A Multilevel Model of Green Behavior at Work: Roles of Individual Differences and Social Contexts

Abstract

In response to a growing concern pertaining to environmental sustainability among organizational leaders, we develop and test a multilevel model of greening workplaces in order to explicate how and why employees engage in voluntary green behavior. Using 325 employees in 80 teams, it was found that moral attentiveness positively influences employee green behavior, and mediates the positive linkage between conscientiousness and green behavior in the workplace. It was further demonstrated that leader green behavior enhances employee green behavior directly, as well as indirectly via aggregated team green advocacy. The results of this study contribute to the organizational literature by identifying the joint effects of individual differences and social contexts on employees¡¯ voluntary green behavior at work. In addition, our findings offer practical suggestions for managers regarding effective routes to achieving environmental sustainability.