How Does Organizational Culture Foster Sustainability? The Mediating Effects of Innovation Capability, Quality Orientation, and Organizational Innovation

ABSTRACT This research purpose to investigate the internal mechanism by which organizational culture (OC) affects sustainability (SUS). Utilizing Resource‐Based Views (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities theory, the study examines the mediating roles of innovative capability (INC), quality orientation (QUO), and organizational innovation (ORI) in the relationship between culture and sustainability. A quantitative research design was adopted, using survey data collected from 416 managers and directors from 500 randomly selected technology‐focused firms operating in Istanbul Technoparks. Data collected between March and June 2025 were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS‐SEM) via SmartPLS 4 to test the proposed mediating effects. The results provide empirical support for the “culture‐capability‐performance” chain. Innovative capability (H1) and quality orientation (H2) were found to significantly mediate the relationship between organizational culture and sustainability. However, the mediating role of organizational innovation (H3) was rejected. This suggests that structural or results‐oriented innovation alone, without being supported by specific skills and orientations, may not be sufficient to bridge the gap between culture and sustainability in this context. The research is geographically limited to firms within Istanbul Technoparks; this may restrict the generalizability of the findings to other regions or sectors. Furthermore, the data represent the perspectives of senior management; future research could include the views of lower‐level employees to provide a more multi‐layered view of organizational culture.