Linking leaders' sustainability commitment with SME sustainability performance via serial mediation of green human resource management, psychological ownership for sustainability, and employee green innovation behavior: The role of organizational cul

This research investigates whether leaders' sustainability commitment (LSC) affects the sustainability performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China by uncovering the behavioral process through which this effect operates. Theoretical foundations are drawn from the resource-based theory, the dynamic capabilities theory, and the stimulus-organism-response model. The proposed theory asserts that LSC directly and indirectly influences SMEs' sustainability performance through green HRM, psychological ownership for sustainability, and employee green innovation behavior. A quantitative survey research approach involving 494 employees from manufacturing SMEs in China was conducted and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The study findings confirm the direct impact of LSC on SMEs' sustainability outcomes and green HRM. In addition, the results also confirm the effect of green HRM on individual psychological ownership for sustainability, which, in turn, positively influences employees' green behavior. Moreover, a serial mediation effect was revealed from LSC to SMEs' sustainability outcomes through green HRM, psychological ownership for sustainability, and employees' green innovation behavior. Further, organizational culture strengthens the impact of psychological ownership for sustainability on green behavior. This study contributes to both the sustainability and organizational behavior literatures by elucidating the process by which LSC influences SME sustainability performance. The study also revealed organizational culture as a boundary condition in the proposed theory. The practical implications are that manufacturing SMEs in China can leverage LSC to enhance employee green innovation behavior and sustainability performance by linking it to green HRM.