IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i18p8183-d1747140.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmentally-Specific Empowered Leadership and Employee Green Creativity: The Role of Green Crafting and Environmental Culture

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaobo Dong

    (China Cooperative Research Institute, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu 233030, China)

  • Zhiyong Han

    (School of Business Administration, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu 233030, China)

Abstract

This study investigates how environmentally-specific empowered leadership influences employee green creativity and the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Drawing on Self-determination theory, we examine green crafting as a mediating process and environmental culture as a boundary condition. Analysis of multi-wave data reveals three key findings: (1) environmentally-specific empowered leadership positively affects employees’ green crafting behaviors; (2) green crafting mediates the relationship between leadership and employee green creativity; and (3) environmental culture strengthens the positive effect of empowered leadership on green crafting, subsequently enhancing green creativity. These findings extend leadership theory by identifying how and when empowering approaches specifically facilitate environmental innovation. For practitioners, our results highlight the importance of combining empowering leadership practices with a supportive environmental culture to foster employee-driven sustainable solutions. Organizations can leverage these insights to enhance environmental performance through targeted leadership development and cultural initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaobo Dong & Zhiyong Han, 2025. "Environmentally-Specific Empowered Leadership and Employee Green Creativity: The Role of Green Crafting and Environmental Culture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-18, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:18:p:8183-:d:1747140
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8183/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8183/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Singh, Sanjay Kumar & Giudice, Manlio Del & Chierici, Roberto & Graziano, Domenico, 2020. "Green innovation and environmental performance: The role of green transformational leadership and green human resource management," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    2. Hui Jiang & Suli Wang & Lu Wang & Gang Li, 2020. "Golden Apples or Green Apples? The Effect of Entrepreneurial Creativity on Green Entrepreneurship: A Dual Pathway Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Yu-Shan Chen & Ching-Hsun Chang & Yu-Hsien Lin, 2014. "Green Transformational Leadership and Green Performance: The Mediation Effects of Green Mindfulness and Green Self-Efficacy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-18, September.
    4. Clay M. Voorhees & Michael K. Brady & Roger Calantone & Edward Ramirez, 2016. "Discriminant validity testing in marketing: an analysis, causes for concern, and proposed remedies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 119-134, January.
    5. Yu-Shan Chen & Ching-Hsun Chang, 2013. "The Determinants of Green Product Development Performance: Green Dynamic Capabilities, Green Transformational Leadership, and Green Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 107-119, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Serdar Çop & Victor Oluwafemi Olorunsola & Uju Violet Alola, 2021. "Achieving environmental sustainability through green transformational leadership policy: Can green team resilience help?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 671-682, January.
    2. Farzana Riva & Solon Magrizos & Mohammad Rabiul Basher Rubel, 2021. "Investigating the link between managers' green knowledge and leadership style, and their firms' environmental performance: The mediation role of green creativity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3228-3240, November.
    3. Burcu Özgül & Cemal Zehir, 2023. "How Managers’ Green Transformational Leadership Affects a Firm’s Environmental Strategy, Green Innovation, and Performance: The Moderating Impact of Differentiation Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Liang Li & Bangzhu Zhu & Xiahui Che & Huaping Sun & Meixuen Tan, 2021. "Examining Effect of Green Transformational Leadership and Environmental Regulation through Emission Reduction Policy on Energy-Intensive Industry’s Employee Turnover Intention in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-21, June.
    5. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Hassane Gharbi & Ahmed M. Hasanein & Ahmed E. Abu Elnasr, 2022. "The Mediating Effects of Green Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility on the Link between Transformational Leadership and Performance: An Examination Using SEM Analysis," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(15), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Adil Mansoor & Muhammad Farrukh & Jong-Keon Lee & Sarwat Jahan, 2021. "Stimulation of Employees’ Green Creativity through Green Transformational Leadership and Management Initiatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-14, July.
    7. Burcu Ozgul, 2021. "The Influence of Green-Transformational Leadership Style on Corporate Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review and Propositions for Future Studies," Istanbul Management Journal, Istanbul University Business School, vol. 0(90), pages 1-30, June.
    8. Yu‐Shan Chen & Xin Yan, 2022. "The small and medium enterprises' green human resource management and green transformational leadership: A sustainable moderated‐mediation practice," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1341-1356, September.
    9. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Ahmed Hasanein & Ibrahim Elshaer, 2020. "Influences of Green Human Resources Management on Environmental Performance in Small Lodging Enterprises: The Role of Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-19, December.
    10. Stanley Y. B. Huang & Chih-Wen Ting & Ming-Way Li, 2021. "The Effects of Green Transformational Leadership on Adoption of Environmentally Proactive Strategies: The Mediating Role of Green Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-11, March.
    11. Mercedes Úbeda‐García & Bartolome Marco‐Lajara & Patrocinio C. Zaragoza‐Sáez & Encarnación Manresa‐Marhuenda & Esther Poveda‐Pareja, 2022. "Green ambidexterity and environmental performance: The role of green human resources," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 32-45, January.
    12. Cui, Rixiao & Xia, Enjun & Guo, Xiaoli, 2025. "Antecedent configurations toward radical green innovation: Based on resource orchestration theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    13. Saira Begum & Muhammad Ashfaq & Enjun Xia & Usama Awan, 2022. "Does green transformational leadership lead to green innovation? The role of green thinking and creative process engagement," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 580-597, January.
    14. Rixiao Cui & Juanru Wang & Cong Zhou, 2023. "Exploring the linkages of green transformational leadership, organizational green learning, and radical green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 185-199, January.
    15. Parvez Alam Khan & Satirenjit Kaur Johl & Shireenjit K. Johl, 2021. "Does adoption of ISO 56002‐2019 and green innovation reporting enhance the firm sustainable development goal performance? An emerging paradigm," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 2922-2936, November.
    16. Yu-Shan Chen & Tai-Wei Chang & Chun-Yu Lin & Pi-Yu Lai & Kuan-Hung Wang, 2016. "The Influence of Proactive Green Innovation and Reactive Green Innovation on Green Product Development Performance: The Mediation Role of Green Creativity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-12, September.
    17. Silu Chen & Wanxing Jiang & Xin Li & Han Gao, 2021. "Effect of Employees’ Perceived Green HRM on Their Workplace Green Behaviors in Oil and Mining Industries: Based on Cognitive-Affective System Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-16, April.
    18. Tang Meirun & Lahcene Makhloufi & Mohamad Ghozali Hassan, 2020. "Environmental Outcomes of Green Entrepreneurship Harmonization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-26, December.
    19. Farida Saleem & Sofia Mateou & Muhammad Imran Malik, 2024. "How Green Transformational Leaders Trigger Environmental Performance? Unleashing the Missing Links Through Green Self-Efficacy, Green Empowerment, and Green Training of Employees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-21, November.
    20. Shunyi Zhou & Dapeng Zhang & Chan Lyu & Hongfeng Zhang, 2018. "Does Seeing “Mind Acts Upon Mind” Affect Green Psychological Climate and Green Product Development Performance? The Role of Matching Between Green Transformational Leadership and Individual Green Valu," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:18:p:8183-:d:1747140. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.