The (in)congruence effects of organizational green compensation and employee green conscientiousness on pro-environmental behavior: Evidence from China

Abstract Background In past decades, the Chinese government has enacted a series of ecological policies to encourage organizations, the pivotal institutional agents implementing national policies, and employees, the ultimate crucial micro-actors engaging in ecological construction, to bring about employee pro-environmental behavior (EPEB) which is the foundation to realize nation’s ecological strategies. Yet, the effectiveness of a widely-adopted organizational-level green management practice “organizational green compensation” (OGC) and a typical individual-level green personality trait “employee green conscientiousness” (EGC) have been explored alone, ignoring various OGC-EGC combinations and failing to clarify potential influences of OGC-EGC (in)congruence on EPEB. This research endeavours to address this limitation. Methods Two studies were conducted. Study 1 surveyed EGC, OGC, and EPEB among 778 subordinate-supervisor dyads and sought to test two single effects and three sets of comparisons between and within congruence and incongruence effects using polynomial regression and response surface analysis. Study 2 measured EGC, employee environmental commitment (EEC), and EPEB by 713 sample employees and OGC by their direct supervisors and attempted to verify EEC’s mediating role employing the block variable approach. Results Study 1 (N = 778) found that 1) when being implemented individually, OGC and EGC both positively promote EPEB (ß=0.39, p < 0.001; ß=0.24, p < 0.001), 2) when being performed simultaneously, OGC-EGC congruence is associated with higher EPEB compared to that corresponding to OGC-EGC incongruence (p11 = 3.77 with 95% CI [0.71, 23.04] including 1, p10=-0.65 with 95% CI [− 25.80, 0.42] including 0, [α3 − α4 + α5] = − 0.24 with 95% CI [− 0.41, − 0.07] excluding 0), EPEB level is higher when OGC-EGC congruence is at a high rather than low level ([α1 + α2] = 0.51 with 95% CI [0.39, 0.62] excluding 0), and EPEB level under high-low combination of OGC and EGC is lower than that under low-high combination ([α1-α2] = − 0.20 with 95% CI [− 0.38, − 0.02] excluding 0). Study 2 (N = 713) further confirmed that EEC plays a mediating role during the OGC-EGC-EPEB relationship (indirect effect = 0.14 with 95% CI [0.08, 0.20] excluding 0). Conclusion Through two studies, we offer Chinese evidence to support hypotheses regarding OGC-EGC (in)congruence effects on EPEB and the mediating role of EEC, providng theoretical and practical implications for the optimization of OGC-EGC combinations to strengthen EPEB.