From Green Human Resource Management to Employee Green Behavior: Unraveling the Roles of Green Transformational Leadership, Green Commitment, and Environmental Knowledge

Abstract

Purpose- The aim of the study is to explore the effects of Green Human Resource Management practices on Employee Green Behavior in the banking industry of the Small and Medium Enterprise sector. It analyzes the workings behind organizational policies to individual actions by investigating mediating effects of Green Transformational Leadership, Green Commitment, and Environmental Knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach- The study uses a quantitative methodology, with an online survey to gather the data on professionals of different levels within the banking sector. The theory is based on the synthesis of Ability-Motivation-Opportunity theory and Social Exchange Theory and the data analysis was carried out since Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling to test complex structural relations.

Findings -Results show that GHRM has a strong direct positive impact on voluntary green behaviors among workers. Moreover, the results confirm that the connection is partially mediated by various internal mechanisms with the Green Transformational Leadership, Green commitment, and Environmental Knowledge being significant mediators. Of these, technical expertise and emotional attachment proved to be especially strong forces behind the institutionalization of sustainable workplace practices.

Practical implications - To the banking executives and HR practitioners, the study indicates that to promote sustainability, it is necessary to go beyond policy documentation to specific green training and visionary leadership. To attain the long-term environmental objectives, managers are supposed to foster a green organizational climate that promotes the technical skills and psychological inclination of the staff to the organization. Originality/value - The research is a significant addition to the black box of sustainability as it offers a multi-pathway model of sustainability in a notably under-researched area of the service economy in SME banking, showing the intersection of institutional systems and individual preparedness to propel ecological performance.