Responsible leadership and employee's proenvironmental behavior: The role of organizational commitment, green shared vision, and internal environmental locus of control

Abstract

This study develops a research model that elaborates the mechanism through which responsible leadership influences employee's proenvironmental behavior. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms through which this type of leadership affects proenvironmental behavior, and the conditions under which any such effects are enhanced or attenuated. The present research sought to fill this gap by examining a dual process model in which organizational commitment and green shared vision served as two explanatory mechanisms in the impact of responsible leadership on employee's proenvironmental behavior. Furthermore, we differentiated these two mechanisms by proposing employee's internal environmental locus of control as a moderator. Based on multilevel data collected from 329 employees and 88 supervisors in Pakistan, green shared vision mediated the effect of responsible leadership on proenvironmental behavior, and this indirect effect was stronger for employees with high internal environmental locus of control. However, the indirect relation between responsible leadership and proenvironmental behavior via organizational commitment did not occur. Results also supported that internal environmental locus of control moderated the indirect effect of responsible leadership on employee's proenvironmental behavior through organizational commitment, such that the indirect effect was significantly positive when internal environmental locus of control was high but nonsignificant when internal environmental locus of control was low. These findings provided valuable contribution to responsible leadership and employee's proenvironmental behavior, by exploring the relationships between them. Practical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.