Green Innovative Work Behavior Toward Net-Zero in the Maritime Industry: The Moderating Roles of Climate Change Perception and Government Subsidies

Amid growing international pressure for carbon neutrality, the maritime industry is facing mounting institutional demands for environmental innovation. Drawing on protection motivation theory, this study surveyed 499 employees from 1519 shipping service firms to examine how coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures shape green innovative work behavior. By extending protection motivation theory to a highly regulated maritime context, this study demonstrates that institutional pressures do not directly drive green innovation; instead, they enhance employees’ self-protective motivation, which subsequently fosters eco-innovation. Moreover, these relationships are stronger when firms perceive greater climate risks or receive government subsidies, indicating that contextual conditions amplify the translation of motivation into behavior. Overall, the findings reveal how macro-level institutional forces shape the sustainable transition of maritime services through employee psychology, offering governance-relevant insights for policymakers and firms seeking to promote green innovation.