Promoting Voluntary Employee Green Behaviour: A Multi-Theory Model

Abstract

Corporate greening is a contemporary discourse in business context. Consequently, Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is emerging as a new branch of Human Resource Management. One of the key challenges in GHRM is to generating, promoting and sustaining voluntary employee green behaviour (VEGB). In this study, grounded on social exchange theory, self-determination theory and theory of normative conduct, we tested the impact of leader’s support for environment (LSE), autonomous motivation for environment (AME) and perceived group’s green climate (PGGC) on VEGB in an integrated model. Being in positivist paradigm and pursuing deductive reasoning approach, researchers employed quantitative survey strategy by using a multi-item questionnaire. The sample consists of 313 executive level employees who work in 68 workgroups in five (5) green implemented Textile and Apparel Manufacturing factories in Sri Lanka. Researchers performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses before testing the hypotheses by using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and PROCESS macro. We found direct positive impacts of leader’s support for environment, autonomous motivation for environment and perceived group’s green climate on voluntary employee green behaviour. Markedly, autonomous motivation for environment and perceived group’s green climate were found to be partial mediators for the relationship between LSE and VEGB. In addition, LSE was an antecedent of both autonomous motivation for environment and the perceived group’s green climate. This research also found that AME, as a solo construct, had a higher impact on voluntary employee green behaviour than that of LSE and PGGC. This study contributes to GHRM field by developing a theoretically rigorous model which uncovers the mechanisms through which LSE leads to VEGB and maidenly, unearthing the role of perceived group’s green climate in determining VEGB. We recommend the followings to practitioners in promoting VEGB; designing and execution of environmental supportive leader development programmes, reinforcing enterprise’s green strategy and leadership’s environmental commitment, organizing of group green training for executive-level employees, facilitating group led environmental sustainability projects, implementing green recruitment and selection and developing autonomous motivation for environment of existing employees. Future researchers are recommended to add further mediating mechanisms and moderating mechanisms to the model. Also, embarking on longitudinal mixed methodology studies to establish causal relationships among antecedents of VEGB and in-depth understanding of dynamics of VEGB would advance GHRM body of knowledge.