Ethical Leadership and Employee Green Behavior: A Multilevel Moderated Mediation Analysis

Abstract

In today’s globalized world, it has become challenging for organizations to prevent environmental damage and decay as they are the major contributors to these concerns. Researchers in the field of organizational behavior and sustainable development have been concentrating on the role of corporate leaders in deriving employee green behavior (EGB). Despite a few early attempts in this emerging field, no precise antecedents and mechanisms have been established so far. Accordingly, this research contributes to this emerging debate by examining how and under what conditions ethical leadership affects EGB. This study investigates the impact of ethical leadership on EGB through the mediation of green psychological climate (GPC) and the boundary condition of environmental awareness. This research uses social learning theory to derive hypotheses. This study empirically examines the underlying framework by conducting two surveys with time-based breaks to collect multilevel data from 410 employees working in four private and public sector universities and hospitals in Pakistan. We conducted multilevel path analysis through Mplus and confirmed a statistically significant positive effect of ethical leadership on GPC that ultimately translates to EGB. Further, the contingency of environmental awareness strengthens the indirect impact of ethical leadership on EGB through the mediation of GPC. Our findings reveal various ways by which organizations can strategically focus on employee green behavior, such as saving energy, wastage, and recycling.