Green core competencies to prompt green absorptive capacity and bolster green innovation: the moderating role of organization’s green culture

China’s tourism industry is under transition towards sustainable tourism. This study’s primary purpose is to propose a novel framework that green core competence enhances the tourism industry’s green absorptive capacity and green innovation performance. Additionally, green absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between green core competence and green innovation. And finally, green organizational culture moderates the relationship between green absorptive capacity and green innovation. Data were collected from different hotels and restaurants in the North East of China, practicing environmentally friendly green practices through convenient sampling. The PLS-SEM technique was used to test each hypothesis. The results showed that green core competence positively and significantly affects green innovation performance, and green absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between green core competencies and green innovation performance. Moreover, green organizational culture partially moderates the relationship between green absorptive capacity and green innovation.