Purpose The slack–performance, slack–innovation and innovation–performance associations are conflicting. This study seeks to offer solutions. It introduces green innovation capability as a potential mediator and sustainable leadership as a potential moderator. By 2030, the world community must triple renewable energy production to 11,000 GW. Stakeholders are pressuring renewable energy companies worldwide to accelerate technology while cutting costs. This sustainability pressure forces the companies to re-examine their slack resources and repurpose their potential in innovative ways that offer undiscovered opportunities for growth. The purpose of this article is to unlock these undiscovered opportunities. Design/methodology/approach Using convenience sampling, this study leveraged data from 101 functional managers and their deputies. It tested a research model grounded in resource-based theory. The mediation and moderation analyses were carried out using the variance-accounted-for and product indicator approaches, respectively. Smart PLS software, conditioned under a 5% significance level, was used. The analysis was conducted using the PLS-SEM methodology. Findings The findings revealed a partial and positive mediation of green innovation capability in the association between slack and green innovation performance, accounting for 31.46% of the variance. This implies that renewable energy companies with more slack achieve enhanced green innovation performance through the intervention of green innovation capability. Sustainable leadership positively and significantly moderated the slack–green innovation capability and green innovation capability – green innovation performance associations. This suggests that sustainable-minded leaders maximize resource benefits and translate innovations into actual environmental performance gains. Research limitations/implications The partial intervening role of green innovation capability indicates that there might be other unknown factors affecting the association between slack and green innovation performance. As such, further research may introduce other potential interveners, such as green absorptive capability and green alliance formation capability. The study used convenience sampling. Further research may use a random sampling technique to enhance generalizability. This study was conducted within a developing country context and therefore may not apply to developed economies. Further research could test this article’s conceptual framework in developed nations and compare the results. Practical implications Managers of renewable energy companies should reimagine slack as innovation seeds rather than safety nets and rethink organizational systems that rapidly form and dissolve as slack becomes available. These systems will bring together diverse talent to tackle specific sustainability challenges. Top-management teams should prioritize sustainability mind-sets in leadership hiring and promotion decisions. Government funding regulations should allow for flexible capital reserves rather than strict funding models that mandate “use it or lose it” approaches. In addition, the government should provide tax incentives or benefits for companies that leverage strategic slack for green innovation activities. Social implications The study provides a roadmap for transforming “idle resources” into “green profit engines”. The strategic interplay of slack, capability and leadership offers a substantial advantage to companies in Ghana’s capital-constrained renewable energy landscape. It shows how corporate strategic decisions translate into societal benefits and accelerate national and global sustainability transitions. Originality/value Firstly, the study provides cross-industry validation for the slack–performance, slack–innovation and innovation–performance associations in the renewable energy industry. Secondly, the study reconciles the conflicting findings in the aforementioned associations. It introduces green innovation capability as an intervention factor and sustainable leadership as a contingency factor. Thirdly, the study challenges conventional resource management paradigms. It argues that strategic and purposeful deployment of slack accelerates renewable energy technology. Fourth, the study transforms sustainable leadership from a guiding force to a catalyst that fundamentally reshapes how companies view and use their slack for environmental innovation.
Mensah et al. (Fri,) studied this question.