GREEN CULTURE LEADERSHIP AS A STRATEGIC DRIVER OF SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE IN SMART ECONOMIES

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of Green Culture Leadership (GCL) on Sustainability Performance (SP) as a strategic driver in Energy Institutes in Rivers State, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was used to survey 120 staff members and the data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS). The results indicated that GCL had significant positive influences on OGC (v = 0.56, p < 0.001) and direct influence on SP (v = 0.18, p < 0.05). In addition, OGC significantly mediated the relationship between GCL and SP (v = 0.39, P < 0.001), which confirmed that OGC played a significant mediating role in the relationship between GCL and SP. Smart Economies Adoption (SEA) was found to have a positive impact on SP (v = 0.29; p < 0.01), albeit its moderating effect on the GCL-SP relationship was only marginal. The model accounted for 61% of the variance in SP and suggested that the combination of leadership, culture, and innovation had a strong influence on institutional sustainability outcomes. The study made a contribution to sustainability and leadership theory by showing that GCL is most effective through the organizational culture and that technological innovation augments, but does not fundamentally change the leadership-performance relationship. Practically, the findings indicated that Nigerian higher education institutions should integrate ecological values in their leadership practice, institutionalize them in the organizational culture and promote the adoption of smart economy to enhance the sustainability outcomes.