Digital transformation and green practices: pathways to sustainable SME performance in Ghana

Ghanaian SMEs face dual pressures to adopt digital technologies while meeting sustainability demands, yet little is known about how resource-constrained firms in emerging economies balance these competing priorities. This study examines how digital technology adoption (DTA), sustainability orientation (SOR), and resource availability (RAV) affect sustainable performance among Ghanaian SMEs, with green innovation practices (GIP) as a mediating mechanism and green-hushing (GHU) as a moderating factor. Understanding these dynamics is critical because SMEs constitute 85% of Ghanaian businesses and contribute 70% to GDP, making their sustainability transformation essential for national climate goals and economic development. Data from 449 SMEs across multiple sectors were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The study found that DTA, SOR, and RAV positively impact sustainable performance both directly and indirectly through GIP, with the mediating pathways accounting for 24–32% of total effects. Importance-performance analysis reveals that GIP exerts the strongest influence on sustainable performance, followed by DTA and RAV. On the contrary, GHU showed no significant moderating effect, revealing contextual boundaries to existing theory. These findings establish that green innovation practices serve as the critical transformation mechanism through which resource-constrained SMEs convert digital investments and sustainability efforts into tangible outcomes. The research advances knowledge by providing the first integrated framework simultaneously testing multiple antecedents with mediation and moderation in African SMEs, using validated context-specific measures. The findings are useful for policymakers designing support programs that prioritize green innovation capacity over technology adoption alone, and contribute to achieving SDG targets 8.3, 9.4, and 12.2, along with AU Agenda 2063 Aspiration 1 on inclusive growth and environmental sustainability.