Unpacking the linkage between green volunteering and ethical leadership behavior in managers

Green volunteering has gained significant attention in recent years, with research focusing on pro-environmental behaviors and the preservation of natural ecosystems. While much has been written about its societal benefits, such as community engagement, social responsibility, and sustainable develop...

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Authors: Lu, Jintao (Author) ; Yan, Shiyu (Author) ; Ogbonnaya, Chidiebere (Author) ; Gorny, Tomasz (Author) ; Song, Malin 1972- (Author) ; Wang, Chunyan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2025
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 2025, Volume: 200, Issue: 4, Pages: 911-926
Further subjects:B Green volunteering
B Felt obligation
B Ethical Leadership
B Aufsatz in Zeitschrift
B Moral ownership
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Summary:Green volunteering has gained significant attention in recent years, with research focusing on pro-environmental behaviors and the preservation of natural ecosystems. While much has been written about its societal benefits, such as community engagement, social responsibility, and sustainable development, there is less research into its impact on the professional growth of volunteers. As a result, we know surprisingly little about how participants can harness the skills they develop through green volunteering to enhance their performance in the workplace. Using self-determination theory, we propose a serial mediation model in which managers’ participation in green volunteering fosters ethical leadership behavior in the workplace. Our analysis of time-lagged dyadic data from 798 managers and their direct reports reveal that green volunteering enhances ethical leadership by increasing managers' sense of felt obligation and moral ownership. Furthermore, we find that the organization's ethical climate plays a key moderating role, amplifying the positive effects of green volunteering in environments that emphasize ethical values. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10551-025-05929-7