How and when top management green commitment facilitates employees green behavior: a multilevel moderated mediation model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue that green hope (GH) and green organizational identification (GOI) play critical roles in transforming top management green commitment (TMGC) into desired employees task-related green behavior (TRGB) and voluntary workplace green behavior (VWGB) based on positive psychology. Design/methodology/approach The authors test the multilevel moderated mediation model by analyzing data collected from 491 hospitality employees and their direct supervisors in 103 teams. At Time 1, the authors conducted a survey of 905 team members to provide demographic information and evaluate TMGC, as well as their own GOI. At Time 2, the authors sent a follow-up questionnaire to employees who participated Time 1, asking them to evaluate their GH in the workplace. At Time 3, the authors sent questionnaires to the leaders of the respondents of T2 survey and invited them to evaluate TRGB and VWGB in the workplace. Findings The results show that TMGC facilitates two types of employees’ behaviors toward both TRGB and VWGB by enhancing hospitality employees’ GH. As a team-level variable, GOI has a positive moderating effect on the association between TMGC and GH. The authors discuss the theoretical implications as well as practical implications for managers seeking to promote sustainability in their hospitality industry. Originality/value This is one of the first empirical studies to investigate the mediating effects of a positive psychology variable, namely, GH – and the moderating effects of GOI on the relationship between TMGC and employee green behavior (EGB).