Linking transformational leadership to green human resource management (GHRM) and employee engagement in green initiatives

This study investigates if transformational leadership, green human resource management (GHRM) and employees’ intrinsic motivation are all crucial for employee engagement in GHRM initiatives. It adopts a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional survey which was conducted among 325 permanent faculty members of public and private sector universities in Lahore, Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS (3.0) was used for testing the hypotheses. The results empirically support the antecedents of employee engagement in green initiatives (transformational leadership and GHRM) by taking intrinsic motivation as a moderator. The findings highlight that GHRM practices of the organisations and especially of the HEIs through effective leadership need to be designed in a way that not only encourages but also empowers the employees to be environment conscious. In such a way this work offers significant contributions to the existing body of research; shedding light on its present condition and pinpointing prospective avenues for future inquiries in this particular sector. Findings can help policymakers shape the pro-environmental behaviour of current academic staff as well as attract those people who have an environmental mindset.