Green organizational culture and ecological performance of hotels in Dalmatia: the mediating role of eco-innovations

Abstract

Increasing environmental challenges and the growing demand for sustainable tourism encourage hotels to enhance green practices. In this context, green organizational culture may function as a key internal resource, while eco-innovation represents the mechanism through which this resource is translated into measurable ecological outcomes. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of green organizational culture on the implementation of eco-innovations and the ecological performance of hotels, while testing the mediating role of eco-innovations. The research was conducted on a sample of 73 hotels in Dalmatia, and the data were analysed using the PLS-SEM approach. The results confirm a positive effect of green organizational culture on eco-innovations (β = 0.608; p < 0.001) and a positive effect of eco-innovations on ecological performance (β = 0.440; p < 0.001). The direct effect of culture on ecological performance is not significant (β = 0.149; p = 0.155), whereas the indirect effect through eco-innovations is significant (β = 0.267; p < 0.001), indicating a pattern of full mediation. Findings suggest that green organizational values influence environmental outcomes primarily through concrete eco-innovation activities, thereby providing empirical support for the RBV/NRBV explanation of the mechanism through which organizational resources operate in the hotel sector.