowledge, this study breaks new grounds by offering a comprehensive examination of the relationship among environmental strategies, green intellectual capital, and environmental performance, particularly within manufacturing organizations with ISO 14001 certification, emphasizing the critical role of environmental management accounting as a mediator. Drawing from the natural resource orchestration approach, this study offers valuable insights for managers and shareholders, emphasizing the significance of strategic environmental management and intellectual capital in achieving long-term sustainability objectives beyond financial gains.
References
-
[1]  | Appannan, J.S., Mohd Said, R., Ong, T.S., and Senik, R. (2023), Promoting sustainable development through strategies, environmental management accounting and environmental performance, Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(4), 1914-1930.
|
-
[2]  | Sahoo, S., Kumar, A., and Upadhyay, A. (2023), How do green knowledge management and green technology innovation impact corporate environmental performance? Understanding the role of green knowledge acquisition, Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(1), 551-569.
|
-
[3]  | Fatima, K., Ahmed, A., and Mahnoor, A.H.S. (2023), Green intellectual capital driving environmental performance: The mediating role of green ambidexterity and moderating influence of environmental ethics, Sustainable Trends and Business Research, 1(2), 62-75.
|
-
[4]  | Van Zanten, J.A. and van Tulder, R. (2021), Improving companies' impacts on sustainable development: A nexus approach to the SDGS, Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(8), 3703-3720.
|
-
[5]  | Vysochan, O., Hyk, V., and Vysochan, O. (2023), The impact of corporate governance, financial performance, intellectual capital and enterprise size on integrated reporting: Evidence from Ukraine, Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management, 11(04), 429-439.
|
-
[6]  | CCKP. RiskHistorical Hazards, Pakistan 2023 [cited 2023 30 december]; Available from: https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/pakistan/vulnerability.
|
-
[7]  | Assessment, W.b. Pakistan - Strategic country environmental assessment : Main report (English). 2021; Available from: https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/132221468087836074/main-report.
|
-
[8]  | Latan, H. (2018), Effects of environmental strategy, environmental uncertainty and top management's commitment on corporate environmental performance: The role of environmental management accounting, Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, 297-306.
|
-
[9]  | Gao, Y., Lu, Y., Su, C.-W., and Zhang, Y. (2023), Does China's low-carbon action reduce pollution emissions? A quasi-natural experiment based on the low-carbon city construction, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(10), 27013-27029.
|
-
[10]  | Chaudhry, N.I. and Amir, M. (2020), From institutional pressure to the sustainable development of firm: Role of environmental management accounting implementation and environmental proactivity, Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(8), 3542-3554.
|
-
[11]  | Ali, K., Kausar, N., and Amir, M. (2023), Impact of pollution prevention strategies on environment sustainability: role of environmental management accounting and environmental proactivity, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(38), 88891-88904.
|
-
[12]  | Asiaei, K., Bontis, N., Alizadeh, R., and Yaghoubi, M. (2022), Green intellectual capital and environmental management accounting: Natural resource orchestration in favor of environmental performance, Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(1), 76-93.
|
-
[13]  | Hart, S.L. (1995), A natural-resource-based view of the firm, Academy of Management Review, 20(4), 986-1014.
|
-
[14]  | Hart, S.L. (1995), A natural-resource-based view of the firm, Academy of Management Review, 20(4), 986-1014.
|
-
[15]  | Amir, M. and Chaudhry, N.I. (2019), Linking environmental strategy to firm performance: A sequential mediation model via environmental management accounting and top management commitment, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 13(4), 849-867.
|
-
[16]  | Hart, S.L. and Dowell, G. (2011), Invited editorial: A natural-resource-based view of the firm: Fifteen years after, Journal of management, 37(5), 1464-1479.
|
-
[17]  | Lisi, I.E. (2015), Translating environmental motivations into performance: The role of environmental performance measurement systems, Management Accounting Research, 29, 27-44.
|
-
[18]  | Malik, M.S., Ali, K., Amir, M., Tariq, K., and Ramzan, M. (2024), Green transformational leadership, environmental strategy, and green innovation: Mediated moderation of knowledge sharing and green absorptive capacity, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 18(2), 503-526.
|
-
[19]  | Wang, J., Xue, Y., and Yang, J. (2020), Boundary‐spanning search and firms' green innovation: The moderating role of resource orchestration capability, Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(2), 361-374.
|
-
[20]  | Anders{e}n, J., Jansson, C., and Ljungkvist, T. (2020), Can environmentally oriented CEOs and environmentally friendly suppliers boost the growth of small firms?, Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(2), 325-334.
|
-
[21]  | Pandey, U. and Singh, S. (2021), Environmental performance evaluation of European farms by assessing polluting factors in joint production, Journal of Cleaner Production, 328, 129457.
|
-
[22]  | Ali, K., Amir, M., and Malik, M.S. (2023), Strategic motives, proactive environmental strategies and corporate performance: Role of business model innovation and competitive intensity, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 17(2), 348-369.
|
-
[23]  | Uyar, M. (2020), The association between environmental strategies and sustainability performance in the context of environmental management accounting, Ege Academic Review, 20(1), 21-41.
|
-
[24]  | Chaudhry, N.I., Asad, H., Amir, M., and Hussain, R.I. (2020), Environmental innovation and financial performance: Mediating role of environmental management accounting and firm's environmental strategy, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 14(3), 715-737.
|
-
[25]  | S{a}ez-Mart{i}nez, F.J., D{i}az-Garc{i}a, C., and Gonz{a}lez-Moreno, {A}. (2016), Factors promoting environmental responsibility in European SMEs: The effect on performance, Sustainability, 8(9), 898.
|
-
[26]  | Abdelhalim, A.M. (2024), How management accounting practices integrate with big data analytics and its impact on corporate sustainability, Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, 22(2), 416-432.
|
-
[27]  | Zhang, S., Wang, Z., and Zhao, X. (2019), Effects of proactive environmental strategy on environmental performance: mediation and moderation analyses, Journal of Cleaner Production, 235, 1438-1449.
|
-
[28]  | Hina, K., Khalique, M., Shaari, J.A.N., Mansor, S.A., Kashmeeri, S., and Yaacob, M.R.B. (2024), Nexus between green intellectual capital and the sustainability business performance of manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia, Journal of Intellectual Capital, ahead-of-print.
|
-
[29]  | Ahmed, W., Ashraf, M.S., Khan, S.A., Kusi-Sarpong, S., Arhin, F.K., Kusi-Sarpong, H., and Najmi, A. (2020), Analyzing the impact of environmental collaboration among supply chain stakeholders on a firm's sustainable performance, Operations Management Research, 13, 4-21.
|
-
[30]  | Henri, J.F., Journeault, M., and Brousseau, C. (2017), Eco-control change and environmental performance: a longitudinal perspective, Journal of Accounting \& Organizational Change, 13(2), 188-215.
|
-
[31]  | Baia, E., Ferreira, J.J., and Rodrigues, R. (2020), Value and rareness of resources and capabilities as sources of competitive advantage and superior performance, Knowledge Management Research \& Practice, 18(3), 249-262.
|
-
[32]  | Alam, S.S. and Islam, K.Z. (2021), Examining the role of environmental corporate social responsibility in building green corporate image and green competitive advantage, International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 6(1), 8.
|
-
[33]  | Chen, Y.S. (2008), The driver of green innovation and green image--green core competence, Journal of Business Ethics, 81, 531-543.
|
-
[34]  | Trevlopoulos, N.S., Tsalis, T.A., Evangelinos, K.I., Tsagarakis, K.P., Vatalis, K.I., and Nikolaou, I.E. (2021), The influence of environmental regulations on business innovation, intellectual capital, environmental and economic performance, Environment Systems and Decisions, 41, 163-178.
|
-
[35]  | Abdelfattah, F., Salah, M., Dahleez, K., Darwazeh, R., and Al Halbusi, H. (2024), The future of competitive advantage in Oman: Integrating green product innovation, AI, and intellectual capital in business strategies, International Journal of Innovation Studies, 8(2), 154-171.
|
-
[36]  | Awan, U., Sroufe, R., and Shahbaz, M. (2021), Industry 4.0 and the circular economy: A literature review and recommendations for future research, Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(4), 2038-2060.
|
-
[37]  | Li, W., Bhutto, M.Y., Waris, I., and Hu, T. (2023), The nexus between environmental corporate social responsibility, green intellectual capital and green innovation towards business sustainability: An empirical analysis of chinese automobile manufacturing firms, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 1851.
|
-
[38]  | Chuang, S.P. and Huang, S.J. (2018), The effect of environmental corporate social responsibility on environmental performance and business competitiveness: The mediation of green information technology capital, Journal of Business Ethics, 150, 991-1009.
|
-
[39]  | Trevlopoulos, N.S., Tsalis, T.A., Evangelinos, K.I., Vatalis, K.I., and Nikolaou, I.E. (2024), The role of environmental regulatory-and proactive-driven corporate strategy in creating corporate green intellectual capital (GIC) and environmental innovation (EI), Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15(1), 4750-4775.
|
-
[40]  | Pondeville, S., Swaen, V., and De Rong{e}, Y. (2013), Environmental management control systems: The role of contextual and strategic factors, Management Accounting Research, 24(4), 317-332.
|
-
[41]  | Perez, F., Hujer, A.M., Hujer, K.M., Decker, B.K., Rather, P.N., and Bonomo, R.A. (2007), Global challenge of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 51(10), 3471-3484.
|
-
[42]  | Truong, B.T.T., Nguyen, P.V., Vrontis, D., and Ahmed, Z.U. (2023), Unleashing corporate potential: the interplay of intellectual capital, knowledge management, and environmental compliance in enhancing innovation and performance, Journal of Knowledge Management, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print).
|
-
[43]  | Jones, O.R. and Wang, J. (2010), COLONY: a program for parentage and sibship inference from multilocus genotype data, Molecular ecology resources, 10(3), 551-555.
|
-
[44]  | Christ, K.L. and Burritt, R.L. (2013), Critical environmental concerns in wine production: an integrative review, Journal of Cleaner Production, 53, 232-242.
|
-
[45]  | Amir, M., Malik, M.S., and Ali, K. (2024), Unlocking green growth: an ARDL estimation of pollution prevention practices for economic and environmental sustainability, Environment Development and Sustainability, 26(8), 19983-20000.
|
-
[46]  | Sidik, M.H.J., Yadiati, W., Lee, H., and Khalid, N. (2019), The Dynamic association of Energy, Environmental Management Accounting and Green Intellectual Capital with Corporate Environmental Performance and Competitive, International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 9(5), 379-386.
|
-
[47]  | Huang, C.L. and Kung, F.H. (2011), Environmental consciousness and intellectual capital management: Evidence from Taiwan's manufacturing industry, Management Decision, 49(9), 1405-1425.
|
-
[48]  | Umar, M., Ahmad, A., Sroufe, R., and Muhammad, Z. (2024), The nexus between green intellectual capital, blockchain technology, green manufacturing, and sustainable performance, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31(10), 15026-15038.
|
-
[49]  | Journeault, M. (2016), The influence of the eco-control package on environmental and economic performance: A natural resource-based approach, Journal of Management Accounting Research, 28(2), 149-178.
|
-
[50]  | Shahbaz, M.H., Naseem, M.A., Battisti, E., and Alfiero, S. (2024), The effect of green intellectual capital and innovative work behavior on green process innovation performance in the hospitality industry, Journal of Intellectual Capital, 25(2/3), 402-422.
|
-
[51]  | Henri, J.-F. and Journeault, M. (2010), Eco-control: The influence of management control systems on environmental and economic performance, Accounting, organizations and society, 35(1), 63-80.
|
-
[52]  | Solovida, G.T. and Latan, H. (2017), Linking environmental strategy to environmental performance: Mediation role of environmental management accounting, Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 8(5), 595-619.
|
-
[53]  | Ferreira, J.F., Luthria, D.L., Sasaki, T., and Heyerick, A. (2010), Flavonoids from Artemisia annua L. as antioxidants and their potential synergism with artemisinin against malaria and cancer, Molecules, 15(5), 3135-3170.
|
-
[54]  | Gerged, A.M., Zahoor, N., and Cowton, C.J. (2024), Understanding the relationship between environmental management accounting and firm performance: The role of environmental innovation and stakeholder integration -- Evidence from a developing country, Management Accounting Research, 62, 100865.
|
-
[55]  | Wang, Y., Yin, W., and Zeng, J. (2019), Global convergence of ADMM in nonconvex nonsmooth optimization, Journal of Scientific Computing, 78, 29-63.
|
-
[56]  | Potrich, L., Cortimiglia, M.N., and de Medeiros, J.F. (2019), A systematic literature review on firm-level proactive environmental management, Journal of Environmental Management, 243, 273-286.
|
-
[57]  | Guenther, E., Endrikat, J., and Guenther, T.W. (2016), Environmental management control systems: a conceptualization and a review of the empirical evidence, Journal of Cleaner Production, 136, 147-171.
|
-
[58]  | Peria\~{n}ez-Cristobal, R., Calvo-Mora, A., Rey-Moreno, M., and Su{a}rez, E. (2021), Organisational profiles: key factors and results from the EFQM model perspective, Total Quality Management \& Business Excellence, 32(15-16), 1850-1873.
|
-
[59]  | Saldanha, T.J., Sahaym, A., Mithas, S., Andrade-Rojas, M.G., Kathuria, A., and Lee, H.H. (2020), Turning liabilities of global operations into assets: IT-enabled social integration capacity and exploratory innovation, Information Systems Research, 31(2), 361-382.
|
-
[60]  | Helfat, C.E., Stylized facts, empirical research and theory development in management. 2007, Sage Publications Sage UK: London, England. p. 185-192.
|
-
[61]  | Asiaei, K., Barani, O., Bontis, N., and Arabahmadi, M. (2020), Unpacking the black box: how intrapreneurship intervenes in the intellectual capital-performance relationship?, Journal of Intellectual Capital, 21(6), 809-834.
|
-
[62]  | Eichhorn, B.R. (2014), Common method variance techniques, Cleveland State University, Department of Operations \& Supply Chain Management. Cleveland, OH: SAS Institute Inc, 1(11).
|
-
[63]  | Hair, J.F., Risher, J.J., Sarstedt, M., and Ringle, C.M. (2019), When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM, European Business Review, 31(1), 2-24.
|
-
[64]  | Asiaei, K., Jusoh, R., Barani, O., and Asiaei, A. (2022), How does green intellectual capital boost performance? The mediating role of environmental performance measurement systems, Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(4), 1587-1606.
|
-
[65]  | Chaudhry, N.I. and Chaudhry, M.A. (2022), Green intellectual capital and corporate economic sustainability: The mediating role of financial condition, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 16(2), 257-278.
|
-
[66]  | Malik, M.S., Ali, K., Kausar, N., and Chaudhry, M.A. (2021), Enhancing environmental performance through green hrm and green innovation: Examining the mediating role of green creativity and moderating role of green shared vision, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 15(2), 265-285.
|
-
[67]  | Majid, A., Yasir, M., Yasir, M., and Javed, A. (2020), Nexus of institutional pressures, environmentally friendly business strategies, and environmental performance, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(2), 706-716.
|
-
[68]  | Solovida, G.T. and Latan, H. (2017), Linking environmental strategy to environmental performance Mediation role of environmental management accounting, Sustainability Accounting Management and Policy Journal, 8(5), 595-619.
|
-
[69]  | Yusliza, M.Y., Yong, J.Y., Tanveer, M.I., Ramayah, T., Faezah, J.N., and Muhammad, Z. (2020), A structural model of the impact of green intellectual capital on sustainable performance, Journal of Cleaner Production, 249, 119334.
|
-
[70]  | Burritt, R.L., Hahn, T., and Schaltegger, S. (2002), Towards a comprehensive framework for environmental management accounting---Links between business actors and environmental management accounting tools, Australian Accounting Review, 12(27), 39-50.
|
-
[71]  | Schaltegger, S. and Burritt, R.L. (2010), Sustainability accounting for companies: Catchphrase or decision support for business leaders?, Journal of World Business, 45(4), 375-384.
|
-
[72]  | Barney, J. (1991), Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120.
|
-
[73]  | Le, T.T., Nguyen, T.M.A., and Phan, T.T.H. (2019), Environmental management accounting and performance efficiency in the Vietnamese construction material industry-a managerial implication for sustainable development, Sustainability, 11(19), 5152.
|
-
[74]  | Henri, J.F. and Journeault, M. (2010), Eco-control: The influence of management control systems on environmental and economic performance, Accounting Organizations and Society, 35(1), 63-80.
|
-
[75]  | Delgado-Verde, M., Amores-Salvad{o}, J., Mart{i}n-de Castro, G., and Navas-L{o}pez, J.E. (2014), Green intellectual capital and environmental product innovation: the mediating role of green social capital, Knowledge Management Research \& Practice, 12(3), 261-275.
|