Emerging Trends in Employee Green Behavior and Organizational Impact

Dear Colleagues,

In light of the pressing global imperative to foster sustainable workplaces, this Special Issue—“Emerging Trends in Employee Green Behavior and Organizational Impact”—invites advanced scholarly contributions examining how organizational contexts influence, enable, and are shaped by environmentally responsible employee actions. By spotlighting the interaction between employee-driven eco‑initiatives and organizational outcomes, this Special Issue seeks to bridge the personal and institutional levels of environmental engagement, supporting the evolution of greener organizations and more sustainable human resource practices.

a. Focus

This Special Issue centers on empirical, theoretical, and practice‑oriented studies that explore the following:

• The drivers, forms, and antecedents of employee green behavior (e.g., recycling, energy conservation, sustainable commuting, and eco‑initiatives).
• How such behaviors influence organizational performance, culture, innovation, CSR, stakeholder relationships, and sustainability outcomes.

b. Scope

We welcome diverse methodologies—including qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, conceptual, and review-based ones—across various contexts, including corporate, public, nonprofit, and hybrid organizations. Topics may include the following:

• Psychological, structural, leadership, HRM, policy, and cultural catalysts of green behavior.
• Organizational processes that amplify or stifle such behaviors.
• Strategic outcomes such as enhanced environmental performance, reputation, employee well‑being, and innovation.
• Multilevel dynamics linking micro‑level behaviors to macro‑level organizational change.

c. Purpose

This Special Issue aims to achieve the following:

• Illuminate underexplored pathways by which employee green behavior shapes organizational systems.
• Offer insights to scholars, HR practitioners, and sustainability leaders for designing policies and interventions that foster environmentally proactive behaviors.
• Lay the groundwork for integrating behavioral sustainability into strategic organizational frameworks and future research agendas.

This Special Issue fills a distinctive niche in the sustainability literature by shifting the focus from organizational programs to the organic, bottom–up environmental initiatives of employees. While much research addresses organizational-level sustainability (e.g., CSR, green leadership, and sustainable governance), this collection zeroes in on how employee‑initiated behaviors coalesce into broader organizational change.

Our Special Issue pays attention to the individual and collective employee agency that drives or reinforces such leadership and organizational strategies. Moreover, it acts as an extension to topics like “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in Emerging Markets”, by scrutinizing the grassroots behavioral dimension of ESG implementation. Lastly, it resonates with the journal’s broader aims of fostering community around innovative and emerging organizational sciences research.

In recent years, academic and practitioner interest in employee green behavior (EBG) has expanded significantly, driven by evidence that it is influenced by a diverse set of organizational and contextual factors. These include leadership styles (e.g., green transformational, ethical, and servant leadership), organizational culture and climate, green human resource management (green HRM), and behavioral incentive systems. Moreover, this Special Issue aims to collate cutting-edge research and practice insights into the emerging trends in employee green behavior and their organizational impacts. We seek to advance theoretical understanding, provide robust empirical evidence, and offer actionable guidance for managers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. By showcasing diverse methodological approaches and interdisciplinary perspectives, this Special Issue will contribute to bridging the gap between individual-level behaviors and broader organizational sustainability objectives.

We welcome submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following:

• New theoretical frameworks linking EGB to organizational sustainability and competitive advantage.
• Mechanisms by which leadership, culture, and HRM systems foster EGB.
• The role of digital technologies, big data, and AI in monitoring, predicting, and enhancing green behaviors.
• Cross-cultural and sectoral differences in EGB patterns and impacts.
• EGB’s influence on organizational innovation, resilience, and ESG performance.

Policy, regulation, and institutional factors shaping EGB adoption and effectiveness, as well as technological and societal trends—including AI-enabled sustainability analytics, circular economy models, remote/hybrid work arrangements, and the integration of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance metrics—are reshaping both the opportunities and challenges in fostering EGB in contemporary organizations.

Authors can refer to the existing literature mentioned below (although the list is not exhaustive).

Aboramadan, M., Kundi, Y. M., & Becker, A. (2022). Green human resource management in nonprofit organizations: effects on employee green behavior and the role of perceived green organizational support. Personnel Review, 51(7), 1788-1806.

AlKetbi, A., & Rice, J. (2024). The impact of green human resource management practices on employees, clients, and organizational performance: A literature review. Administrative Sciences, 14(4), 78.

Aukhoon, M. A., Iqbal, J., & Parray, Z. A. (2024). Impact of corporate social responsibility on employee green behavior: Role of green human resource management practices and employee green culture. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(5), 3768-3778.

Fouad, A. M., Abdullah Khreis, S. H., Fayyad, S., & Fathy, E. A. (2025). The dynamics of coworker envy in the green innovation landscape: Mediating and moderating effects on employee environmental commitment and non-green behavior in the hospitality industry. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 14673584251324618.

Moin, M. F., Omar, M. K., Wei, F., Rasheed, M. I., & Hameed, Z. (2021). Green HRM and psychological safety: How transformational leadership drives follower’s job satisfaction. Current issues in Tourism, 24(16), 2269-2277.

Sabbir, M. M., & Taufique, K. M. R. (2022). Sustainable employee green behavior in the workplace: Integrating cognitive and non‐cognitive factors in corporate environmental policy. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(1), 110-128.

Tang, G., Ren, S., Wang, M., Li, Y., & Zhang, S. (2023). Employee green behaviour: A review and recommendations for future research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 25(2), 297-317.

Zhang, B., Yang, L., Cheng, X., & Chen, F. (2021). How does employee green behavior impact employee well-being? An empirical analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1669.

Zhang, F., Wang, B., Liao, Y., Qian, J., & Parker, S. K. (2025). Job crafting through the lens of exploitation and exploration: A daily diary study on job crafting towards strengths and development. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 98(2), e70029

Dr. Muhammad Imran Rasheed
Dr. Abdul Hameed Pitafi
Dr. Waseem Ul Hameed
Guest Editors

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