Assessing the Impact of Employees’ Perceptions of Green Intellectual Capital on Career and Life Satisfaction: A Mediating Moderation Model in Turkish Hotels
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Theoretical Framework
2.2. Hypothesis Development
2.2.1. Direct Effects
2.2.2. Mediating Role
2.2.3. Moderating Effects
3. Methodology
3.1. Measurement Items
3.2. Statistical Technique
4. Data Analysis Results
5. Discussion
5.1. Key Findings
5.2. Theoretical Implications
5.3. Managerial Implications
5.4. Limitations and Future Recommendations
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Karatepe, O.M.; Çolakoğlu, Ü.; Yurcu, G.; Kaya, Ş. Do financial anxiety and generalized anxiety mediate the effect of perceived organizational support on service employees’ career commitment. Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag. 2024, 36, 1087–1113. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Duffy, R.D.; Manuel, R.S.; Borges, N.J.; Bott, E.M. Calling, vocational development, and well being: A longitudinal study of medical students. J. Vocat. Behav. 2011, 79, 361–366. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Karatepe, O.M.; Saydam, M.B.; Okumus, F. COVID-19, mental health problems, and their detrimental effects on hotel employees’ propensity to be late for work, absenteeism, and life satisfaction. Curr. Issues Tour. 2021, 24, 934–951. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chanyasak, T.; Koseoglu, M.A.; King, B.; Aladag, O.F. Business model adaptation as a strategic response to crises: Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Int. J. Tour. Cities 2022, 8, 616–635. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Baum, T.; Hai, N.T.T. Hospitality, tourism, human rights and the impact of COVID-19. Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag. 2020, 32, 2397–2407. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cho, Y.J.; Choi, Y. Korea’s Economic Policy Changes: Reflected in the Corporate Financial Indicators During the Last 60 Years. Bank of Korea WP. 2023, 14. Available online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4526236 (accessed on 1 July 2025).
- Jung, H.S.; Jung, Y.S.; Yoon, H.H. COVID-19: The effects of job insecurity on the job engagement and turnover intent of deluxe hotel employees and the moderating role of generational characteristics. Int. J. Hosp. Manag. 2021, 92, 102703. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mahafzah, A.G.; Aljawarneh, N.M.; Alomari, K.A.K.; Altahat, S.; Alomari, Z.S. Impact of customer relationship management on food and beverage service quality: The mediating role of employees satisfaction. Humanit. Soc. Sci. Rev. 2020, 8, 222–230. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chen, Y.S. The positive effect of green intellectual capital on competitive advantages of firms. J. Bus. Ethics 2008, 77, 271–286. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yusoff, Y.M.; Omar, M.K.; Kamarul Zaman, M.D.; Samad, S. Do all elements of green intellectual capital contribute toward business sustainability? Evidence from the Malaysian context using the partial least squares method. J. Clean. Prod. 2019, 234, 626–637. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Greenhaus, J.H.; Parasuraman, S.; Wormley, W.M. Effects of race on organizational experiences, job performance evaluations, and career outcomes. Acad. Manag. J. 1990, 33, 64–86. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Diener, E.D.; Emmons, R.A.; Larsen, R.J.; Griffin, S. The satisfaction with life scale. J. Personal. Assess. 1985, 49, 71–75. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Khan, K.; Gogia, E.H.; Shao, Z.; Rehman, M.Z.; Ullah, A. The impact of green HRM practices on green innovative work behaviour: Empirical evidence from the hospitality sector of China and Pakistan. BMC Psychol 2025, 13, 96. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Oubibi, M.; Fute, A.; Xiao, W.; Sun, B.; Zhou, Y. Perceived Organizational Support and Career Satisfaction among Chinese Teachers: The Mediation Effects of Job Crafting and Work Engagement during COVID-19. Sustainability 2022, 14, 623. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lei, Y. The interplay of job embeddedness, collective efficacy, and work meaningfulness on teacher well-being: A mixed-methods study with digital ethnography in China. Front. Psychol. 2024, 15, 1448446. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ampofo, E.T.; Karatepe, O.M. The effects of on-the-job embeddedness and its sub-dimensions on small-sized hotel employees’ organizational commitment, work engagement and turnover intentions. Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag. 2022, 34, 509–533. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Spreitzer, G.; Sutcliffe, K.; Dutton, J.; Sonenshein, S.; Grant, A.M. A socially embedded model of thriving at work. Organ. Sci. 2005, 16, 537–549. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mitchell, T.R.; Holtom, B.C.; Lee, T.W.; Sablynski, C.J.; Erez, M. Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Acad. Manag. J. 2001, 44, 1102–1121. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Porath, C.; Spreitzer, G.; Gibson, C.; Garnett, F.G. Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation, and theoretical refinement. J. Organ. Behav. 2012, 33, 250–275. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Akhtar, M.W.; Karatepe, O.M.; Rescalvo-Martin, E.; Rizwan, M. Thriving at work as a mediator between high-performance human resource practices and innovative behavior in the hotel industry: The moderating role of self-enhancement motive. Int. J. Hosp. Manag. 2024, 123, 103897. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yusliza, M.-Y.; Yong, J.Y.; Tanveer, M.I.; Ramayah, T.; Noor Faezah, J.; Muhammad, Z. A structural model of the impact of Green Intellectual Capital on Sustainable Performance. J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 249, 119334. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dumont, J.; Shen, J.; Deng, X. Effects of green HRM practices on employee workplace green behavior: The role of psychological green climate and employee green values. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2017, 56, 613–627. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shah, S.M.M.; Ahmed, U.; Ismail, A.I.; Mozammel, S. Going intellectually green: Exploring the nexus between green intellectual capital, environmental responsibility, and environmental concern towards environmental performance. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6257. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Aboelmaged, M.; Hashem, G. Absorptive capacity and green innovation adoption in SMEs: The mediating effects of sustainable organisational capabilities. J. Clean. Prod. 2019, 220, 853–863. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Karatepe, O.M.; Demir, E. Linking core self-evaluations and work engagement to work-family facilitation: A study in the hotel industry. Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag. 2014, 26, 307–323. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cheewaprapanan, A.; Punyasiri, S. The Causal Effects of Leader-Member Exchange on Job Embeddedness towards Enhancing Creative Performance in the Hotel Industry. Suranaree J. Soc. Sci. 2024, 18, e268983. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Nejad, N.S.; Azad, F.T.; Ganjouie, A.A.; Kooshan, Z.; Rastegar, R. Job Embeddedness in the Hospitality Industry: Developing a Model of Psychological Antecedents and Behavioral Consequences. Int. J. Hosp. Tour. Adm. 2025, 26, 160–179. [Google Scholar]
- Ali, A. Universities as sustainability agents! Does green campus ensure green intellectual capital? A quantitative approach to the triggering role of green knowledge sharing and green innovation. J. Intellect. Cap. 2025, 26, 253–278. [Google Scholar]
- Arici, H.E.; Cakmakoglu Arıcı, N.; Altinay, L. The use of big data analytics to discover customers’ perceptions of and satisfaction with green hotel service quality. Curr. Issues Tour. 2023, 26, 270–288. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Liang, Y.; Wu, T.J.; Zhang, Z.; Wang, Y. A systematic review of thriving at work: A bibliometric analysis and organizational research agenda. Asia Pac. J. Hum. Resour. 2024, 62, 507–534. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Guo, S.; Wu, J.; Wan, P. Linking social-related enterprise social media usage and thriving at work: The role of job autonomy and psychological detachment. Kybernetes 2025, 54, 678–702. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gyensare, M.A.; Jain, P.; Asante, E.A.; Adomako, S.; Ofori, K.S.; Hayford, Y. Fostering assigned expatriates’ thriving at work through cultural intelligence and local embeddedness: The role of relational attachment. J. Int. Manag. 2025, 31, 101222. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Teng, C.C.; Chih, C.; Liu, C.H.; Ko, W.H. How Does Psychosocial Safety Climate Address Hotel employees’ Job Embeddedness and Organizational Commitment During Crisis? J. Qual. Assur. Hosp. Tour. 2024; ahead of print. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bakker, A.B.; Demerouti, E. Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 2017, 22, 273–285. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Xanthopoulou, D.; Bakker, A.B.; Demerouti, E.; Schaufeli, W.B. Reciprocal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement. J. Vocat. Behav. 2009, 74, 235–244. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shahbaz, M.H.; Naseem, M.A.; Battisti, E.; Alfiero, S. The effect of green intellectual capital and innovative work behavior on green process innovation performance in the hospitality industry. J. Intellect. Cap. 2024, 25, 402–422. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Karatepe, O.M.; Karadas, G. Do psychological capital and work engagement foster frontline employees’ satisfaction? A study in the hotel industry. Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag. 2015, 27, 1254–1278. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shazali, A.M.; Zainudin, N.F.S.; Mohamed, Z.; Hussin, N. Green intellectual capital measurement in the hotel industry: The developing country study. Corp. Gov. Organ. Behav. Rev. 2023, 7, 80–89. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sanusi, F.A.; Johl, S.K. Sustainable internal corporate social responsibility and solving the puzzles of performance sustainability among medium size manufacturing companies: An empirical approach. Heliyon 2022, 8, e10038. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Crossley, C.D.; Bennett, R.J.; Jex, S.M.; Burnfield, J.L. Development of a global measure of job embeddedness and integration into a traditional model of voluntary turnover. J. Appl. Psychol. 2007, 92, 1031–1042. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Manfreda, A.; Kulichyova, A.; Ting, A. “Thriving at work” in tourism and hospitality: An integrative systematic literature review and research agenda. Cornell Hosp. Q. 2025. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shahbaz, M.H.; Malik, S.A. Driving firm performance with green intellectual capital: The key role of business sustainability in SMEs. Journal of Intellectual Capital. J. Intellect. Cap. 2025, 26, 691–715. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Liao, H.-Y.; Hsu, C.-T.; Chiang, H.-C. How does green intellectual capital influence employee pro-environmental behavior? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility. Int. J. Manag. Stud. 2021, 28, 27–47. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Eslamlou, A.; Karatepe, O.M.; Uner, M.M. Does job embeddedness mediate the effect of resilience on cabin attendants’ career satisfaction and creative performance? Sustainability 2021, 13, 5104. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jermsittiparsert, K. The Moderation Effect of Supply Chain Information Technology Capabilities on the Relationship between Customer Relationship Management with Organizational Performance of Thai Restaurants and Hotels. In Proceedings of the 2020 11th International Conference on E-Education, E-Business, E-Management, and E-Learning, Osaka, Japan, 10–12 January 2020; pp. 338–346. [Google Scholar]
- Kalyar, M.N.; Ali, F.; Shafique, I. Green mindfulness and green creativity nexus in hospitality industry: Examining the effects of green process engagement and CSR. Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag. 2021, 33, 2653–2675. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Del Brío, J.Á.; Fernández, E.; Junquera, B. Management and employee involvement in achieving an environmental action-based competitive advantage: An empirical study. Int. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2007, 18, 491–522. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Darmansyah, D.; Purwoko, B.; Gustari, I.; Dinarjito, A. The role of green intellectual capital and employee innovativeness in enhancing job and financial performance: Insights from Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises. Int. J. Soc. Sci. 2025, 4, 573–588. [Google Scholar]
- Yu, J.; Lee, A.; Han, H.; Kim, H.R. Organizational justice and performance of hotel enterprises: Impact of job embeddedness. J. Qual. Assur. Hosp. Tour. 2020, 21, 337–360. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dechawatanapaisal, D. The mediating role of organizational embeddedness on the relationship between quality of work life and turnover: Perspectives from healthcare professionals. Int. J. Manpow. 2017, 38, 696–711. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Slatten, T.; Mutonyi, B.R.; Lien, G. Why should we strive to let them thrive? Exploring the links between homecare professionals thriving at work, employee ambidexterity, and innovative behavior. BMC Nursing 2025, 24, 28. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hyde, K.F. Recognising deductive processes in qualitative research. Qual. Mark. Res. Int. J. 2000, 3, 82–90. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Emerson, R.W. Convenience sampling, random sampling, and snowball sampling: How does sampling affect the validity of research? J. Vis. Impair. Blind. 2015, 109, 164–168. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sekaran, U.; Bougie, R. Research Methods for Business: A Skill-Building Approach, 7th ed.; John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2016. [Google Scholar]
- Saunders, M.; Lewis, P.; Thornhill, A. Research Methods for Business Students, 5th ed.; Pearson Education: London, UK, 2009. [Google Scholar]
- Alothmany, R.; Jiang, Z.; Manoharan, A. Linking high-performance work systems to affective commitment, job satisfaction, and career satisfaction: Thriving as a mediator and wasta as a moderator. Int. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2023, 34, 3787–3824. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kim, H.; Im, J.; Shin, Y.H. Relational resources for promoting restaurant employees’ thriving at work. Int. J. Contemp. Hosp. Manag. 2023, 35, 3434–3452. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Tourism Statistics; Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism: Ankara, Turkey, 2022. [Google Scholar]
- Sarstedt, M.; Ringle, C.M.; Hair, J.F. Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In Handbook of Market Research; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2021; pp. 587–632. [Google Scholar]
- Podsakoff, P.M.; MacKenzie, S.B.; Podsakoff, N.P. Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2012, 63, 539–569. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Baron, R.M.; Kenny, D.A. The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 1986, 51, 1173–1182. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hayes, A.F. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach, 2nd ed.; Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Podsakoff, P.M.; MacKenzie, S.B.; Lee, J.Y.; Podsakoff, N.P. Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J. Appl. Psychol. 2003, 88, 879–903. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kock, N. Common method bias in PLS-SEM: A full collinearity assessment approach. Int. J. e-Collab. (IJeC) 2015, 11, 1–10. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fornell, C.; Larcker, D.F. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. J. Mark. Res. 1981, 18, 39–50. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Demographic Variables | Category | Frequency | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | Male | 144. | 38.8% |
Female | 223. | 60.1% | |
Prefer not to say | 4. | 1.1% | |
Age (years) | <25 | 28 | 7.5% |
25–34 | 185 | 49.9% | |
35–44 | 14.2 | 38.3% | |
45–54 | 15 | 4.0% | |
>55 | 1 | 0.3% | |
Education level | High school graduate or below | 25 | 6.7% |
2-year college | 35 | 9.4% | |
4-year college | 274 | 73.9% | |
Post-graduate | 37 | 10.0% | |
Department | Front office | 249 | 67.1% |
Back office | 122 | 32.9% | |
Tenure | <1 | 28 | 7.5% |
1-,3 | 86 | 23.2% | |
3-,5 | 108 | 29.1% | |
5-,10 | 103 | 27.8% | |
>10 | 46 | 12.4% |
Constructs and Measurement Items | Outer Loadings | Cronbach’s αlpha | Rho-A | CR | AVE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green Intellectual Capital | |||||
GHCQ1 | 0.815 | 0.945 | 0.948 | 0.951 | 0.520 |
GHCQ2 | 0.815 | ||||
GHCQ3 | 0.735 | ||||
GHCQ4 | 0.648 | ||||
GHCQ5 | 0.694 | ||||
GSCQ6 | 0.646 | ||||
GSCQ7 | 0.700 | ||||
GSCQ8 | 0.638 | ||||
GSCQ9 | 0.699 | ||||
GSCQ10 | 0.708 | ||||
GSCQ11 | 0.650 | ||||
GSCQ12 | 0.698 | ||||
GSCQ13 | 0.722 | ||||
GRCQ14 | 0.730 | ||||
GRCQ15 | 0.799 | ||||
GRCQ16 | 0.751 | ||||
GRCQ17 | 0.783 | ||||
GRCQ18 | 0.706 | ||||
Organizational Embeddedness | |||||
OEQ1 | 0.868 | 0.948 | 0.951 | 0.957 | 0.762 |
OEQ2 | 0.910 | ||||
OEQ3 | 0.898 | ||||
OEQ4 | 0.891 | ||||
OEQ5 | 0.880 | ||||
OEQ6 | 0.770 | ||||
OEQ7 | 0.886 | ||||
Thriving at Work | |||||
LearningQ1 | 0.865 | 0.945 | 0.948 | 0.954 | 0.696 |
LearningQ2 | 0.882 | ||||
LearningQ3 | 0.882 | ||||
LearningQ4 | 0.741 | ||||
LearningQ5 | 0.854 | ||||
VitalityQ6 | 0.828 | ||||
VitalityQ7 | 0.830 | ||||
VitalityQ8 | 0.838 | ||||
VitalityQ9 | 0.776 | ||||
Career Satisfaction | |||||
CSQ1 | 0.893 | 0.917 | 0.919 | 0.938 | 0.751 |
CSQ2 | 0.891 | ||||
CSQ3 | 0.854 | ||||
CSQ4 | 0.868 | ||||
CSQ5 | 0.824 | ||||
Life Satisfaction | |||||
LSQ1 | 0.887 | 0.921 | 0.923 | 0.941 | 0.761 |
LSQ2 | 0.897 | ||||
LSQ3 | 0.880 | ||||
LSQ4 | 0.837 | ||||
LSQ5 | 0.860 |
Constructs | Career Satisfaction | Green Intellectual Capital | Life Satisfaction | Organizational Embeddedness | Thriving at Work |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Career Satisfaction | 0.866 | 0.792 | 0.977 | 0.909 | 0.857 |
Green Intellectual Capital | 0.742 | 0.721 | 0.844 | 0.801 | 0.787 |
Life Satisfaction | 0.898 | 0.79 | 0.873 | 0.921 | 0.867 |
Organizational Embeddedness | 0.85 | 0.764 | 0.864 | 0.873 | 0.869 |
Thriving at Work | 0.801 | 0.75 | 0.811 | 0.826 | 0.834 |
SRMR = 0.072 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Path | β | t-Value | p-Value | Decision | |
Mediating Model | |||||
Direct Effects | |||||
H1a: Green Intellectual Capital -> Career Satisfaction | 0.088 | 4.456 | 0.000 | Supported | |
H1b: Green Intellectual Capital -> Life Satisfaction | 0.089 | 4.441 | 0.000 | Supported | |
H2: Green Intellectual Capital -> Organizational Embeddedness | 0.095 | 4.535 | 0.000 | Supported | |
H3a: Organizational Embeddedness -> Career Satisfaction | 0.026 | 35.231 | 0.000 | Supported | |
H3b: Organizational Embeddedness -> Life Satisfaction | 0.019 | 47.748 | 0.000 | Supported | |
Indirect Effects | |||||
H4a: Green Intellectual Capital -> Organizational Embeddedness -> Career Satisfaction | 0.088 | 4.456 | 0.000 | Supported | |
H4b: Green Intellectual Capital -> Organizational Embeddedness -> Life Satisfaction | 0.089 | 4.441 | 0.000 | Supported | |
Moderating Model | |||||
H5a: Thriving at Work x Green Intellectual Capital -> Organizational Embeddedness -> Career Satisfaction | 0.091 | 3.247 | 0.001 | Supported | |
H5b: Thriving at Work x Green Intellectual Capital -> Organizational Embeddedness -> Life Satisfaction | 0.092 | 3.285 | 0.001 | Supported |
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Gulakdeniz, E.; Karadas, G. Assessing the Impact of Employees’ Perceptions of Green Intellectual Capital on Career and Life Satisfaction: A Mediating Moderation Model in Turkish Hotels. Sustainability 2025, 17, 6448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146448
Gulakdeniz E, Karadas G. Assessing the Impact of Employees’ Perceptions of Green Intellectual Capital on Career and Life Satisfaction: A Mediating Moderation Model in Turkish Hotels. Sustainability. 2025; 17(14):6448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146448
Chicago/Turabian StyleGulakdeniz, Ertac, and Georgiana Karadas. 2025. "Assessing the Impact of Employees’ Perceptions of Green Intellectual Capital on Career and Life Satisfaction: A Mediating Moderation Model in Turkish Hotels" Sustainability 17, no. 14: 6448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146448
APA StyleGulakdeniz, E., & Karadas, G. (2025). Assessing the Impact of Employees’ Perceptions of Green Intellectual Capital on Career and Life Satisfaction: A Mediating Moderation Model in Turkish Hotels. Sustainability, 17(14), 6448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146448