Leveraging digital orientation and green culture for sustainable advantage: a natural resource-based view perspective in hospitality sector

Purpose This study aims to investigate how internal organizational capabilities, such as digital orientation (DO), green organizational culture (GOC) and green workforce (GW), contribute to competitive advantage in the hospitality sector, with a particular focus on the mediating role of green innovation (GI). Grounded in the natural resource-based view (NRBV), the research conceptualizes these constructs as distinct yet complementary pathways to sustainability, each aligned with a specific NRBV strategic capability – pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 475 senior professionals across hospitality SMEs in the UAE, and the proposed relationships were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The results reveal that GOC and GW both directly and indirectly (via GI) enhance competitive advantage, while DO functions primarily as an enabling capability that drives competitive performance only when channeled through GI. Originality/value This study empirically validates GI as a central mediating capability and extends the NRBV by demonstrating how differentiated internal enablers like technological, cultural and human interact to create sustainable value in a digitally transforming and regulation-intensive hospitality sector. By incorporating hospitality-specific characteristics such as guest co-creation, service variability and ESG-driven expectations, and anchoring these within the UAE’s unique institutional frameworks, the study provides both theoretical refinement and actionable guidance for UAE hospitality managers and policymakers.