Environmentally-Specific Empowered Leadership and Employee Green Creativity: The Role of Green Crafting and Environmental Culture

Xiaobo Dong and Zhiyong Han ()
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Xiaobo Dong: China Cooperative Research Institute, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu 233030, China
Zhiyong Han: School of Business Administration, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu 233030, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-18

Abstract: This study investigates how environmentally-specific empowered leadership influences employee green creativity and the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Drawing on Self-determination theory, we examine green crafting as a mediating process and environmental culture as a boundary condition. Analysis of multi-wave data reveals three key findings: (1) environmentally-specific empowered leadership positively affects employees’ green crafting behaviors; (2) green crafting mediates the relationship between leadership and employee green creativity; and (3) environmental culture strengthens the positive effect of empowered leadership on green crafting, subsequently enhancing green creativity. These findings extend leadership theory by identifying how and when empowering approaches specifically facilitate environmental innovation. For practitioners, our results highlight the importance of combining empowering leadership practices with a supportive environmental culture to foster employee-driven sustainable solutions. Organizations can leverage these insights to enhance environmental performance through targeted leadership development and cultural initiatives.

Keywords: environmentally-specific empowered leadership; green crafting; employee green creativity; environmental culture; self-determination theory; AMOS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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