International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management
Quarterly Publication

From policy to practice: The role of Green organizational culture in shaping employee Green behavior in higher education institutions – A human capital perspective


Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 February 2026
International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management

Document Type : ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Authors

S. Pooja
J. Bhavani

VIT Business School, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In the face of growing environmental challenges, universities play a vital role in advancing sustainability through both institutional practices and individual actions. While organisational culture can significantly shape employee green behaviour, limited research has examined how specific elements of green culture drive such practices in academia. This study addresses this gap by exploring the link between green culture enablers and employee green behavior in higher education. As integral parts of the urban ecosystem, HEIs also influence urban management, extending their sustainability impact beyond campuses to support broader city-level environmental goals.
METHODS: Data were collected from 266 university employees through a structured questionnaire. The hypothesized model was tested using regression analysis to determine the predictive power of green culture enablers on employee green behavior in university employees.
FINDINGS: The green culture enablers were found to have a positive relationship with green behavior. Message credibility (β = 0.453) and employee empowerment (β = 0.296) were found to be the strongest and most significant predictors of green behavior. Leadership emphasis was found to be a weaker but significant predictor. Surprisingly, Peer involvement was not found to significantly predict green behavior when controlling for other variables.
CONCLUSION: This study concludes that cultivating a supportive green culture through credible communication, engaged leadership, and peer-driven initiatives is crucial for fostering sustainable behaviors in higher education institutions. It contributes to the growing body of sustainability literature by highlighting how internal cultural factors influence individual green behavior. By addressing contextual variables such as institution type, the research also overcomes the generalization limitations found in earlier studies. The findings offer insights for urban policymakers and HEI administrators on leveraging human capital to drive sustainable urban development."

Keywords

Environmental challenges
Green behavior
Green culture
Higher Educational Institutions
Sustainability
Urban development
Subjects
Aboramadan, M., (2020). The effect of green HRM on employee green behaviors in higher education: the mediating mechanism of green work engagement. International Journal of Organizational Analysis., 30(1): 7–23 (18 Pages)
Afsar, B.; Badir, Y.; Kiani, U. S., (2016). Linking spiritual leadership and employee pro-environmental behavior: The influence of workplace spirituality, intrinsic motivation, and environmental passion. J. Environ. Psychol., 45: 79–88 (10 Pages)
Ajzen, I., (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes., 50(2): 179–211 (33 Pages)
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management, 17(1): 99-120 (21 Pages).
Bartiliūtė, R.; Liobikienė, G., (2015). University contributions to environmental sustainability: challenges and opportunities from the Lithuanian case. J. Cleaner Prod., 108, 891–899 (10 Pages)
Becker, G. S., (1994). Human capital revisited. In Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis with special reference to education, third edition. The University of Chicago Press., 15-28 (13 Pages)
Bowen, D.E.; Ostroff, C., (2000). Understanding HRM-firm performance linkages: the role of the strength of the HRM system. Academy of Management Review. 29 (2), 203-221 (18 Pages)
Chams, N., & García‑Blandón, J. (2019). Sustainable or not sustainable? The role of the board of directors. Journal of Cleaner Production, 226, 1067–1081 (14 Pages).
Corley, K. G.; Gioia, D. A., (2011). Building theory about theory building: What constitutes a theoretical contribution. The Academy of Management Review, 36(1), 12–32 (20 Pages)
Daily, B.F.; Bishop, J.W., and Massoud, J.A., (2012). The role of training and empowerment in environmental performance: a study of the Mexican maquiladora industry, Int. J. Oper. Prod. Manage, 32 (5), 631-647 (18 Pages)
Donaldson, L. (2001). The contingency theory of organizations. Sage.
Education for sustainable development: An Expert Review of Processes and Learning. (2011).
Etikan, I.; Musa, S. A.; Alkassim, R. S., (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4 (4 Pages)
Fawehinmi, O.; Yusliza, M. Y.; Kasim, W. Z. W.; Mohamad, Z.; Halim, M. a. S. A., (2020). Exploring the interplay of green human resource management, employee green behavior, and personal moral norms. SAGE Open, 10(4): 1-18 (18 Pages)
Fielding, K. S.; McDonald, R.; Louis, W. R., (2008). Theory of planned behaviour, identity and intentions to engage in environmental activism. J. Environ. psychol, 28(4), 318-326 (9 Pages)
Filho, W. L.; Shiel, C.; Paço, A. D., (2015). Integrative approaches to environmental sustainability at universities: an overview of challenges and priorities. J. Integr. Environ. Sci. 12(1), 1–14 (15 Pages)
Fieldi, L. M.; Sarkis, J.; Zhu, Q., (2013). How transformational leadership and employee motivation combine to predict employee proenvironmental behaviors in China. J. environ. psychol, 35, 81-91 (11 Pages)
Guerci, M.; Longoni, A.; Luzzini, D., (2015). Translating stakeholder pressures into environmental performance – the mediating role of green HRM practices. Int. J. Human. Resourc. Manage. 27(2), 262–289 (27 Pages)
Hameed, Z., and Naeem, R.M., (2019). Do green HRM practices influence employees’ environmental performance?, Int. J. Manpower, 41 (7), 1061-1079 (20 Pages)
Harris, L. C.; Crane, A., (2002). The greening of organizational culture: Management views on the depth, degree and diffusion of change. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 15(3), 214–234 (21 Pages)
Jabbour, C.J.C. (2011), How green are HRM practices, organizational culture, learning and teamwork? A Brazilian study. Industrial and Commercial Training, 43 (2), 98-105 (8 Pages)
 
Juhari Noor Faezah.; M.Y. Yusliza.; T. Ramayah.; Adriano Alves Teixeira.; Abdur Rachman Alkaf., (2024). Mediating role of green culture and green commitment in implementing employee ecological behaviour. Journal of Management Development., 43 (3): 253–282 (30 Pages)
Kim, A.; Kim, Y.; Han, K.; Jackson, S. E.; Ployhart, R. E., (2019). Multilevel influences on voluntary workplace green behavior: Individual differences, leader behavior, and coworker advocacy. Journal of Management, 45(5) 2036–2062 (26 Pages).
Li, J.; Gao, Z.; Li, X.; and Xing, B., (2025). Effect of green organizational culture on employee green organizational commitment: a moderated—mediated model of employee green self-efficacy and organizational identity. Discover Sustainability, 6(1) (14 Pages).                                                                                                                                                     
Lin, C.Y.; Ho, Y.H., (2011), Determinants of green practice adoption for logistics companies in China, J Bus Ethic, 98 (1), 67-83 (17 Pages)
Muisyo, P.; Su, Q.; Ho, T. H.; Julius, M. M.; Usmani, M. S., (2022). Implications of green HRM on the firm’s green competitive advantage: the mediating role of enablers of green culture. J. Manuf. Technol. Manage. 33(2): 308–333 (26 Pages)
Muisyo, P. K.; Qin, S.; Ho, T. H.; Julius, M. M.; Andriamandresy, T. B., (2021). Implications of GHRM on organisational citizenship behaviour: the mediating role of enablers of green culture. International Journal of Manpower. 43(3), 719–741 (22 Pages)
Nakagawa, S., (2004). A farewell to Bonferroni: the problems of low statistical power and publication bias. Behav. Ecol., 15(6): 1044-1045 (2 pages).
Naqvi, S.; Siddiqui, D. A., (2019). Effect of GHRM practices on work Performance: The Mediatory role of green lifestyle. SSRN electronic journal (1-25) (26 Pages)
Nunnally, J.C. (1978) Psychometric theory. 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Palinkas, L. A.; Horwitz, S. M.; Green, C. A.; Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N.; Hoagwood, K., (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research, 42, 533-544 (12 Pages)
Pham, N.T.; Hoang, H.T.; Phan, Q.P.T., (2020), Green human resource management: a comprehensive review and future research agenda, Int. J. Manpower, 41 (7), 845-878 (34 Pages)
Petty and Cacioppo., (1986). Tolerance to attitudinal inconsistency, magnitude of reward and attitude change. Studia Psychologica, 28(1), 49 (12 Pages)
Ramus, C. A.; Killmer, A. B., (2007). Corporate greening through prosocial extrarole behaviours – A conceptual framework for employee motivation. Business Strategy and the Environment. 16(8): 554–570 (16 Pages)
Robertson, J. L., and Barling, J., (2013). Greening organizations through leaders' influence on employees' pro‐environmental behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(2), 176–194 (19 Pages)
Roscoe, S.; Subramanian, N.; Jabbour, C. J.; Chong, T., (2019). Green human resource management and the enablers of green organisational culture: enhancing a firm’s environmental performance for sustainable development. 28(5): 737–749. (12 Pages)
Saadatian, O.; Sopian, K. B.; Salleh, E., (2012). Adaptation of sustainability community indicators for Malaysian campuses as small cities. Sustainable Cities and Society. 6, 40–50 (11 Pages)
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. John Wiley & Sons. 2, (457 Pages)
Sharma, S.; Vredenburg, H., (1998). Proactive corporate environmental strategy and the development of competitively valuable organizational capabilities, Strategic Management Journal,  19 (8): 729-753 (25 Pages)
Slam, T.; Khan, M.M.; Ahmed, I.; Mahmood, K., (2020). Promoting in role and extra-role green behavior through ethical leadership: mediating role of green HRM and moderating role of individual green values. Int. J. Manpow., 42(6): 1102–1123 (22 pages).
Srinivasan, A.; Kurey, B., (2014). Creating a culture of quality. Harvard Business Review, 92(4), 23–25 (3 Pages)
Sroufe, R.; Liebowitz, J.; Sivasubramaniam, N.; Donahue, J. F., (2010). Are you a leader or a laggard. HR’s role in creating a sustainability culture. People & Strategy, 33(1), 34-42 (9 Pages)
Taylor, R., (1990). Interpretation of the correlation coefficient: a basic review. J. Diagn. Med. Sonogr, 6(1): 35-39 (5 pages).
Terry, D. J.; and Hogg, M. A., (1996). Group Norms and the Attitude-Behavior Relationship: A Role for Group Identification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(8), 776-793 (16 Pages).
Tilman, D.; Lehman, C., (2001). Human-caused environmental change: Impacts on plant diversity and evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(10), 5433–5440 (7 Pages).
Times Higher Education. (2025). University Impact Rankings 2025.
Trimono, T.; Nawangsari, L. C., (2021). Determinants of Employee Green Behavior for Secretariat General Employees of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resource. European Alliance for Innovation. 263 (13 Pages)
Ukaogo, P.; Ewuzie, U.; Onwuka, C., (2020). Environmental pollution: causes, effects, and the remedies. Microorganisms for Sustainable Environment and Health. 419-429 (11 Pages)
Yong, J. Y.; Yusliza, M. Y.; Ramayah, T.; Fawehinmi, O., (2020). Nexus between green intellectual capital and green human resource management. J. Cleaner Prod., 215, 364-374 (11 Pages)
 
  • Receive Date 08 July 2025
  • Revise Date 27 October 2025
  • Accept Date 14 February 2026

Home

Authorship

Submit Manuscript

Indexing and Abstracting

Editorial Board

Unrestricted Reuse in Compliance with BOAI

Open Access Policy

Self-Archiving Policy

Privacy Statement

Publisher Business Model

Publisher and Sponsor

Contact Us