Working values: relationships between individual and organisational biospheric values, efficacy beliefs and pro-environmental behaviour at work

Purpose To achieve organisational pro-environmental goals, it is critical that employees engage in pro-environmental behaviours. This study aims to understand how individual and organisational biospheric values, self-efficacy and collective outcome efficacy are related to in-role pro-environmental behaviours (i.e. designing pro-environmental products or services) and environmental advocacy at work (i.e. encouraging environmental action among others). Design/methodology/approach We conducted a questionnaire study among 304 Dutch employees. Findings As expected, stronger individual and perceived organisational biospheric values were related to higher self-efficacy and collective outcome efficacy, which in turn promoted in-role pro-environmental behaviours and environmental advocacy. Further, particularly self-efficacy mediated the relationship between both types of values and in-role pro-environmental behaviour and advocacy. Interestingly, the pattern of results was similar for both behaviours. We discuss how organisations can leverage these insights to foster pro-environmental action at work. Practical implications We discuss how organisations can leverage these insights to foster pro-environmental action at work. Originality/value We extend previous work by examining both individual and organisational level factors related to pro-environmental behaviour at work. Specifically, we examine to what extent individual and perceived organisational biospheric values explain employees’ in-role pro-environmental behaviour and environmental advocacy, and how self-efficacy and collective outcome efficacy are associated with these relationships. Our findings indicate that both individual and organisational level factors are important to understand employees’ pro-environmental behaviour. We rely on a high-quality sample from an organisation in a sector with high climate impact to test our reasoning.