Leading green in hospitality: the role of transformational leadership and employee environmental values in driving engagement, creativity and citizenship

Purpose This study aims to examine how green transformational leadership (GTL) influences hotel employees’ sustainability-related behaviors and attitudes in the hospitality industry. Specifically, it investigates the relationship between GTL and employee-related outcomes, including green creativity and organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE), exploring the mediating mechanism of green work engagement and the moderating role of employees’ environmental values. Design/methodology/approach This research adopted a quantitative methodology, gathering survey responses from 446 employees working within the US hotel sector. The relationships were examined through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis. Findings The results indicate that GTL significantly enhances both green creativity and OCBE. Green work engagement serves as a significant mediator, highlighting that employee engagement serves as a cornerstone for successful sustainability efforts. In addition, employees’ environmental values moderate the influence of GTL on OCBE but not on green creativity, suggesting that values have a role in discretionary pro-environmental behaviors rather than in creative problem-solving. Originality/value This study enhances the literature on sustainable leadership by integrating green creativity and OCBE into the discussion of GTL in the hospitality industry. It highlights the role of employee engagement in translating leadership into tangible environmental contributions and uncovers the selective moderating role of environmental values.