Green Leadership and Sustainable Employee Engagement in Driving Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment (OCBE): A Systematic Literature Review
Keywords:
Green leadership, sustainable employee engagement, organizational citizenship behavior for the environemt (OCBE), green transformational leadership, GHRMAbstract
This article presents a systematic literature review that explores the linkages between green leadership, sustainability-focused employee engagement, and today's organizational context. Using the PRISMA 2020 framework, this study examined 45 peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2025. The results of this survey reveal that green leadership styles, especially green transformational leadership, environmentally-specific servant leadership (ESSL), and eco-centric leadership have been proven to have a significant effect on employee engagement in various sustainability initiatives and are able to encourage pro-environmental behaviors that are carried out voluntarily. Important findings in this study show that sustainable employee engagement plays a key mediator linking green leadership to OCBE. The mechanisms behind it include green psychological capital (GpsyCap), green organizational climate, and environmental self-efficacy. The study also identified three key dimensions of OCBE, namely eco-initiatives, eco-civic engagement, and eco-assistance, all of which are positively influenced by authentic green leadership. The practice of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is also present as a supporting mechanism that strengthens the path of leadership, involvement, OCBE. From a theoretical perspective, this approach contributes by presenting a comprehensive framework that combines various perspectives and into a whole whole. In practical terms, these findings underscore the importance of organizations investing in green leadership competency development, building a well-rounded GHRM system, and creating an organizational climate conducive to employees' voluntary environmental civic behavior.References
Abdou, A. H., Abdulaziz, M., Abdulathim, A., Rebhi, N., Hasan, H., Hassan, M., Salah, A., Said, H., Mohamed, A., & Kamel, N. J. (2023). From Green Inclusive Leadership to Green Organizational Citizenship : Exploring the Mediating Role of Green Work Engagement and Green Organizational Identification in the Hotel Industry Context.
Aboramadan, M., Kundi, Y. M., & Farao, C. (2021). Examining the effects of environmentally-specific servant leadership on green work outcomes among hotel employees: the mediating role of climate for green creativity. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 30(8), 929–956. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2021.1912681
Ahuja, M. K., Mcknight, D. H., & George, J. F. (n.d.). IT Road Warriors : Balancing Work-Family Conflict , Job Autonomy , and Work Overload to Mitigate Turnover Intentions IT Road Warriors : Balancing Work-Family Conflict , Job Autonomy , and Work Overload to Mitigate Turnover Intentions.
Althnayan, S., Alarifi, A., Bajaba, S., & Alsabban, A. (2022). Linking Environmental Transformational Leadership, Environmental Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Organizational Sustainability Performance: A Moderated Mediation Model. In Sustainability (Vol. 14, Issue 14, p. 8779). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148779
Benn, S., Teo, S. T. T., & Martin, A. (2015). Employee participation and engagement in working for the environment. Personnel Review, 44(4), 492–510. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2013-0179
Bhandari, P. B., Ejiogu, K., Karki, L. B., Escobar, E. N., Arbab, N. N., & Cairo, M. T. (2024). Factors Associated with the Profitability of Agritourism Operations in Maryland, USA. In Sustainability (Vol. 16, Issue 3, p. 1025). https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031025
Blau, M. (1976). Exchange and Power in Social Life.
Boiral, O. (2009). Greening the Corporation Through Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(2), 221–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9881-2
Boiral, O., & Paillé, P. (2012). Organizational Citizenship Behaviour for the Environment: Measurement and Validation. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(4), 431–445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1138-9
Cen, C. C. (2023). Studying the Impact of Green Human Resource Management Practices on Sustainable Workforce : The Integration of Employee Engagement with Organizational Culture. 25(2), 96–106.
Chanana, N., & Singh, Y. (2024). Green HRM: Boosting Employee Engagement with Digital Tools for Sustainability (pp. 10–27).
Chen, J.-T., Kuo, Y.-C., Hsu, T.-Y., & Wang, C.-A. (2022). Fatigue and Arousal Modulations Revealed by Saccade and Pupil Dynamics. In International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (Vol. 19, Issue 15, p. 9234). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159234
Escandon-Barbosa, D., & Salas-Páramo, J. (2023). The role of informal institutions in the relationship between innovation and organisational learning in export performance: A bidirectional relation? Asia Pacific Management Review, 28(2), 185–193. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2022.08.001
Faraz, N. A., Ahmed, F., Ying, M., & Mehmood, S. A. (2021). The interplay of green servant leadership, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation in predicting employees' pro-environmental behavior. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(4), 1171–1184. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2115
Gupta, A., & Jangra, S. (2024). Green human resource management and work engagement: Linking HRM performance attributions. Sustainable Futures, 7, 100174. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2024.100174
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. In American Psychologist (Vol. 44, Issue 3, pp. 513–524). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
Iqbal, Q., Piwowar-Sulej, K., Agarwal, R., & Yaqub, M. Z. (2025). Sustainability-Oriented Leadership and Business Strategy: Examining the Roles of Procedural Environmental Justice and Job Embeddedness. Business Strategy and the Environment, 34(3), 2917–2933. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4133
Kim, A., Kim, Y., Han, K., Jackson, S. E., & Ployhart, R. E. (2017). Multilevel influences on voluntary workplace green behavior: Individual differences, leader behavior, and coworker advocacy. In Journal of Management (Vol. 43, Issue 5, pp. 1335–1358). Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314547386
Kim, Y. J., Kim, W. G., Choi, H.-M., & Phetvaroon, K. (2019). The effect of green human resource management on hotel employees' eco-friendly behavior and environmental performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76, 83–93. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.04.007
Kumar, A. (2023). Green HRM: Enhancing Organizational Sustainability through Employee Engagement and Eco-Friendly Practices. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11080572
Lestari, S. H., & Anjaningrum, W. D. (2025). THE EFFECT OF GREEN WORK ENGAGEMENT , EMPLOYEE GROWTH MINDSET , AND EMPLOYEE 'S INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOR ON INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE. 13, 53–65.
Lin, Z., Gu, H., Gillani, K. Z., & Fahlevi, M. (2024). Impact of Green Work – Life Balance and Green Human Resource Management Practices on Corporate Sustainability Performance and Employee Retention: Mediation of Green Innovation and Organisational Culture.
Liu, X., & Yu, X. (2023a). Green transformational leadership and employee organizational citizenship behavior for the environment in the manufacturing industry : A social information processing perspective. Frontiers in Psychol, January, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1097655
Liu, X., & Yu, X. (2023b). Green transformational leadership and employee organizational citizenship behavior for the environment in the manufacturing industry: A social information processing perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 13-2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1097655
Luu, T. T. (2018). Building employees' organizational citizenship behavior for the environment: The role of environmentally-specific servant leadership and a moderated mediation mechanism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(1), 406–426. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-07-2017-0425
Mankgele, K. P., & Fatoki, O. (2025). Environmentally specific empowering leadership and organizational citizenship behavior toward the environment : The roles of green work engagement , psychological ownership , and environmental concern. 5(1), 143–159. https://doi.org/10.20885/AMBR.vol5.iss1.art10
Mughal, Y. H., Nair, K. S., Arif, M., Albejaidi, F., Thurasamy, R., Chuadhry, M. A., & Malik, S. Y. (2023). Employees' Perceptions of Green Supply-Chain Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Sustainability in Organizations: Mediating Effect of Reflective Moral Attentiveness. In Sustainability (Vol. 15, Issue 13, p. 10528). https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310528
Noor, J., Tunnufus, Z., Handrian, V. Y., & Yumhi, Y. (2023). Green human resources management practices, leadership style and employee engagement: Green banking context. Heliyon, 9(12), e22473. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22473
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., ... Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Pinzone, M., Guerci, M., Lettieri, E., & Huisingh, D. (2019). Effects of 'green' training on pro-environmental behaviors and job satisfaction: Evidence from the Italian healthcare sector. Journal of Cleaner Production, 226, 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.048
Salancik, G. R., & Pfeffer, J. (1978). A Social Information Processing Approach to Job Attitudes and Task Design. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23(2), 224–253. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392563
Song, Y., & Lin, X. (2022). The Effects of Exercise and Social Interaction in Different Natural Environments on the Mental Health of Urban Residents. In Sustainability (Vol. 14, Issue 21, p. 14095). https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114095
Tran, N. K. H. (2023). An empirical investigation on the impact of green human resources management and green leadership on green work engagement. Heliyon, 9(11), e21018. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21018
Tsai, C.-C., Stritch, J. M., & Christensen, R. K. (2016). Eco-Helping and Eco-Civic Engagement in the Public Workplace. Public Performance & Management Review, 40(2), 336–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2016.1216001
Wang, G. (2025). Corporate Sustainability and Employee Engagement: Fostering a Green Workplace Culture. Journal of Lifestyle and SDGs Review, 5(5), e06601. https://doi.org/10.47172/2965-730X.SDGsReview.v5.n05.pe06601
Wang, X., Kou, F., & Zhu, K. (2023). The influence of responsible leadership on teachers' green behavior: The mediating role of psychological capital. Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 14-2023. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1117386
Yang, L., & Gao, Y. (2024). Marketization of Energy Resources in China: An Environmental CGE Analysis. In Sustainability (Vol. 16, Issue 4, p. 1463). https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041463
Yang, N., Gao, J., & Chang, P.-C. (2025). Can Environmentally-Specific Transformational Leadership Foster Employees' Green Voice Behavior? A Moderated Mediation Model of Psychological Empowerment, Ecological Reflexivity, and Value Congruence. In Behavioral Sciences (Vol. 15, Issue 7, p. 945). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15070945
Zacher, H., W.Rudolph, C., & M.Katz, I. (2023). Employee Green Behavior as the Core of Environmentally Sustainable Organizations. Annual Reviews, 465–494. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-050421
Zhou, S., Zhang, D., Lyu, C., & Zhang, H. (2018). Does Seeing "Mind Acts Upon Mind" Affect Green Psychological Climate and Green Product Development Performance? The Role of Matching Between Green Transformational Leadership and Individual Green Values. In Sustainability (Vol. 10, Issue 9, p. 3206). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093206
Zientara, P., & Zamojska, A. (2018). Green organizational climates and employee pro-environmental behaviour in the hotel industry. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(7), 1142–1159. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2016.1206554
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.







