How the perceived value of green creativity influences employees’ green creativity: the dual promotion–prevention path

Employee green creativity is a key aspect of achieving low-carbon goals. Yet the proximal driving factors related to the creators of underlying green creativity have been largely understudied. Based on regulatory focus theory, we introduce the concept of perceived value of green creativity (PVGC) to explore how it affects employee green creativity. Using a time-lagged research design, 311 paired datasets were collected from front-line managers and employees of Chinese luxury hotels. The results show that PVGC significantly enhances employee green creativity. Green creativity intrinsic motivation (GCIM, promotion focus) and green image preservation motivation (GIPM, prevention focus) mediate the relationship between PVGC and employee green creativity. We further find that the mediating role of promotion focus is stronger than that of prevention focus. The moderating effect of green mindfulness is apparent in the PVGC–GCIM relationship but not the PVGC–GIPM relationship. The novel concept of PVGC can extend research on perceived value to the green management field and even deepen the investigation of the factors that drive employee green creativity. The results have important implications for the promotion of hotel employee green creativity in response to the ongoing green transformation.