The Impact of Organizational Support and Individual Green Values on Pro-Environmental Behavior in the Workplace

Abstract

Employees who voluntarily behave pro-environmentally are highly valuable for companies seeking to reduce their environmental footprint. This study investigates whether employees are more inclined to show organizational citizenship behavior directed toward the environment (OCB-E) when either perceiving organizational support toward the environment (POS-E) (hypothesis 1) or when scoring high on individual green values (IGV) (hypothesis 2). Furthermore, and this is the main focus of the paper, it is examined whether the relationship between POS-E and OCB-E is moderated by employees' individual green values (IGV) (hypothesis 3). Findings from a quantitative online survey (N = 380) measuring OCB-E, POS-E, and IGV confirmed that POS-E and IGV significantly, positively influence OCB-E, supporting the hypothesized relationships. Conversely, the hypothesized moderation effect could not be supported by the data. These insights contribute to the extant discourse on pro-environmental behavior within organizations by emphasizing the importance of organizational support in promoting OCB-E. We further offer practical implications for managers and organizations, such as implementing green recruitment and selection processes and offering training courses or development programs for fostering OCB-E for both regular employees as well as those with leadership responsibilities.