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The multilevel interplay of responsible leadership with leader identification and autonomous motivation to cultivate voluntary green behavior

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Abstract

Implementing environmental regulations in Pakistan remains an ideological thought with little or no enforcement. In this context, an organization’s sincerity towards corporate social responsibility initiatives is proven when it operates responsibly without regulatory pressures. Aimed at advancing the discourse on social identity and self-determination theories, this paper examines the influencing mechanism of multilevel responsible leadership on employees’ voluntary green behavior from a vertical perspective through leader identification and autonomous motivation for the environment. The sample included 357 employees working in 97 teams from pharmaceutical, cement manufacturing, and textile sector companies. Multi-source data were collected in two phases and analyzed with multilevel structural equation modeling through MPlus 8.3 software. The results support the hypothesized direct and mediating mechanisms of responsible leadership in shaping employees’ voluntary green behavior. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and future research suggestions are discussed.

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Authors do not have permission to share data due to restrictions by the university.

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Funding

This study is supported by the Key Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (21AJY016) and the major Project of the Social Science Achievement Appraisal Committee of Hunan Province (XSP21ZDA010).

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Correspondence to Naveed Ahmad Faraz.

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Ethics and informed consent

The researchers clarified the academic nature of the study and obtained approval from relevant authorities in organizations to proceed with data collection. The questionnaire included a clear statement assuring participants of complete anonymity, confidentiality, explained they had the right to withdraw anytime during the study, and that proceeding to fill in the questionnaire shall deem their informed consent. The study was non-invasive, did not involve any intervention or manipulation of the human subjects, and participants were not vulnerable to any physical or psychological harm. Responses were accessible by researchers only.

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The authors declare there is no conflict of interest.

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 7 

Table 7 Prior studies on responsible leadership and employees’ environmental behavior

Appendix 2

Table 8

Table 8 Measures

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Ahmed, F., Faraz, N.A., Xiong, Z. et al. The multilevel interplay of responsible leadership with leader identification and autonomous motivation to cultivate voluntary green behavior. Asia Pac J Manag (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09893-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09893-6

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