How and when socially responsible human resource management affects employee voluntary green behavior—evidence from the healthcare sector

Abstract

To achieve greener healthcare with the goal of net-zero carbon, it is urgent to motivate healthcare-employees to voluntarily participate in green behavior. Our focus is on examining a novel predictor of voluntary green behavior (VGB): socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM). Drawing on social information processing theory, a theoretical model was built to linking SRHRM and VGB. Based on the healthcare sector, we examined the mediating effect of green passion and the moderating effect of CSR attributions in the above mediation. We employed two studies: Study 1, which includes two experiments to examine the boundary of CSR attributions (H1 and H4), and Study 2, which empirically tested the mediated moderation model (H1–H4). We found that (a) SRHRM was positively associated with VGB; (b) green passion mediates the relation between SRHRM and VGB; and (c) CSR attributions moderate the association between SRHRM and green passion and influence the indirect effect of SRHRM on VGB (via green passion). We further elaborate on the implications, acknowledge limitations, and propose directions for future research.