Environmental consciousness and intellectual capital management: Evidence from Taiwan's manufacturing industry

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to discuss the impact that environmental consciousness and green intellectual capital had on competitive advantage. The study adopted green intellectual capital as an intervening variable to gain insight into how environmental consciousness indirectly affects competitive advantage.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey on the environmental consciousness and intellectual capital management of Taiwan's manufacturing firms was conducted, and 227 samples were analyzed. The research model investigates the relevant relationships among the constructs by using a structural equation modelling approach.

Findings

Research results reveal that environmental consciousness had an indirect impact on competitive advantage through investment in green intellectual capital. It was thus known that green intellectual capital is a mediator of the relationship between environmental consciousness and competitive advantage.

Originality/value

This paper may serve as a reference for firms mapping out future environmental policies and provide an input of various perspectives and arguments into the discipline of green management.

Citation

Huang, C. and Kung, F. (2011), "Environmental consciousness and intellectual capital management: Evidence from Taiwan's manufacturing industry", Management Decision, Vol. 49 No. 9, pp. 1405-1425. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741111173916