Taoist leadership and employee green behaviour: A cultural and philosophical microfoundation of sustainability

Abstract

Summary: Existing research shows that leadership behaviours can influence the proenvironment beliefs of employees and their green behaviours. However, the mechanisms that nurture the proenvironment attitudes of employees remain unclear. By juxtaposing Taoist philosophy and Aldo Leopold's land ethic, this paper explores how the former can theoretically advance the latter from a cultural and philosophical microfoundational perspective. Taoism, which treats human beings and the natural environment as components of an integral oneness, has important implications for both Taoist leadership behaviours and the management of sustainability. We posit that the attributions of Taoist leadership—rejection of domination, reverse thinking, and selflessness—can nurture employee proenvironment attitudes. Using the narratives of Chinese leaders and employees, our research empirically shows that the proenvironment attitudes and green behaviours of employees can be nurtured through Taoist leadership. Our paper contributes the field of sustainability management by suggesting Taoism as a cultural and philosophical microfoundation for sustainability.