From benevolent leadership to environmental citizenship in the hospitality sector: an affective commitment mediated pathway

Purpose This paper aimed to propose and test a research model that investigated the nexus between benevolent leadership (BL), affective commitment (AC) and organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE) in the hospitality sector. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 372 hotel employees in Poland via a computer-assisted Web interview technique. The hypothesized relationships were gauged using the partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings BL boosted AC, which subsequently predicted OCBE. BL affected OCBE via affective internalization of employees’ emotional attachment to the organization instead of through direct behavioral modeling. Originality/value This study adds to the leadership–sustainability research by demonstrating that BL, a non-environmental leadership style, relates to OCBE through employees’ AC, rather than through a direct link. The results underscore AC as a significant internalization mechanism that connects moral leadership with context-specific environmental citizenship rather than direct behavioral relationship.