How to Motivate Employees’ Environmental Citizenship Behavior through Perceived Interpersonal Circle Power? A New Perspective from Chinese Circle Culture

Lingyun Mi, Ting Xu, Xiaoli Gan, Hong Chen, Lijie Qiao and Hanlin Zhu
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Lingyun Mi: School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Ting Xu: School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Xiaoli Gan: School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Hong Chen: School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Lijie Qiao: School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Hanlin Zhu: School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: Employees’ spontaneous environmental citizenship behavior (ECB) is a key factor in facilitating the low-carbon transition of enterprises. However, little research has focused on the impact of interpersonal interactions on ECB. To explore how ECB is affected by special interpersonal circles in Chinese organizations, we propose a new concept: perceived interpersonal circle power (PICP). From the two dimensions of PICP, leader-oriented perceived interpersonal circle power (PICP-L) and colleague-oriented perceived interpersonal circle power (PICP-C), we establish a mechanism model to explore the effect of PICP on ECB. A structural equation model was used to test our hypotheses through 332 questionnaires, and the results show that PICP-L and PICP-C differ significantly in the directions and strengths of their effects on ECB. PICP-C has a direct positive driving effect on environmental engagement behavior (EEB) and environmental helping behavior (EHB). High PICP-C can also encourage EEB via affective organizational commitment (AOC). Conversely, PICP-L has no significant effect on EEB. More unexpectedly, PICP-L has a significant negative influence on EHB. This study provides a new direction for future theoretical research on ECB, as well as a new opportunity for policy-making and enterprise management practices to promote employees’ ECB.

Keywords: environmental citizenship behavior; Chinese circle culture; interpersonal relationship; perceived interpersonal circle power; affective organizational commitment; structural equation model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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