Promoting employee green behaviour through leader’s green humility: the role of green human resource management and employee altruistic values

Purpose Anchored in person-environment fit theory, social exchange theory and social identity theory, this study is an attempt to investigate the role of environment-oriented humble leadership (EOHL) in green behaviour of employees in the hospitality industry in Pakistan. Specifically, it examines the mediating effect of green human resource management (GHRM) practices in the EOHL-employee green behaviour relationship and examines whether employee altruism will enhance this mediating mechanism. Design/methodology/approach The study used a structured questionnaire survey to gather information from 415 supervisors and employees who are working in the hospitality industry of Pakistan. A multi-source and time-lagged research design was adopted in order to reduce common method bias. Structural equation modelling was used to test a moderated mediation model of the relationships between EOHL, GHRM practices, employee altruism and employee green behaviour. Findings The results suggest that GHRM practices mediate the effect partially between environment-oriented humble leadership and employee green behaviour. Moreover, the indirect effect of EOHL on employee green behaviour through GHRM is found to be stronger in employees having higher levels of altruism, underlining the contingent nature of individual moral tendencies in reinforcing green management mechanisms. Originality/value This study provides a new and unique theoretical contribution by combining EOHL, GHRM and employee altruism in explaining employee green behaviour in work place settings. It presents ground-breaking empirical evidence in a developing country context, building on environmental leadership and green HRM literature. The outcomes have important implications for scholars and practitioners because they highlight the synergy between humble environmental leadership, supportive HRM systems, and altruistic employee orientations in the development of sustainable workplace behaviours.