Strategic enablers of employee green behavior: the role of HRM, culture, and leadership alignment

Purpose – This study investigates how the strategic alignment of Green Transformational Leadership (GTL), Green Human Resource Management (GHRM), and Green Organizational Culture (GOC) impacts Employee Green Behavior (EGB), with Green Self-Efficacy (GSE) serving as a mediating factor. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework, data were collected from 216 managerial employees of an Indonesian fertilizer company and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings – GHRM and GOC significantly enhanced GSE and indirectly fostered EGB. However, GTL had no significant direct or indirect effect on GSE or EGB. This highlights a novel insight: leadership, without reinforcement from HR systems and culture, may not be sufficient to influence sustainable employee behaviors. The study underscores that GSE is a critical psychological pathway through which aligned systems promote green behavior. Research limitations/implications – The cross-sectional design limits causal interpretation, and findings are based on a single industrial sector in a developing economy. Broader industry and cross-cultural studies are encouraged. Practical implications – Organizations should prioritize aligning HRM practices and culture with sustainability objectives and invest in building employee self-efficacy to maximize the effectiveness of green leadership. Policy initiatives could support this alignment through environmental literacy programs and performance-linked incentives. Originality/value – This research uniquely applies the SOR model to explore strategic alignment in organizational sustainability and uncovers the conditional impact of leadership effectiveness in green behavior transformation, an area previously underexplored.