Playing the cards right: exploring the way leadership influences organizational citizenship behavior for the environment in megaprojects

Purpose Organizational citizenship behaviors for the environment (OCBEs) represent a crucial element of environmental sustainability for a wide range of organizations. However, the leadership mechanisms underlying OCBEs are as yet unexplored, particularly regarding the delivering megaprojects. The paper aims to investigate how transformational leadership (TFL) and transactional leadership (TSL) styles shape the environmental commitment (EC) of subordinates, motivating OCBEs in megaprojects. Design/methodology/approach Partial least squares modeling and hierarchical regression were performed on data obtained from 140 experts who have been involved in megaprojects. Findings Both TFL and TSL styles are effective in motivating OCBEs, although the EC of subordinates partially mediates these relationships. The power distance (PD) orientation significantly moderates the relationship between TFL and OCBEs, with the relationship being more positive when the PD of subordinates is lower. Unexpectedly, a collectivist orientation (CO) was found to elevate the effect of TSL but weaken the effect of TFL. Originality/value The mixed and contradictory findings regarding TFL and TSL styles are reconciled in the current study by integrating the contextual factors of PD and CO. The findings of the study shed new light on “playing the cards right” when using the leadership practices, i.e. how leadership can be better leveraged to cultivate subordinates' OCBEs. They also provide targeted guidance for shaping contextual factors to increase the environmental sustainability of megaprojects.