Improving the Environmental Footprint through Employees: A Case of Female Leaders from the Perspective of CSR

Abstract

Environmental quality strongly depends on human behavior patterns. Many environmental challenges are rooted in human actions, and thus, it is believed that these problems can be reduced through the promotion of pro-environmental behaviors (PB). Owing to this reality, the current study aims to reduce the environmental footprint of a hospital by promoting its employees’ environment-specific behavior via corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethical leadership (EL). More importantly, the study also considered the role of female leaders in the proposed relationship. The current study collected the data from the respondents employed in different hospitals of a developing economy through a questionnaire (paper-pencil method). A total of 489 valid responses were collected, which were analyzed by employing the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. As per the current study’s findings, there is a positive relationship between CSR, while EL mediates between CSR and PB. Likewise, the moderating role of female leaders in the proposed relationship was more significant than that of male leaders. More specifically, the study’s findings have considerable theoretical and practical implications, as it opens paths for researchers to further investigate the applicability of different dimensions of CSR and the role of gender in environmental sustainability. It provides insight to policymakers on how to restructure their CSR preferences, priorities on the environment, and gender differences.

The mediating role of pro-environmental attitude and intention on the translation from climate change health risk perception to pro-environmental behavior

“…Finally, the result of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that different demographic variables have different effects on hospital workers’ CHRP, PEA, PEI, and PEB. Specifically, compared with males, females are more inclined to display more PEA and PEI, and then perform more PEB, which is consistent with the study of Swim, Gillis 146 , Ahmad, Ullah 23 , Singleton, Lau 17 , and Wei, Sial 141 . The social role theory-individuals incline to possess diverse roles and perform different behavior in the same social setting-can illustrate these differences between genders, females are more concerned about environmental issues and have a stronger willingness and belief to relieve or reverse them 23 , 141 .…”

“…Specifically, compared with males, females are more inclined to display more PEA and PEI, and then perform more PEB, which is consistent with the study of Swim, Gillis 146 , Ahmad, Ullah 23 , Singleton, Lau 17 , and Wei, Sial 141 . The social role theory-individuals incline to possess diverse roles and perform different behavior in the same social setting-can illustrate these differences between genders, females are more concerned about environmental issues and have a stronger willingness and belief to relieve or reverse them 23 , 141 . Therefore, the goal of mitigating and adapting to climate change can be a reality with the active participation of females.…”

“…Apart from attitude related to environmental protection, there are still many factors that contribute to or impede behavior, such as environmental concern 139 , health consciousness 140 , job satisfaction 123 , and altruistic values 18 . Furthermore, hospital workers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also important, which has multiple effects not only protecting human health but also reducing the carbon footprint generated by medical practices 141 . Moreover, environmental knowledge can translate into pro-environmental behavior under certain circumstances, however, this knowledge could be affected by demographic elements such as gender 25 .…”

Why Do Employees Show Pro-Environmental Behaviors? A Perspective of Environment Social Responsibility

“…Pro-environmental behaviors denote people’s environmental behaviors toward sustainability [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. However, previous studies have neglected how environmental social responsibility leads to pro-environmental behaviors; thus, firms have no idea how to formulate strategies that can induce employees’ pro-environmental behaviors [ 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

Making Organizations Sustainable Through Employee Participation: An Analysis of Factors and Their Interactions

“…In general, most research on employees in sustainability topics have been conducted in companies, for example, employees' proenvironmental behaviors [19], [20], [21], the role of employee commitment for green performance [22], the employees' attitude and performance [23], and the role of EP in the sustainability [24]. There is increasing, yet limited, research on other types of organizations [25], such as the effect of corporate social responsibility on job satisfaction and organizational commitment [26], green employee engagement in higher education organizations [27], and analyzing employees' green behavior in the public and private sectors [28].…”