Beyond Green Policies: How Socially Responsible Human Resource Management and Environmental Leadership Shape Employee Pro-Environmental Citizenship

Building on social identity theory (SIT), this study investigates how socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) shapes employees’ organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE). The proposed framework suggests that felt responsibility for the environment (FRE) serves as a psychological bridge between SRHRM and OCBE, while environmentally specific servant leadership (ESL) strengthens this linkage. Using three waves of matched data collected from 236 full-time employees across manufacturing, service, and technology firms in China, the study applies hierarchical regression and bootstrapping techniques to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that SRHRM has a significant positive effect on OCBE, and this relationship is partly explained by employees’ FRE. In addition, higher levels of ESL amplify the positive association between SRHRM and FRE and reinforce the overall indirect effect on OCBE, producing a statistically meaningful moderated mediation pattern. These findings add to existing knowledge by clarifying the psychological process through which SRHRM encourages employees’ voluntary pro-environmental actions. The study also underscores the role of leadership in shaping the impact of SRHRM, offering organizations practical directions for nurturing a culture of environmental responsibility.