The Role of Person-Group Fit and Supervisor-Fit for Team Leaders' and Team Members' OCBE and WGGA

Abstract

Organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE) and workgroup green advocacy (WGGA) have been researched as a proxy of environmental performance of organizations as well as a potential way for companies to assess the impact of their environmental strategies and initiatives. We build on leader- member exchange (LMX) theory, examining the influence of supervisor support within team structures by testing interlinkages of OCBE and WGGA of leaders and members. We surveyed 597 employees from 89 teams in 6 countries working in one multinational company. The results show (1) strong correlations of OCBE and WGGA within the team structure. While we predict a positively moderating effect of perceived person-supervisor fit (PSF) and person-group fit (PGF) on these relationships, our data did not support these hypotheses. Yet, we further reveal that (2) PSF and PGF could act as drivers for team members’ OCBE and WGGA, (3) as well that team leader and member PGF correlate with leaders’ OCBE and WGGA. These results point to the importance of pro environmental behaviors of group leaders and their influence on group members. Also, the perceived fit of group members (PGF) could provide potential steps for successful green initiatives in organizations and for implementing their environmental strategies.