Is training a green innovation driver? The mediating role of knowledge acquisition

Purpose The purpose of this study is to contribute to empirical research on green innovation drivers. This paper analyzes the relationships between training, knowledge acquisition, green innovation and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is carried out on a sample of 373 Spanish companies from a wide variety of sectors. This research has used the partial least squares (PLS) model to test the hypotheses. Findings It is found that green innovation and knowledge acquisition improve firm performance, and that knowledge acquisition has a mediating effect between training and green innovation. Practical implications The findings of this article indicate that green innovation allows the company to obtain benefits while reducing the negative environmental impact, then managers should bet on ecological innovation. This study also shows that there is an indirect effect of training on green innovation and, therefore, managers must invest in training as a mechanism to increase knowledge acquisition and, thus, green innovation. Originality/value This paper analyzes two research areas that have received little attention: the role of human resource management in green innovation and the relationship between a given driver and green innovation. In the first, it analyzes whether training increases green innovation, and in the second, it considers the effect of training on knowledge acquisition and on green innovation, specifically, it studies whether knowledge acquisition mediates the relationship between training and green innovation.