Green intellectual capital as a driver of social performance in SMEs in Vietnam: the role of knowledge and innovation

Purpose This study aims to explore the relationship between green intellectual capital (GIC) and social performance in small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam. Specifically, it examines how three components of GIC, green human capital, green structural capital and green relational capital, influence social performance through the mediating roles of green knowledge sharing and green innovation. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a quantitative approach, using partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze data collected from 508 valid responses of small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam. The study applies a sequential mediation analysis to assess the roles of green knowledge sharing and green innovation as mediating mechanisms on the relationship between GIC components and social performance. Findings The findings of the current study show that green knowledge sharing and green innovation are significant mediators between GIC components (green human capital, green structural capital and green relational capital) and social performance. This research shows that GIC enhances social performance through a process that begins with the development of green knowledge-sharing practices, which foster green innovation. Moreover, these innovations lead to enhanced social performance of organizations as they fulfill the expectation of their stakeholders and improve their corporate social responsibility performance. Originality/value This study advances GIC research by moving beyond the field’s dominant emphasis on environmental and financial outcomes to examine social performance, which remains comparatively underexplored in prior GIC work. In contrast to studies that test GIC’s direct effects or consider knowledge sharing or innovation as isolated mechanisms, the model theorizes and validates a sequential process in which GIC (via its human, structural and relational dimensions) strengthens green knowledge sharing, which then facilitates green innovation, culminating in enhanced social performance in Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises. By identifying this pathway, the study clarifies how GIC is transformed into social sustainability benefits and offers a process-based explanation that complements and extends existing GIC-performance research.