Driving sustainability in emerging economies: Leadership, culture, and knowledge management in environmental performance

• Green Transformational Leadership (GTL) significantly influences Environmental Performance Outcomes (EPO). • Knowledge Management (KM) is a stronger mediator than Green Organizational Culture Management (GOCM). • Integrates leadership, culture, and knowledge systems within the Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV). • Highlights KM’s role in driving sustainability through innovation and operational efficiency. • Provides actionable insights for enhancing environmental performance in emerging economies. This study examines the influence of Green Transformational Leadership (GTL) on Environmental Performance Outcomes (EPO) in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) industries, with particular attention to the mediating roles of Green Organizational Culture Management (GOCM) and Knowledge Management (KM). Drawing on the Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV), a quantitative survey was conducted with 312 industrial firms using a multi-phase data collection process. The analysis indicates that green transformational leadership has a significant direct effect on environmental performance outcomes (β = 0.240, p < 0.001), while both green organizational culture management and knowledge management partially mediate this relationship. Knowledge management demonstrates a stronger indirect effect (β = 0.085, p < 0.001) compared to green organizational culture management (β = 0.038, p = 0.022), suggesting that knowledge-based systems provide more immediate pathways for translating leadership intent into environmental outcomes. The six demographic and positional control variables showed no significant influence on environmental performance outcome, indicating that the main effects are not driven by respondent characteristics. These findings support the applicability of the Natural Resource-Based View in an emerging-economy context and highlight the complementary roles of culture and knowledge in shaping environmental performance. The study advances theoretical understanding by integrating green transformational leadership, green organizational culture management, and knowledge management into a single framework and offers sector-relevant implications for industries seeking to align leadership development, cultural practices, and knowledge systems with sustainability goals.