PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore the link between green manufacturing practices, operational competitiveness, firm reputation and sustainable performance dimensions as well as advance a mediation approach.Design/methodology/approachThe study resorted to structured questionnaire to collect data from 158 manufacturing firms from different industries, and partial least square–structural equation modelling is used to test all hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe results indicate that green manufacturing has a positive significant impact on social, economic and environmental performance. However, firm reputation and operational competitiveness were found not to significantly influence economic performance. The mediation analysis also showed that operational competitiveness, firm reputation and environmental performance play no mediation role between green manufacturing and economic performance. Furthermore, social performance is found to mediate the relationship between green manufacturing and economic performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study did not consider any moderator variables. Also, the universal applicability and generalizability are somewhat a problem since data was mainly collected from Ghana, an emerging country.Practical implicationsThe results provide managers with reasonable evidence to proactively implement and invest in green manufacturing practices because such practices will not only have a positive impact on their sustainable performance dimensions but further enhance operational competitiveness and provide firms with superior reputation.Originality/valueThe study provides significant findings that contribute to and expand the literature on green manufacturing, and it is among the relatively few studies that has investigated the link between green manufacturing, sustainable performance dimensions, firm reputation and operational competitiveness, especially from a mediation analysis perspective.

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