Defining employee pro-environmental, social and governance behaviors

Abstract

Purpose. With the increasing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, organizations are seeking ways to improve ESG performance. One of these ways is encouraging employee behaviors that support ESG. While some research has examined employee behaviors that support specific components of ESG, such as pro-environment behavior, this research is fragmented. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to review the various ESG outcomes which employees can influence, and then propose a single scale to measure employee support for ESG, along with recommendations for future research. Methodology. The authors reviewed ESG reports from several large, multinational companies, as well as previous research on ESG and corporate social responsibility. The authors sought to identify ESG outcomes which employees can influence, and then develop a scale based upon these areas. Findings. The authors identify several areas within ESG which employees can influence. These include areas such as support for volunteering, employee giving campaigns, diversity and inclusion, environmental initiatives, data governance and others. Based upon these findings, the authors developed the above-mentioned scale. Originality. While previous studies have examined employee support for specific components of ESG, this paper offers a comprehensive framework. In particular, there has been little research focused on employee support for governance behaviors, such as data stewardship. Study implications. This paper provides a scale which can be used to measure employee support for ESG behaviors. This scale can help employers understand their employees’ level of support for ESG. In addition, it can help researchers understand whether employee support for ESG is related to organization-level outcomes, such as ESG ratings.