Social entrepreneurs and employee green behavior: value systems and social context as moderators

Abstract

Emerging evidence shows that employees can deliver and sabotage entrepreneurs’ environmental performance. Hence, exploring how entrepreneurs can influence employees to maintain and improve environmental performance with work and non-work factors is crucial for managerial and policy interventions. We contribute to the literature by examining the moderating effects of value systems (thus, the opposing bipolar dimensions of self-enhancement-self-transcendence and conservation - openness to change values) and social context on the relationship between Social Entrepreneurship Orientation (SEO) and employee green behavior. Using time-lagged matched data for entrepreneurs and employees (N = 420) from spa hotels in Ghana, our findings show that SEO positively relates to employee green behavior. While this finding is amplified by the moderators, social context recorded a marginal impact. Regardless, social entrepreneurs’ inclination toward the environment influences the corporate behavior of employees, and hotels can seize a favorable social context to enhance their bargaining power on environmental products.