Linking environmental management and employees' organizational identification: The mediating role of environmental attitude [original]

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Linking environmental management and employees'

organizational identification: The mediating role of

environmental attitude

Hans Jaich

Faculty of Economics and Management,

Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Correspondence

Hans Jaich, Faculty of Economics and

Management, Technische Universität Berlin,

Straße des 17. Juni 135 D-10623 Berlin,

Germany.

Email: [email protected]

Abstract

The fundamental research question in the present study is whether perceived envi-

ronmental management practices relate to employees' organizational identification.

Specifically, it is hypothesized that this relationship is mediated by employees' envi-

ronmental attitudes. The corresponding research model adopts a multi-theoretical

approach that combines two different theoretical lenses. Goal-framing theory is

introduced to predict whether perceived environmental management practices affect

employees' environmental attitudes, while green-person-organization fit is applied to

explain the relationship between employees' environmental attitudes and organiza-

tional identification. The research model was tested using a cross-sectional research

design with data from 206 employees from tourist service companies in Germany.

The results, which largely support the research model, shed light on a thus far

unexplored mechanism that mediates individual reactions to organizational practices

and contrasts the more established proposition that employees first identify with

their organization before they develop attitudes that are in accordance with

corresponding ingroup norms. Implications for both research and practice are

discussed.

KEYWORDS

corporate sustainability, environmental management, goal-framing theory, green-person-

organization fit, micro-CSR, organizational identification

1|INTRODUCTION

Due to growing stakeholder demands for environmental friendliness,

organizations are increasingly implementing environmental manage-

ment practices (EMP) (Sarkis, Gonzalez-Torre, & Adenso-Diaz, 2010;

Babiak & Trendafilova, 2011; Helmig, Spraul, & Ingenhoff, 2016;

Salim, Padfield, Hansen, Mohamad, Yuzir, et al., 2018). A growing

body of corporate greening and operational management literature

reflects this development. Investigations in this research stream

consider how EMP relate to firm-level outcomes, such as corporate or

environmental performance (Bacinello, Tontini, & Alberton, 2021; Latan,

Jabbour, de Sousa Jabbour, Wamba, & Shahbaz, 2018; Longoni,

Luzzini, & Guerci, 2018; Lundgren & Zhou, 2017; Pereira-Moliner,

Claver-Cortés, Molina-Azorín, & Tarí, 2012; Song, Zhao, & Zeng, 2017;

Wagner, 2007; Zhang & Ouyang, 2021), innovations (Hamdoun,

Jabbour, & Othman, 2018; Wagner, 2008; Wu, Liang, & Zhang, 2020), or

competitiveness (Lannelongue, Gonzalez-Benito, & Quiroz, 2017; Molina-

Azorín, Tarí, Pereira-Moliner, Lopez-Gamero, & Pertusa-Ortega, 2015;

Received: 12 March 2021 Revised: 25 July 2021 Accepted: 9 August 2021

DOI: 10.1002/csr.2201

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,

provided the original work is properly cited.

Corp Soc Responsib Environ Manag. 2022;29:305–315. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/csr 305

Yang, Lin, Chan, & Sheu, 2010). Less attention has been paid to

intra-organizational processes and factors at the individual level

(Andersson, Jackson, & Russell, 2013; Yoon, Jang, & Lee, 2016). A lit-

erature review found no specific investigations into the relationship

between EMP and employees' organizational identification (OI), which

refers to a “perceived oneness with an organization and the experi-

ence of the organization's successes and failures as one's own”

(Mael & Ashforth, 1992, p. 103). This is surprising as OI is an impor-

tant factor for different employee level outcomes, and accordingly is

a topic that frequently gains attention from organizational scholars

(Albert, Ashforth, & Dutton, 2000; Glavas & Godwin, 2013). In this

context, investigations have shown that OI is positively associated

with employee job satisfaction (De Roeck, Marique, Stinglhamber, &

Swaen, 2014; Van Dick, Wagner, Stellmacher, & Christ, 2004), orga-

nizational citizenship behavior (Dukerich, Golden, & Shortell, 2002;

Farooq, Payaud, Merunka, & Valette-Florence, 2014), or an inten-

tion to stay (Cole & Bruch, 2006; Jones, 2010). Furthermore,

institutional theorists increasingly incorporate the concept of OI

into their work. OI is perceived as a critical source of agency

(Dejordy & Creed, 2016; Greenwood, Raynard, Kodeih, Micelotta, &

Lounsbury, 2011), intentionality (King, Felin, & Whetten, 2010), or

resistance to institutional pressure (Schilke, 2018). However, recent

research indicates that OI can also lead to lower performance, nega-

tive emotions, or reduced well-being (Conroy, Henle, Shore, &

Stelman, 2017).

Against this background, scholars have addressed the question of

which factors and mechanisms influence OI. Much of this research

focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an important driver

of OI (De Roeck, El Akremi, & Swaen, 2016; Glavas & Godwin, 2013;

Jones, 2010; Shah, Cheema, Al-Ghazali, Ali, & Rafiq, 2021). However,

the work of El Akremi, Gond, Swaen, De Roeck, and Igalens (2018)

revealed that employees perceive CSR not as a unidimensional con-

struct but rather as discrete practices (including EMP) that address dif-

ferent stakeholders. Practices that target different stakeholders in

turn influence OI to a certain degree via different mechanisms

(De Roeck & Maon, 2018; Farooq et al., 2014; Farooq, Rupp, &

Farooq, 2017). Unlike multidimensional stakeholder-based CSR con-

structs (El Akremi et al., 2018; Turker, 2009), EMP only comprises

practices targeted at a single stakeholder—the natural environment

(Cramer, 1998; El Akremi et al., 2018). Since individuals' attention

within an organizational context is cognitively ordered around percep-

tions of distinct stakeholder groups (Bundy, Shropshire, &

Buchholtz, 2013), employees perceive EMP as a unidimensional con-

struct that comprises a coherent set of practices (Rasmus &

Steger, 2000). The utilization of a construct with less facets or dimen-

sions can in turn increase the analytical precision of investigations into

the underlying mechanisms that mediate the relation between CSR

practices and OI (Farooq et al., 2017) and mitigate the risk of con-

founding effects (Jones & Rupp, 2017).

Based on this reasoning, the fundamental research question in

the present study is whether EMP relates to OI. It is expected that an

analytical focus on EMP as an antecedent to OI will deliver insights

into a thus far overlooked mechanism. Specifically, it is hypothesized

that the positive relationship between EMP and OI is mediated by

employees' environmental attitude (EA). The corresponding research

model adopts a multi-theoretical approach that combines two differ-

ent theoretical lenses. Goal-framing theory (Lindenberg & Foss, 2011;

Steg, Lindenberg, & Keizer, 2015) is introduced to predict that per-

ceived EMP affects employees' EA. Green-person-organization fit

(Hicklenton, Hine, & Loi, 2019) in turn is applied to explain the rela-

tionship between employees' EA and OI. The model is tested using a

cross-sectional, quantitative research design. All participants (n=206)

were employees of tourist service companies in Germany. The tourist

service sector is especially suitable for research on EMP since work

duties in this industry are not particularly specialized and those EMP

that do not rely on special technical requirements are similar across

different industries (Gil, Jiménez, & Lorente, 2001). Thus, it can be

assumed that the results of this study are transferable to other

industries.

This study contributes to the literature in several ways and has

practical implications. It broadens the agenda of research on EMP by

examining relations at the employee level. Such microlevel investiga-

tions deepen our understanding of the underlying psychological pro-

cesses that mediate individual reactions to practices at the

organizational level (Gond, El Akremi, Swaen, & Babu, 2017). By

empirically illustrating the links between EMP, EA and OI, this study

sheds light on a thus far unexplored mechanism across levels of

analysis.

Since EMP overlap with practices that are conceptualized as

external CSR (De Roeck & Maon, 2018; Farooq et al., 2017), CSR

directed at nonsocial stakeholders (Turker, 2009) or CSR directed at

the ecological environment (El Akremi et al., 2018), the theoretical

and empirical insights from this investigation can also be applied in

the growing field of micro-CSR research (Jones, Newman, Shao, &

Cooke, 2019). The vast majority of previous studies on the underlying

mechanisms that mediate the effects of CSR practices on employees

are guided by either social identity theory (Ashforth & Mael, 1989;

Tajfel & Turner, 1985) or social exchange theory (Blau, 1964;

Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). This study introduces a new theoreti-

cal rationale by applying goal-framing theory to explain the relation-

ship between perceived EMP and EA. This enables the

conceptualization of a new mechanism, which contrasts the more

established proposition that employees first identify with their organi-

zation and then develop attitudes that are in accordance with

corresponding ingroup norms (De Roeck & Maon, 2018; Dutton &

Dukerich, 1991; Fielding & Hornsey, 2016). By drawing on psycholog-

ical research, this study proposes a different relationship in which

environmental attitudes mediate between organizational practices

and employees' OI (Byrka, Hartig, & Kaiser, 2010; Cornelissen, Pan-

delaere, Warlop, & Dewitte, 2008; Glasman & Albarracin, 2006; Henn,

Otto, & Kaiser, 2020; Lacasse, 2015).

Further, the results of this investigation are also relevant for prac-

titioners who are responsible for the implementation of EMP in busi-

nesses. Corresponding investments involve both costs and benefits

which, for an effective calculation, must been known. However, the

calculation of the benefits in particular can be difficult due to a lack of

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specific assessment criteria, reference data, or knowledge of the out-

come categories (Alberti, Caini, Calabrese, & Rossi, 2000). This in turn

can result in a potentially misleading evaluation that EMP incur costs

with no feasible benefits (Song et al., 2017). Thus, recent investiga-

tions have been motivated to deepen the understanding of how EMP

affect organizational outcomes (Arda, Bayraktar, & Tatoglu, 2019;

Chen, Ong, & Hsu, 2016; Zhang & Ouyang, 2021). The present study

contributes to these research efforts by shedding light on employee

level outcomes.

The section below provides the theoretical background and

hypotheses and is followed by the methodology and results. Finally,

the implications for research and practice are discussed before the

study's limitations and the opportunities for future investigation are

outlined.

2|THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 |Goal-framing theory

Goal-framing theory suggests that individuals' cognitive and motiva-

tional processes are shaped by three different types of overarching

goals (Steg et al., 2015). The hedonic goal represents the desire to

improve one's immediate personal wellbeing, the gain goal motivates

individuals to expand their resources, and the normative goal

increases individual sensibility to normative beliefs and appropriate

behavior (Lindenberg & Steg, 2007). The goal frame, defined as the

relatively strongest goal in a given situation, exercises the strongest

influence on individuals' cognitive and motivational processes, mak-

ingthemespeciallysensitivetogoal-related information (Steg

et al., 2015). The strength of personal goals in turn is influenced by

contextual factors (Steg, Bolderdijk, Keizer, & Perlaviciute, 2014).

Within an organizational context, the strategic goals and

corresponding management practices of a firm are important factors

that shape the overarching goals of employees (Foss &

Lindenberg, 2013; Lindenberg & Foss, 2011).

2.2 |Environmental management practices and

environmental attitude

Employees are sensible to signals that reveal the normative beliefs of

management (Lindenberg, 2000). From their perspective, management

practices are examples of normative behavior that illustrate the cor-

rect way to behave (Pache & Santos, 2013; Thornton, 2004). EMP,

the technical and administrative practices aimed at minimizing pol-

luting externalities (Carmona-Moreno, Céspedes-Lorente, & De

Burgos-Jiménez, 2004; Cramer, 1998), correspondingly signal that

the organization cares about the environment (Norton, Zacher, &

Ashkanasy, 2014). The perception of what others approve of or dis-

approve of in turn influences individuals' normative goals and beliefs

(Farrow, Grolleau, & Ibanez, 2017; Keizer, Lindenberg, & Steg, 2013;

Lindenberg & Steg, 2007; Morris, Hong, Chiu, & Liu, 2015; Raineri &

Paillé, 2016). Beliefs about the environment are considered to be a

person's EA (Bamberg, 2003; Hawcroft & Milfont, 2010), which is

defined as a “psychological tendency expressed by evaluating the

natural environment with some degree of favor or disfavor”

(Hawcroft & Milfont, 2010, p. 143).

Research on the activation of and changes in EA has shown that

normative goal strengthening via contextual factors related to envi-

ronmental protection positively affects individuals' EA (Steg &

Vlek, 2009; Thøgersen, 2012). A meta-analysis of Glasman and

Albarracin (2006) revealed that signals related to attitude induce a

higher personal attitude. Recent investigations confirmed this result

by verifying the positive effects of corresponding framing events

(Detenber, Ho, Ong, & Lim, 2018), green media content (Trivedi,

Patel, & Acharya, 2018), experiences with nature (Byrka et al., 2010),

or an involvement in scientific arguments on environmental protection

(Faize & Akhtar, 2020) on people's EA.

As employees' goal, frames at work are subject to a contagion

process by the strategic goals and management practices of the

employing organization (Foss & Lindenberg, 2013), it can be assumed

that EMP affects employees' EA (Pellegrini, Rizzi, & Frey, 2018). The

congruence between employees' EA and a commitment to environ-

mental protection by the employing organization in turn predicts the

green-person-organization fit (Hicklenton et al., 2019).

2.3 |Green-person–organization fit and

organizational identification

The extent to which individual characteristics match the characteris-

tics of a specific situational context is described by the concept of a

Supplementary person–environment fit (Edwards & Shipp, 2007). This

approach is concretized in organizational contexts by a person–

organization fit. This refers to the congruence between an employee's

personal values and beliefs, and the work climate characterized by

management practices and policies (Kristof, 1996). More recent con-

tributions broadened this concept by the extent to which employees'

needs for work-specific resources are satisfied by the employing orga-

nization (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005).

A subtype of person–organization fit is green-person–

organization fit, which “assesses the extent to which an organization's

commitment to environmental protection is congruent with its

employees' environmental values”(Hicklenton et al., 2019, p. 2).

Employees with a strong EA care about the environment (Dunlap, Van

Liere, Mertig, & Jones, 2000) and would therefore experience a high

fit with an organization that practices environmental protection

(Hicklenton et al., 2019). A high person–organization fit in turn means

employees feel involved in the overarching organizational mission

(Cable & DeRue, 2002). They perceive themselves as members of a

joint social category (Turner, 1984) and define themselves to a certain

degree in terms of this social category—the employing organization

(Saks & Ashforth, 1997). In line with these thoughts, previous research

has shown that a high person–organization fit relates to OI (Cable &

DeRue, 2002).

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Thus, it can be assumed that employees with a high EA are likely

to identify with their employing organization if that organization actu-

ally practices environmental protection. Perceived EMP in turn are

predicted to relate to employees EA. Accordingly, it is proposed that

the environmental protection of an organization shapes the

employees' attitudinal preconditions for a high OI. Based on this rea-

soning, the research model is established as illustrated in Figure 1 and

the following hypotheses are postulated:

H1. Perceived EMP relate to employees' OI.

H2. Employees' EA mediates the positive relationship

between perceived EMP and employees' OI.

3|METHOD

3.1 |Participants and procedure

All participants were employees from tourist service companies in

Germany, including hotels, commercial tourist attractions, and service

agencies. A total of 482 paper-pencil questionnaires were distributed

in the participating organizations. An accompanying letter explained

the purpose of the study without revealing the hypotheses and

assured anonymity and confidentiality. Questionaries were returned

in a sealed envelope that did not reveal the respondents' identity. A

total of 278 participants responded to all items (response rate of

57.7%). As in previous research on the effects of EMP on employees,

only data from subjects who spent a certain amount of time at work

were considered suitable for the study purpose (Norton et al., 2014).

Thus, the data of subjects who worked 10 h or less per week or who

were employed for less than a year were excluded from further analy-

sis, resulting in a final sample of n=206, of which the majority were

female (65.3%). To better preserve the participants' anonymity and

thereby increase the likelihood of unbiased responses (Podsakoff,

MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003), questionnaires did not require

any specification of exact figures for age, household income, and

duration of employment, but instead used items that reflected a com-

plete range. The mean age was 30–39 years, the mean household

income was €2000–€2500 and the mean duration of employment was

4–6 years.

3.2 |Measures

This study followed the recommendations of Flynn, Sakakibara,

Schroeder, Bates, and Flynn et al. (1990) by strictly employing well-

established measures that have showed high reliability and validity in

previous research (e.g., Rasmus & Steger, 2000; Norton, Zacher, Par-

ker, & Ashkanasy, 2017; Bissing-Olson, Iyer, Fielding, & Zacher, 2013;

Hicklenton et al., 2019; Dunlap et al., 2000; Molina-Azorín et al.,

2008; Teresi, Pietroni, Barattucci, Giannella, & Pagliaro, 2019; De

Roeck et al., 2016). A committee approach with two professional

translators was applied for the translation of the items from English

into German (Sperber, 2004). All items used a five-point Likert-type

response scale from 1 for “strongly disagree”to 5 for “strongly

agree”. A complete list of the items is presented in the Appendix S1.

Perceived EMP was measured using 11 items from the scale of

Rasmus and Steger (2000). Cronbach's alpha was calculated at 0.92.

Sample items were: “Our company gives priority to purchasing eco-

logical products (biodegradable, reusable, recyclable …)”,“Our com-

pany reduces the use of toxic and unsustainable products”, and “Our

company gives priority to utilization of renewable energies like green

electricity”.

The New Ecological Paradigm Scale (Dunlap et al., 2000; Dunlap &

Van Liere, 1978) was used to measure EA. It is one of the most widely

used measures for EA in the field of environmental psychology

(Hawcroft & Milfont, 2010) and has recently been utilized in research

on green-person–organization fit (Hicklenton et al., 2019). As shown

by Milfont (2009), social desirability concerns are not a serious prob-

lem for people's response to the New Ecological Paradigm Scale. In

this study a 10-item version in accordance with the recommendations

of Hawcroft and Milfont (2010) was employed. Cronbach's alpha was

calculated at 0.72. Sample items were: “Plants and animals have as

much right as humans to exist”,“The earth is like a spaceship with

very limited room and resources”, and “The balance of nature is very

delicate and easily upset”.

OI was measured using a six-item scale from Mael and

Ashforth (1992). Cronbach's alpha was calculated at 0.84. Sample

items were: “When someone criticizes our company, it feels like a per-

sonal insult”,“I am very interested in what others think about our

company”, and “Our company's successes are my successes”.

3.3 |Common method variance

Research based on same-source data faces concerns about common

method variance (Conway & Lance, 2010; Podsakoff et al., 2003).

Hence, some scholars employ corresponding post hoc statistical

detection and correction techniques (e.g., Raineri & Paillé, 2016; Far-

ooq et al., 2014; Norton et al., 2014) However, the work of Richard-

son, Simmering, and Sturman (2009) revealed that such statistical

techniques can reduce the accuracy of estimates of relationships and

tend to incorrectly identify the presence of common method variance.

Therefore, the present study followed their recommendation and did

not conduct post hoc statistical techniques. Nevertheless, a priori

Research Model

EMP OI

FIGURE 1 Research model

308 JAICH

procedural precautions to minimize potential common method vari-

ance were employed by assuring the respondents' anonymity and

confidentiality, by utilizing well-established measures, and by avoiding

conceptual overlaps in items of different constructs (Conway &

Lance, 2010; Podsakoff et al., 2003).

4|RESULTS

4.1 |Descriptive statistics and correlations

Table 1 summarizes the descriptive statistics and correlations

between the study variables.

4.2 |Mediation effects

This study hypothesized a positive effect of perceived EMP on

employees' OI. Further, it was predicted that perceived EMP would

have a significant indirect effect on employees' OI via EA. The

corresponding mediation effects were examined using the PROCESS

macro for SPSS developed by Hayes (2018), which uses ordinary least

squares regression analysis to estimate unstandardized coefficients

for all paths, as well as total, direct, and indirect effects. Bootstrapping

with 10,000 iterations, which makes no assumptions about the distri-

butional properties of the sample, was used (Preacher, Rucker, &

Hayes, 2007), yielding bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals for

inferring statistical significance. Mediation results were considered

significant if the confidence intervals did not include zero.

Analyses show that the perceived EMP had a positive effect on

employees' EA, which subsequently predicted employees' OI

(Figure 2). Accordingly, we found that the relationship between per-

ceived EMP and OI is partially mediated by EA, ab =0.050, 95% CI

[0.013, 0.107]. All path coefficients are summarized in Table 2.

5|DISCUSSION

The aim of this study was to examine whether EMP correlates to

OI. Further, it was hypothesized that this relationship is mediated by

employees' EA. A multi-theoretical approach was used to test the

research model. Goal-framing theory (Lindenberg & Foss, 2011; Steg

et al., 2015) was employed to predict that perceived EMP affects

employees' EA and a green-person–organization fit (Hicklenton

et al., 2019) was applied to explain the relationship between

employees' EA and OI. The results of the cross-sectional, quantitative

research design revealed that employees' EA partially mediates the

relationship between perceived EMP and OI. The theoretical and

managerial implications are discussed below.

5.1 |Theoretical implications

In light of exhausted planetary boundaries (Steffen et al., 2015), busi-

nesses are increasingly being held responsible for environmental

TABLE 1 Measures of central tendency, standard deviations, and correlations among study variables

12 3 4 5 6 7

1. Sex

2. Age

0.138*

3. Education

0.0060 0.154*

4. Household income

0.099 0.128 0.076

5. OI 0.037 0.234*** 0.043 0.210**

6. EA 0.107 0.346*** 0.013 0.220** 0.291***

7. EMP 0.114 0.256*** 0.108 0.128 0.269*** 0.234***

M/Mdn –30–39 years completed apprenticeship 2000–2500 Euro 3.870 4.185 3.338

SD –– – – 0.783 0.461 0.887

Note:

Ordinal measurement with Spearman rank correlation and median as measure of central tendency. Sex is coded as 0 being female and 1 male.

p< 0.05.

p< 0.01.

***

p< 0.001.

Mediation Model

EMP OI

0.122***

0.407***

c = 0.238***

c’ = 0.188**

FIGURE 2 Mediation model: employees' EA mediates the

relationship between perceived EMP and employees'

OI. Unstandardized regression coefficients are reported; *p< 0.05,

**p< 0.01, ***p< 0.001

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