Green inclusive leadership and employee green behavior: mediation by green climate and commitment

Objectives. Drawing upon social exchange theory and the norm activation model, this study examines how green inclusive leadership influences employee green behavior, and proposes a theoretically ordered psychological mechanism through which this influence is explained via green psychological climate and green commitment. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 477 civil servants working in the public sector. The proposed relationships were tested using PROCESS macro-based mediation analysis. Results. Findings indicate that green inclusive leadership positively predicts employee green behavior. Moreover, green psychological climate and green commitment operate as serial mediators, indicating that leadership influences employee green behavior through a hierarchical framework involving shared environmental perceptions and internalized environmental commitment. Conclusions. By integrating social exchange theory and the norm activation model, this study advances a mechanism-based explanation of how sustainability-oriented leadership is associated with employee green behavior. The findings demonstrate that leadership is linked to employees' shared perceptions of an environmentally supportive climate, which co-occurs with higher green commitment and positive employee workplace behavior. The study contributes to the sustainability and organizational behavior literature by empirically demonstrating a theoretically ordered serial mediation mechanism linking leadership, climate perceptions and motivational commitment. The findings also provide practical insights for public-sector managers and policymakers.