From Green Culture to Innovation: How Internal Marketing Drives Sustainable Performance in Hospitality

Abstract

As environmental sustainability becomes a strategic priority for the hospitality sector, firms are increasingly adopting internal green marketing (IGM) practices to drive innovation. This study investigates how IGM influences innovative performance (IP) among hotel employees, focusing on the mediating roles of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and internal green values (IGV). Drawing on data from 400 hotel employees in Egypt and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the results reveal that while IGM significantly enhances PEB and IGV, it does not directly improve innovative performance. Instead, IGV and PEB fully mediate the relationship between IGM and IP, highlighting that innovation emerges primarily through value-driven behavior and organizational culture. These findings contribute to the sustainability and innovation literature by proposing a validated model that explains how internal marketing mechanisms foster eco-innovation. The study offers practical implications for hotel managers aiming to cultivate a sustainability-oriented culture and embed green values into daily operations to support long-term innovation.

1. Introduction

In today’s growing and changing business era, sustainability is no longer a company slogan, it has become a key principle managing how companies can operate (Tardin et al., 2024). As environmental issues continue to affect consumer preferences, legislations, and investor concerns, businesses are gradually blending sustainability policies into their main strategies (Lozano, 2015). While much interest has been awarded to external green marketing practices and efforts targeting improving public perception, there is a growing concern in what is happening behind the scenes (Demirović Bajrami et al., 2025). One evolving area of interest is internal green marketing (IGM), which transfers the attention inward toward company employees and its internal culture (Elshaer et al., 2024). IGM includes implementing environmentally responsible polices widely inside the organization. These practices should be implemented in a way that energetically engages the company employees. It comprises several activities such as green training procedures, leadership that supports environmental behavior, and practices that insert sustainability values into everyday functions (Gürlek & Tuna, 2018). What makes IGM different from other traditional marketing policies is its inward attention, creating a workforce that not only values sustainability but is fostered to act on it. Rather than simply proposing a green company image to customers, this approach generates actual, value-driven culture that is rooted in the ecological responsibility (Renwick et al., 2013).

This inner commitment has exhibited up-and-coming impacts in businesses that are both environmentally vulnerable and greatly service-oriented, such as hotel and hospitality sectors (Chan, 2014). In Egypt, for example, some research has proven that when hotels adopt IGM, staff tend to show more committed to environmental objectives. This practice is known as employee environmental commitment (EEC), which assists in driving effective hotel performance (Elshaer et al., 2024). Furthermore, when hotel staff recognize that their company is environmentally responsible, this identity known as green organizational identity (GOI) strengthens the overall hotel outcomes and performance (Elshaer et al., 2021). When sustainability is embedded into the company internal culture, it not only promotes morale and commitment but also drives obtainable business results (Galal et al., 2024). However, IGM practices can go further and be connected to a business’s capabilities of innovation. Organizations that boost IGM practices tend to build creative solutions to environmental problems, whether over product/service innovation, supply chain enhancements, or innovative business models (Elshaer et al., 2021) Building this type of environmental commitment in employees can make them think outside the box, not just to conform with environmental legislation, but to find intelligent, more sustainable practices of working (Lozano, 2015; Singh et al., 2020).

Concurrently, pro-environmental behavior (PEB) has been identified as a main element in this equation. PEB describes the behaviors staff choose to implement, such as shutting down unused equipment, minimizing paper usage, or suggesting green ideas, that go beyond official job instructions and encourage environmental goals (Robertson & Barling, 2017). These actions are regularly steered by personal raised values but are also greatly induced by the corporate culture and top leadership. Supportive corporate environments are important in this scenario. Research shows that staff are highly expected to act sustainably when they see that their direct leaders are sincerely committed to environmental concerns, when their colleagues also behave responsibly, and when the firm offers enough resources and several recognitions for such efforts (Boiral & Paillé, 2012; Paillé et al., 2014). Top leadership plays an essential and key role. When top managers are acting as role models, staff tend to implement those same attitudes, values, and actions (Wesselink et al., 2015). What is mainly stimulating is how PEB does not just improve the company performance, it also fosters innovation. Staff who have proactive environmental behavior regularly create ideas that can change the workplace. This generates a deep culture where innovation and sustainability concur simultaneously (Zhang et al., 2024).

Despite the increasing recognition of IGM and PEB, there is nonetheless limited knowledge of how these two constructs are related. Most research papers investigated them as separate issues, yet in practice, they are heavily connected. This paper aims to investigate that intersection: how does promoting IGM culture impact employee behavior, and how do those behaviors, in turn, foster innovation? By exploring these intersections, this paper offers some theoretical recommendations and practical insights. From a theoretical standpoint, it helps to bridge the gaps in the previous literature on green marketing behavior and corporate innovation. From a practical perspective, it offers guidance for top leaders aiming to generate workplaces that are not only environmentally oriented but also customer responsiveness and forward thinking. Eventually, merging IGM and PEB could be the main key to creating businesses that are proactive to survive in a sustainability-driven future.

2. Theoretical Background and Hypotheses Formulation

As the call for environmentally oriented organizations and implementing sustainable practices rises louder across the world, businesses are reshaping their strategies and blending sustainability practices into their core functions (Tardin et al., 2024). This transaction is not absolutely a reaction to several external pressures; it exhibits a broader belief that a company’s internal resources can be a forceful push for change (Demirović Bajrami et al., 2025). One helpful lens to understanding this shift is the resource-based view (RBV), which claims that when internal resources, such as employee pro-environmental behavior, organizational culture, and workplace values, are considered as rare resources with a valuable capability and are difficult to imitate, they can be used to create a sustained competitive advantage (Barney et al., 2001). From this standpoint, fostering environmental culture within the organization policies is not just an ethical image; it is strategically helpful, specifically when these polices impact innovation (Kim et al., 2019). A concept closely related to this argument is IGM. Unlike the traditional green marketing strategies, which focus outward on company customer and image, IGM turns the focus inward. It contains practices to learn, encourage, and empower staff around environmental concerns, through green training sessions, top leadership commitment, and inserting sustainability practices into the everyday communication process and decision-making activities (Demirović Bajrami et al., 2025; Gürlek & Tuna, 2018).

One key theoretical basis for this research paper is the “Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment” (OCBE), which assist in explaining the idea of PEB in the corporate workplace (Akterujjaman et al., 2022; Boiral & Paillé, 2012). PEBs are the voluntary activities performed by the company employees, regularly beyond main job activities, to foster environmental sustainability, for example recycling, minimizing energy usage, or introducing eco-friendly new ideas (Boiral & Paillé, 2012). These actions do not happen in a vacuum but are shaped by the company culture, top leadership style, and the employees’ deep personal values (Robertson & Barling, 2017). Based on social exchange theory, when company employees perceived high support for their green activities, through financial reward, recognition, or leadership support, they are more likely to respond with proactive environmental efforts (Blau, 2017; Paillé et al., 2014). Additionally, internal green value (IGV) describes the environmental values shared by people within the organization. IGV can be interpreted though the organizational culture model, especially the model described by (Schein, 2010), which shows how deeply detained values impact employees’ action and decision-making at all the company levels. When a green mindset is rooted in the company culture, not just in practices and strategies, employees normally align their efforts with environmental main goals. This orientation strengthens the capability for green innovation (Adams et al., 2016), as people feel a sense of possession over sustainability results.

These main theoretical standpoints, including RBV, OCBE, and organizational culture, suggest a comprehensive theoretical base for investigating how IGM, PEB, and IGV intersect to impact IP. By formulating these variables together, this paper aims to deepen our knowledge about the internal main drivers of sustainability and propose practical highlights for promoting innovation through a green venture.

2.1. Internal Green Marketing and Pro-Environmental Behavior

In the current continuously changing world, IGM has gained a lot of interest as the main driver in reshaping employee behavior and actions toward environmental accountability (Borah et al., 2023). Specifically in the hotel industry, where the survival and success of service delivery depends greatly on employee commitment, IGM has shown as an effective practice for fostering PEB (Elshaer et al., 2021). By integrating sustainability into employee training programs, top leadership activities, and inward communication, hotels can sustain a managerial mindset that encourages voluntary green behavior (Gürlek & Tuna, 2018; Kim et al., 2019). Prior research indicated that when staff feel that their workplace is committed to environmental issues, they are more persuaded to participate in sustainable behaviors (Paillé et al., 2014). This is particularly significant in the hotel industry, where frontline employees play a key role in delivering the hotel image of sustainability to consumers. A study by (Elshaer et al., 2024), implemented on the Egyptian hotel sector, emphasized that IGM significantly improves employee environmental commitment, which then caused more constant expressions of PEB in the hotel workplace.

However, not all IGM programs yield meaningful behavior shifts. Several scholars argued that IGM must be adopted beyond the symbolic image to be effective. (Renwick et al., 2013) suggested that green policies must be supplemented by authentic top leadership commitment and tangible resources to maintain employee inspiration. Without this, staff may understand green marketing efforts as a public relations activity rather than an actual commitment, causing passive resistance (Wesselink et al., 2015). Hence, we propose the following:

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

IGM has a direct influence on PEB.

2.2. Internal Green Marketing and Internal Green Value

While PEB mirrors individual behavior, IGV reflects the collective environmental values rooted in the corporate culture (Hays & Ozretic-Došen, 2014; Manganari et al., 2016). IGV is further than a set of actions, it is about how staff, cooperatively, come to recognize sustainability efforts as a core part of “how we do things here.” From a theoretical standpoint, (Schein, 2010) proposes a model of corporate culture that assists in explaining how such values, once adopted, can reshape long-term actions more distinctly than formal strategies. IGM can play a key role in promoting IGV by implanting sustainability into daily operations, whether through performance appraisal, internal narrative, or green leadership imitation (Guimarães et al., 2020). In the hotel workplace, where team interactions and shared values impact on how services can be delivered, promoting a widely shared green mindset confirms that sustainability is converted into a lived rooted value, not just a symbolic policy. (Papadas et al., 2019) argued that when these shared values are deeply rooted, staff are more likely to behave in an environmentally responsible pattern, even when not obviously directed.

Previous empirical evidence supports this argument. (Gürlek & Tuna, 2018), for instance, observed that IGM influences the development of a consistent green culture, which strengthens IGV and accelerates sustainability incorporation at all organization levels. However, obtaining a cohesive green value system is not an easy task in continuously changing hotel workforces. As (Kim et al., 2019) argued, contextual, cultural, and nations differences can impact how environmentally oriented values are adopted and understood. In international hotel chains, a one-size-fits-all policy of IGM may fail unless it is customized to different employee groups. Accordingly, we can assume the following:

Hypothesis 2 (H2).

IGM has a direct impact on IGV.

2.3. Internal Green Marketing and Innovative Performance

Innovation is increasingly becoming an essential success factor for hotels, achieving a highly competitive market position and meeting sustainable demand trends (Adams et al., 2016; Taneja et al., 2023). Beyond regular fulfillment, forward-thinking hotels are pursuing ways to insert innovation into their sustainability policies. Here, IGM evolves not only as a main driver of environmental orientation but also as a catalyst for product/service innovation. By empowering staff in the workplace, encouraging creativity, and fostering training in green practices, IGM serves as the foundation for a corporate culture that puts high value in innovation efforts (Gürlek & Tuna, 2018; Singh et al., 2020). Empirical evidence proposed that when staff feel support and trust in their organization’s sustainability goals, they are more likely to adopt and suggest novel, eco-friendly ideas. (Kim et al., 2019), for example, argued that hotels with strong IGM practices were more likely to generate green innovations such as low-impact functions or sustainable services. These innovative ideas often come from frontline employees, those most connected with customer needs, making their presence in the innovative practices more essential (Renwick et al., 2013).

Despite these results, the literature provides mixed findings about the direct influence of IGM on innovation. Some research highlighted its potential, while others argued that innovation depends more widely on technological and structural dimensions, such as R&D capability, cross-functional cooperation, and external connections (Nwokah & Briggs, 2017). Therefore, we hypothesize the following:

Hypothesis 3 (H3).

IGM has a direct impact on innovative performance.

2.4. Internal Green Value and Innovative Performance

Over the past few years, scholars have gradually turned their interest to how corporate values, specifically those focused on sustainability, can impact innovation (Hays & Ozretic-Došen, 2014). This attention has been exceptionally pronounced in the hotel sector, where sustainability activities are a key driver of strategic success (Manganari et al., 2016). IGV is among these values that have been detected as an energetic contributor to innovative and eco-friendly actions in the hotel workplace (Papadas et al., 2019; Schein, 2010). Contrasting the externally outward executed environmental practices, IGV exhibits a deep-rooted cultural orientation (Elshaer et al., 2024). In the hotel context, staff who sincerely believe in sustainability policies are more likely to create and encourage new ideas that minimize environmental impacts, improve efficiency, or generate a greener consumer experience (Kim et al., 2019). These new ideas do not always evolve from official innovation practices; they regularly emerge informally, from day-to-day interactions and problem-solving decisions.

The link between IGV and innovation is not constantly a straightforward process. Several scholars suggested that the influence of IGV may depend on extra organizational dimension, incorporating top leadership style, allowances of resources, and employee’s psychological safety (Wesselink et al., 2015). Another issue focuses on how IGV is conceptualized and operationalized. While some scholars evaluate it through staff recognition of green corporate culture, others depend on indirect variables like the existence of sustainable HR policies or visible top leadership commitment for environmental objectives (Boiral & Paillé, 2012). This lack of stability in the measurement presents a challenge in separating IGV’s direct influence on innovation results. Consequently, recent research has called for an extra contextual-sensitive and multi-dimensional approach to recognize how green values can be transformed into workplace innovation, specifically in a complex service context like the hotel industry (Kim et al., 2019). Therefore, we propose the following:

Hypothesis 4 (H4).

IGV has a direct impact on innovative performance.

2.5. Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB) and Innovative Performance

As sustainability emerged as a central pillar in the hotel industry, scholars have progressively turned their interest to how staff behavior contribute not just to environmental consequences, but also to innovation ideas within the company (Ahuja et al., 2023; Alherimi et al., 2024; Yue et al., 2022). PEB has become a core theme in this context. These PEB range from normal practices like preserving energy and recycling waste to more long-term actions such as proposing new green activities or encouraging environmental enhancements in the workplace (Boiral & Paillé, 2012; Robertson & Barling, 2017). In the hotel industry, where staff frequently face dynamic functional and service problems, the relationship between PEB and innovation performance is mainly relevant (Kim et al., 2019; Mercade Mele et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2022). Frontline employees are in an exceptional position to recognize sustainability issues and suggest creative, real solutions (Alipour et al., 2019; Dewi et al., 2022). For example, staff who usually participate in PEB might propose more efficient housekeeping activities or assist in reshaping waste separation functions in the hotel main kitchen (Kim et al., 2019). These participations frequently evolve gradually, are implanted in the daily workflow, and reproduce a proactive mindset that is oriented toward solutions (Iqbal, 2020).

Several previous studies confirmed the idea that PEB acts as a productive ground for IP. (Singh et al., 2020) argued that staff who are committed to environmentally accountable behavior often advance a sensitive sense of psychological possession and environmental responsibility that foster IP. However, it is significant to argue that PEB alone does not secure good IP. The company context can play a main role in whether these environmentally oriented behaviors can be translated into helpful performance consequences. Without a company culture that fosters idea-sharing and risk-taking procedures, even the perfect employees who are environmentally committed may feel unenthusiastic to take risks or suggest initiative (Wesselink et al., 2015). Accordingly, we propose the following:

Hypotheses 5 (H5).

PEB has a direct impact on innovative performance.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Scale Development

To measure IGM from the employee’s perception, the current study employed seven variables first developed by (Papadas et al., 2019). These items were slightly modified to fit the study context (hotel employees in Egypt). One example item is “My hotel organizes presentations to inform us about our green marketing strategy.” IP was measured using a six-item scale originally suggested by (Wang & Netemeyer, 2004). This six-item scale has been extensively employed and validated in prior empirical studies, such as those by (Azazz & Elshaer, 2022; Elshaer et al., 2021). A sample variable is “I carry out my routine tasks in inventive ways.” For IGV, five variables were derived from (Chou, 2014). These five items measured employees internalized environmental beliefs and values. An example item is “I feel a personal obligation to do whatever I can to prevent environmental degradation.” As for PEB, it was operationalized using six variables developed from the study of (Williams & Anderson, 1991), (Frese et al., 1997), and more recently (Azazz & Elshaer, 2022). One sample item includes “Performance appraisal includes environmental incidents and responsibilities.” To guarantee the relevance and clarity of the developed questionnaire, it was reviewed by a group of 15 academics and 10 professionals. Their comments assisted in confirming the appropriateness of the items for participants. No major modifications to the content of the survey were observed during this procedure. Common method variance (CMV) can arise when the data (including independent, dependent, and mediating variable) are collected from the same respondents. As per Harman’s single factor implications, CMB can occur when the variance of one single factor is above the score of 50%. The results of Harman’s single factor test displayed that one single factor explained 43.84% of the variance. Therefore, CMB was not a problem (Podsakoff et al., 2024).

3.2. Sampling

To obtain the study data, a self-developed questionnaire was randomly distributed to hotel front line employees in Egypt with a minimum of two years of experience (to have enough valid knowledge to answer the designed questionnaire). Contribution was voluntary, and participants were assured that their replies would stay totally confidential. The collection process of data was reinforced by human resource (HR) managers and was facilitated by postgraduate students from hotel faculties who working in the hotel sector. A total of 600 forms were distributed in June and July 2024, and 420 were returned, with a 70% response rate. After prescreening the questionnaires for completeness and validity, 400 forms were found to be valid for analysis. The final obtained replies included 290 from males (72.5%) and 110 from females (27.5%), with ages ranging between 21 and 53 years. The majority of responders (70%) obtained a bachelor’s degree. All survey questions—except the demographic items—were operationalized with a five-point Likert scale to evaluate a participant’s level of agreement.

3.3. Data Analysis Techniques

To evaluate the suggested model, the current study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using the SmartPLS 4 program (Hair et al., 2011), together with SPSS 24.0 for descriptive analysis. PLS-SEM was selected for several reasons. First, it permits scholars to assess both the interrelationships between latent variables in the structural (inner) model and the intersections between latent variables and their observed items in the measurement (outer) model concurrently (Leguina, 2015). Second, PLS-SEM is mainly operative for evaluating complex models that integrate mediation and moderation impacts (Hair et al., 2011). Third, it provides a more spontaneous and user-friendly graphic interface compared to other SEM programs such as AMOS (Hair et al., 2017). Lastly, PLS-SEM is a vigorous, component-based approach that has been broadly implemented in past social science research due to its high flexibility and good reliability (Chin, 2010). Following the requirements of a two-stage analytical process, the first stage is designed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the outer model. In the second stage, the structural inner model was assessed to evaluate the hypothesized paths among the study dimensions (Hair et al., 2017).

4. Results

4.1. Stage One: Measurement Model Results

Before continuing with testing the study hypotheses, the measurement model was thoroughly structured and estimated. As PLS-SEM has a different analytical orientation as compared to covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM), conventional goodness of fit indices (GoF) widely employed in CB-SEM are either not relevant or not suggested in the application of PLS (Gürlek & Tuna, 2018; Papadas et al., 2019). Following the criteria of Hair et al. (Hair et al., 2011), the model’s goodness of fit was evaluated using key metrics. For internal reliability, Cronbach’s alpha (α), factor loadings (λ), and composite reliability (CR) should all surpass the threshold of 0.70. To confirm convergent validity (CV), the “average variance extracted” (AVE) for each dimension should exceed a value of 0.50. In assessing discriminant validity (DV), the Fornell and Larcker (Fornell & Larcker, 1981) metric was evaluated, which suggests that a construct’s AVE should be higher than the squared correlations that it shares with other constructs in the developed model.

As illustrated in

Table 1. Measurement and structural model statistics.

Items	λ	VIF	R2	Q2
IGM (a = 0.865, CR = 0.898, AVE = 0.561)			--	--
IGM_1	0.517	1.469
IGM_2	0.803	2.394
IGM_3	0.836	2.581
IGM_4	0.726	1.883
IGM_5	0.754	1.982
IGM_6	0.795	2.087
IGM_7	0.766	1.939
IP (a = 0.885, CR = 0.913, AVE = 0.637)			0.545	0.333
In_Perf_1	0.734	2.276
In_Perf_2	0.847	4.165
In_Perf_3	0.770	1.899
In_Perf_4	0.795	2.269
In_Perf_5	0.875	3.703
In_Perf_6	0.757	2.235
IGV (a = 0.842, CR = 0.888, AVE = 0.615)			0.586	0.583
Grn_Vlu_1	0.706	1.551
Grn_Vlu_2	0.852	2.405
Grn_Vlu_3	0.818	2.164
Grn_Vlu_4	0.774	1.928
Grn_Vlu_5	0.762	1.790
PEB (a = 0.963, CR = 0.969, AVE = 0.819)			0.372	0.368
Pro_IP_1	0.918	4.536
Pro_IP_2	0.905	4.444
Pro_IP_3	0.885	3.693
Pro_IP_4	0.924	4.236
Pro_IP_5	0.908	4.109
Pro_IP_6	0.895	4.418
Pro_IP_7	0.897	4.157

Note: a = Cronbach’s alpha”; λ = “factor loading”; CR = “composite reliability”; AVE = “average variance extracted”.

, the measurement outer model has a strong convergent validity, with all dimensions meeting the suggested thresholds values.

Table 2. Cross-loadings.

	IP	IGM	IGV	PEB
Grn_Vlu_1	0.481	0.593	0.706	0.463
Grn_Vlu_2	0.609	0.682	0.852	0.538
Grn_Vlu_3	0.530	0.598	0.818	0.619
Grn_Vlu_4	0.483	0.580	0.774	0.572
Grn_Vlu_5	0.583	0.538	0.762	0.605
IGM_1	0.367	0.517	0.389	0.329
IGM_2	0.435	0.803	0.642	0.460
IGM_3	0.455	0.836	0.603	0.414
IGM_4	0.389	0.726	0.580	0.465
IGM_5	0.472	0.754	0.585	0.554
IGM_6	0.412	0.795	0.620	0.503
IGM_7	0.512	0.766	0.555	0.444
In_Perf_1	0.734	0.504	0.517	0.497
In_Perf_2	0.847	0.537	0.526	0.522
In_Perf_3	0.770	0.534	0.524	0.576
In_Perf_4	0.795	0.341	0.580	0.563
In_Perf_5	0.875	0.487	0.532	0.500
In_Perf_6	0.757	0.387	0.601	0.557
Pro_IP_1	0.635	0.612	0.677	0.918
Pro_IP_2	0.632	0.645	0.715	0.905
Pro_IP_3	0.574	0.539	0.590	0.885
Pro_IP_4	0.620	0.521	0.638	0.924
Pro_IP_5	0.591	0.554	0.638	0.908
Pro_IP_6	0.597	0.502	0.629	0.895
Pro_IP_7	0.618	0.470	0.610	0.897

shows the cross-loadings values, where each variable loads more highly on its intended dimension than on any other in the model, further confirming discriminant validity. Likewise, the AVE scores presented in

Table 3. Fornell–Larcker criterion matrix.

	IP	IGM	IGV	PEB
IP	0.798
IGM	0.582	0.799
IGV	0.688	0.765	0.784
PEB	0.674	0.610	0.712	0.905

Note: Values off the diagonal-line are squared inter-construct correlations, while values on the diagonal-line are AVEs.

ensured that the dimensions are distinct from each other. To mitigate criticisms concerning the Fornell–Larcker criterion, the heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratio of correlations was also evaluated, as recommended by Gold, Malhotra, and Segars (Gold et al., 2001). The outcomes, presented in

Table 4. HTMT matrix.

	IP	IGM	IGV	PEB
IP
IGM	0.670
IGV	0.793	0.894
PEB	0.728	0.664	0.791

Note: All HTMT values are <0.90.

, indicate that all HTMT scores are below the 0.90 cutoff value, strengthening the model’s discriminant validity.

4.2. Stage Two: Structural Model Results and Hypothesis Evaluation

Since PLS-SEM does not provide universal GOF widely employed in CB-SEM, such as CFI, NFI, TLI, or RMSEA, the structural inner model must be evaluated through some alternative criteria such as variance inflation factor (VIF), R², Q², and standardized path coefficients (Hair et al., 2017. To safeguard that multicollinearity is not an issue, VIF scores for all variables should be below 5.0. An R² score of 0.20 or more is normally acceptable for good explanatory power in social science-related research papers, and the Q² score should be above 0.0 to signal a good predictive relevance (Hair et al., 2012). As shown in Table 1, all these metrics were fulfilled, confirming that the structural inner model fits well with the observed data collected. To further assess the model’s quality, GoF was estimated employing the equation suggested by Tenenhaus et al. (2005). This formula combines the AVE and R² to provide an overall measure of model quality:

$$GoF = \sqrt{\left\{AV{E}_{\left\{avg\right\}}\times R_{\left\{avg\right\}}^2\right\}}$$

As per the accepted thresholds, GoF scores of 0.10, 0.25, and 0.36 designate low, medium, and high model goodness of fit, respectively. The GoF for the developed model was 0.574, suggesting a high GoF value. Furthermore, the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) was inspected to evaluate the model’s validity. An SRMR score less than 0.10 is acceptable (Hu & Bentler, 1998). In our study, the SRMR value was 0.074, further guaranteeing a good GoF. As both the structural and measurement models were validated, the study continued to evaluate the justified hypotheses. The findings are shown in

Table 5. Hypothesis results by bootstrapping.

	β	T Statistics	p Values	Evaluation
Internal Green Marketing -> Pro-environmental Behavior	0.610	19.179	0.000	H1: Accepted
Internal Green Marketing -> Internal Green Value	0.765	28.307	0.000	H2: Accepted
Internal Green Marketing -> Innovative Performance	0.077	1.354	0.176	H3: Rejected
Pro-environmental Behavior -> Innovative Performance	0.364	6.033	0.000	H4: Accepted
Internal Green Value -> Innovative Performance	0.370	5.623	0.000	H5: Accepted
Indirect effects
Internal Green Marketing -> Internal Green Value -> Innovative Performance	0.283	5.402	0.000	Accepted
Internal Green Marketing -> Pro-environmental Behavior -> Innovative Performance	0.222	5.945	0.000	Accepted

.

As shown in Table 5 and Figure 1, the findings revealed that IGM has a positive and significant impact on both PEB (β = 0.610, t = 19.179, p < 0.001) and IG (β = 0.765, t = 28.307, p < 0.001), thereby confirming Hypotheses H1 and H2. Interestingly, the direct path from IGM to IP was found to be non-significant (β = 0.077, t = 1.354, p = 0.176), causing the rejection of Hypothesis H3. In contrast, both PEB and IGV showed significant and positive effects on IP. Specifically, PEB influenced IP with a high path coefficient of β = 0.364 (t = 6.033, p < 0.001), while IGV had a similar high effect (β = 0.370, t = 5.623, p < 0.001), confirming Hypotheses H4 and H5.

Concerning the mediation effects, results presented in Table 5 and Figure 1 indicate that IGV can fully mediate the path from IGM to IP (β = 0.283, t = 5.402, p < 0.001). Similarly, PEB also played a full mediator role in the relationship between IGM and IP (β = 0.222, t = 5.945, p < 0.001). These findings highlighted the indirect pathway through which IGM can contribute to innovation performance, specifically, by cultivating staff environmental values and fostering eco-conscious actions.

5. Discussion

The outcomes of this paper provided meaningful insights into how sustainability-driven activities can impact a hotel’s innovative performance. Specifically, the findings confirm that IGM can play a main role in fostering both PEB and IGV among hotel staff. These results are consistent with previous studies indicating that IGM initiatives aimed at internal employees—through peer communication, training program, and top leadership commitment—are instrumental in reshaping environmentally responsible behaviors and actions in the workplace (Gürlek & Tuna, 2018; Papadas et al., 2019). When these IGM initiatives are implanted in the daily routines of hotel staff, they assist in normalizing sustainable behavior and action across all organization levels (Borah et al., 2023).

Interestingly, regardless of these positive outcomes, IGM did not have a direct effect on IP. This indicated that while IGM prompted an awareness of environmental issues, it does not spontaneously lead to IP unless it is transferred into action through deep values and behavior. This result is consistent with an earlier study that argued that green marketing alone is not enough to improve performance as it might lack a strong cultural basis or staff buy-in. In other words, IP is unlikely to evolve unless green priorities are deeply rooted in a meaningful behavioral shift and encouraged by a widely shared organizational mindset. Hotels may foster internal green narratives without incorporating these values in the daily practices, leaving a gap between sustainability rhetoric and innovative activity. As such, IP is unlikely to progress only through top-down green initiatives; it needs a systemic and urgent bottom-up conversion of how IGM is understood, valued, and experienced within the hotel.

The study results also showed strong support for the impact of both PEB and IGV on hotel IP. These findings emphasized the significance of hotel employees as drivers of eco-innovation workplace. When hotel members are actively engaging in sustainability, they might become valuable supporters of the innovative efforts that improve both environmental performance and the delivery of service quality (Boiral & Paillé, 2012; Kim et al., 2019). Similarly, the influence of IGV on IP highlighted the value of promoting a powerful environmental culture within the workplace. When sustainability priorities become part of the widely shared belief system, it promotes integrated and consistent efforts across the company teams and functions to elaborate new, eco-conscious results (Gürlek & Tuna, 2018; Schein, 2010).

Taking the previous results together, a mediated relationship can emerge, where IGM contributes to IP indirectly, by reshaping staff behaviors and strengthening shared values. These results highlight that the impact of green marketing cannot directly improve IP but influence it through its impacts on employees’ environmental behaviors and values. These results confirmed the opinion that internal sustainability activities, like IGM, are most powerful when they induce meaningful changes in company culture and staff behavior. In the same line, IGM appears to foster IGV that underpins IP and environmentally accountable solutions. The mediating key role of PEB further explained the significance of everyday staff actions in driving IP. Staff who actively prioritize environmental responsibility can contribute to a permanent flow of new ideas and enhancements that fuel IP from the ground up (Boiral & Paillé, 2012; Kim et al., 2019). Singh et al. (2020) argued that while green-oriented initiatives and culture lay the foundation, they only become efficient drivers of IP when staff are genuinely participating with the company environmental values. Together, these outcomes provide a clear practical signal: hotels aiming to improve IP through sustainability practices must go beyond a symbolic green marketing image. As a substitute, they should center their policies on generating a supportive internal environment to implant sustainability into core behaviors and everyday actions.

6. Conclusions

This paper set out to investigate the impact of IGM on IP within the Egyptian hotel sector, with specific attention on the mediating key roles of IGV and PEB. The results provided a theoretical and practical insights. Although IGM does not have a direct impact on IP, it considerably reshapes innovation consequences through its positive and significant influences on staff environmental values and actions. The findings clearly indicated that IGM can play a main role in promoting both IGV and PEB, and that these two dimensions serve as significant drivers of IP in the hotel context. This underlines the growing identification that creating a company culture that is centered around sustainability—and promoting daily green priorities—can translate IGM efforts into real innovation capacity. These results are consistent with previous research that emphasized the key role of staff engagement, widely shared values, and organizational citizenship behavior in driving sustainability-linked IP (Boiral & Paillé, 2012; Gürlek & Tuna, 2018; Kim et al., 2019). The results of the full mediation by IGV and PEB also reveal some important implications. It indicates that for IGM initiatives to be truly powerful, they must go outside awareness movements and symbolic images. Instead, such activities should be implanted in the company practices—predominantly within human resources, top leadership communication, and culture-building programs—that align staff values with the company’s sustainability vision (Renwick et al., 2013; Schein, 2010).

The results of this paper can provide meaningful implications for hotel leaders, specifically those striving to embed environmental sustainability into strategic innovation objectives. One of the main insights is that IGM, while valuable, cannot directly improve IP on its own. As a substitute, its influence is reorganized through the cultivation of IGV and PEB among hotel staff. This shows that innovation, when driven by sustainability, is deeply rooted in the staff and organization culture—not just in official policies or symbolic marketing efforts. For hotel managers, this indicates the importance of representing green marketing as more than an external messaging practice. Instead, it should be considered as a long-term internal initiative. Furthermore, localized IGM campaigns that are attached to Egyptian cultural values (e.g., community responsibility) should be backed by interactive sessions in Arabic designed for several employee levels, confirming that environmental awareness can be translated into widely shared values.

The strong full mediating role of PEB indicates that empowering hotel staff to behave in response to environmental issues is a main key to unlocking innovation performance. Top managers should deliberate and foster a workplace environment that supports independence, idea creating and sharing, and recognition of eco-friendly solutions. These elements are known to improve not only incentives and motivation but also the commitment to experiment and enhance policies with sustainability (Boiral & Paillé, 2012; Kim et al., 2019). Similarly, the full mediation of IGV highlights the broader company challenge of creating a cohesive green image. This involves positioning the company hiring activities, performance appraisal, and top leadership commitment with the company’s sustainability core values. When staff truly identify with these core values, they are more likely to participate in IP and remain engaged in the long-term objectives (Renwick et al., 2013; Schein, 2010). In the context where environmental issues are a growing concern among guests, the capacity to innovate sustainably not only enhances functional outcomes but also improves brand reputation and guest loyalty. Overall, this paper emphasizes the need for hotel managers to cultivate an internal ecofriendly system where sustainability is a widely shared value and innovation evolves naturally from collective core values and behavior. A holistic methodology that links IGM with culture-building practices and staff engagement is fundamental for reshaping the environmentally proactive and innovative-driven businesses of the future. Finally, the key role of mid-level hotel managers as green ambassadors should be highlighted. In Egypt, where employees are usually motivated by direct supervisors, training this level of managers to model green practices and communicate IGM goals can amplify the impact of IGM.

7. Limitations and Future Research

This study offers valuable information on how IGM influences IP by mediating the impacts of IGV and PEB. However, some limitations can be considered, and future research opportunities can be offered. The data were restricted to hotel staff in Egypt, which may limit the generalizability of the results across different organizational and cultural contexts. Moreover, the dependence on self-reported data collection methods creates the likelihood of bias, prompting the need for future papers to combine multi-source data or collecting wave or longitudinal data for better validity. While the tested model centered on IGV and PEB, other internal dimensions such as green top leadership, company support, and staff empowerment may further describe how IGM drives IP. Likewise, the usage of a cross-sectional approach restricts causal explanation, implying a need for longitudinal or quasi-experimental methodology. Furthermore, future research papers might investigate the effects of emerging digital technologies and AI applications to strengthen the path from IGM and IP by supporting environmental behaviors and core values. Finally, data can be collected in a time wave to avoid common method bias.