IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0320053.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unleashing the green potential: Unraveling the power of environmental concerns in driving employees’ green behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Nhon Hoang Thanh
  • Bac Truong Cong

Abstract

This study investigates how environmental concerns influence employees’ green behavior within businesses, with a focus on the roles of attitude, green knowledge, and perceived behavioral control, underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Guided by TPB, this study develops a model where environmental concern impacts employee green behavior both directly and indirectly through its influence on attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and green knowledge. The study employed a structured survey of companies listed on the Vietnam Stock Exchange, targeting directors and senior managers between April and December 2021. A total of 407 valid responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that environmental concerns, attitudes, and perceived behavior control significantly influence employees’ green behavior. Both attitudes and perceived behavior control act as positive mediators in the relationship between environmental concern and employees’ green behavior. Additionally, the study highlights that the level of environmental consciousness is a crucial factor in shaping the connections between attitudes, perceived behavior control, and employee green behavior. These insights offer a novel perspective on the complex dynamics of environmental concerns in the corporate workplace, paving the way for the development of strategies that promote environmentally friendly behaviors within organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Nhon Hoang Thanh & Bac Truong Cong, 2025. "Unleashing the green potential: Unraveling the power of environmental concerns in driving employees’ green behavior," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(3), pages 1-25, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0320053
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0320053
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0320053
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0320053&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0320053?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. van den Broek, Karlijn L. & Walker, Ian & Klöckner, Christian A., 2019. "Drivers of energy saving behaviour: The relative influence of intentional, normative, situational and habitual processes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 811-819.
    2. Gao, Lan & Wang, Shanyong & Li, Jun & Li, Haidong, 2017. "Application of the extended theory of planned behavior to understand individual’s energy saving behavior in workplaces," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 107-113.
    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. Chun-Hsi Vivian Chen & Yu-Cheng Chen, 2021. "Assessment of Enhancing Employee Engagement in Energy-Saving Behavior at Workplace: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Mingyue Li & Jingjing Wang & Kai Chen & Lianbei Wu, 2020. "Willingness and Behaviors of Farmers’ Green Disposal of Pesticide Packaging Waste in Henan, China: A Perceived Value Formation Mechanism Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Phu Nguyen-Van & Anne Stenger & Tuyen Tiet, 2021. "Social incentive factors in interventions promoting sustainable behaviors: A meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-27, December.
    4. Zhang, Wenqing & Liu, Liangliang, 2022. "Exploring non-users' intention to adopt ride-sharing services: Taking into account increased risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic among other factors," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 180-195.
    5. Nketiah, Emmanuel & Song, Huaming & Obuobi, Bright & Adu-Gyamfi, Gibbson & Adjei, Mavis & Cudjoe, Dan, 2022. "Citizens' willingness to pay for local anaerobic digestion energy: The influence of altruistic value and knowledge," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    6. Zhang, Weishi & Xu, Ying & Wang, Can & Streets, David G., 2022. "Assessment of the driving factors of CO2 mitigation costs of household biogas systems in China: A LMDI decomposition with cost analysis model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 978-989.
    7. Ahmad Yaghoubi Farani & Saeid Hedayati Nia & Karwan Shanazi & Pouria Ataie & Karim Naderi Mahdei & Hossein Azadi, 2025. "Soil conservation projects and their consequences: the behavior analysis of Iranian farmers," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 9447-9476, April.
    8. Tuan Khanh Vuong, 2024. "Sustainable Energy Consumption Insights: Understanding Electricity-saving Behaviour Drivers among Young Adults in Ho Chi Minh City," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(1), pages 524-532, January.
    9. Sylwia Słupik & Joanna Kos-Łabędowicz & Joanna Trzęsiok, 2021. "Energy-Related Behaviour of Consumers from the Silesia Province (Poland)—Towards a Low-Carbon Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-23, April.
    10. Shen, Meng & Li, Xiang & Lu, Yujie & Cui, Qingbin & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2021. "Personality-based normative feedback intervention for energy conservation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    11. Gaitan, Ioan & Yun, Gawon & Joo, Harry & Hwang, Sunil, 2024. "Understanding military pilots’ fuel-saving intentions for supporting logistics missions," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    12. Adu-Gyamfi, Gibbson & Song, Huaming & Nketiah, Emmanuel & Obuobi, Bright & Adjei, Mavis & Cudjoe, Dan, 2022. "Determinants of adoption intention of battery swap technology for electric vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    13. Yilmaz, Selin & Cuony, Peter & Chanez, Cédric & Patel, Martin Kumar, 2024. "Communication strategies and consumer acceptance of utility-controlled heat pumps and electric vehicles," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    14. Nilsson, Anders & Bartusch, Cajsa, 2024. "Empowered or enchained? Exploring consumer perspectives on Direct Load Control," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    15. Hilda Hilmiyati-Mas’adah & Achmad Sudiro & Fatchur Rohman & Agung Yuniarinto & Dzikri Firmansyah Hakam & Herry Nugraha, 2023. "Assessing the Impact of Urban Lifestyle and Consumption Values on Conversion Intention: A Study towards Energy Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    16. Mykolas Simas Poškus & Audra Balundė & Lina Jovarauskaitė & Goda Kaniušonytė & Rita Žukauskienė, 2021. "The Effect of Potentially Groundwater-Contaminating Ecological Disaster on Adolescents’ Bottled Water Consumption and Perceived Risk to Use Tap Water," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, May.
    17. Galster, H.S. & Van der Wal, A.J. & Batenburg, A.E. & Koning, V. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2025. "A comprehensive review of integrating behavioral drivers of technology adoption and energy service use in energy system models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    18. Zbigniew Bohdanowicz & Beata Łopaciuk-Gonczaryk & Jarosław Kowalski & Cezary Biele, 2021. "Households’ Electrical Energy Conservation and Management: An Ecological Break-Through, or the Same Old Consumption-Growth Path?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-21, October.
    19. Shujie Zhao & Anguo Dai & Dongfeng Zhao & Qingbin Song, 2023. "Identifying the influence factors on low-carbon behavior of employees from petrochemical enterprise under “Carbon Neutrality”," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(12), pages 14477-14498, December.
    20. Han, Myat Su & Cudjoe, Dan, 2020. "Determinants of energy-saving behavior of urban residents: Evidence from Myanmar," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).

    More about this item

    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:plo:pone00:0320053. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.