When Green Turns Gray: The Double-Edged Spillover Effects From Green Behavior to Time Theft via Dual Feedback Loops of Moral Self-Regulation

Abstract

Extant research has uniformly highlighted the positive role of extra-role employee green behavior (EEGB) in promoting organizational sustainability. Consequently, prior studies have predominantly focused on EEGB's antecedents, while its implications for the actors themselves have been largely underexplored. Drawing on the dual feedback loops of moral self-regulation, we challenge the prevailing assumption that engaging in EEGB is solely beneficial by identifying its potential dark side. Specifically, we propose that EEGB exerts double-edged effects on employee time theft, contingent on green behavior authenticity. An experimental study with 208 full-time employees and a two-phase field study with 412 full-time employees consistently revealed that EEGB aggravated employee time theft through accumulated moral credits, while conversely reducing time theft through strengthened moral identity. Moreover, we identified green behavior authenticity as a pivotal boundary condition moderating these opposing effects, attenuating the negative pathway while amplifying the positive pathway. Our findings offer significant implications for organizational behavioral ethics research and provide guidance for organizations in fostering EEGB while mitigating its potential ethical risks.