An Ethical Leadership Style and Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Mediating Role of Moral Efficacy

Keywords: Ethical leadership, environmental behavior, moral efficacy, social learning theory, manufacturing industry

Abstract

To better comprehend the strategies that leaders follow in shaping their organizations, the study of ethical leadership has become increasingly relevant. This study investigates pro-environmental behavior and ethical leadership using a survey of 420 employees from various manufacturing organizations. It examined moral efficacy's role as a mediator between ethical leadership style and environmental behavior, drawing on insights from the social learning theory. The study employed structural equation modeling to test hypotheses. The findings indicate that there is a significant association between ethical leadership, pro-environmental behavior, and moral efficacy. The moral efficacy of employees serves as a mediator in the association between ethical leadership and pro-environmental behavior.  It is important to note that moral efficacy does not act as a significant mediator in the relationship between ethical leadership and pro-environmental behavior. This analysis is specifically focused on the manufacturing sector; however, additional research may be performed in the context of service sector enterprises. It is recommended that moderating and mediating variables such as self-esteem, job involvement, and moral courage be explored in future studies to enhance the comprehension of the construct of ethical leadership.

Author Biographies

Vanisri K., VEMU Institute of Technology

K., Vanisri, completed her PhD at the VIT Business School, VIT University. She had 12 years of teaching experience and 2 years of Industry experience. Her current research interest is in human resource management, entrepreneurship, Green Human resource management and organisational behaviour. She earned her doctorate in the year 2025 in Green HRM from Vellore Institute of Technology Deemed to be University. Her research interests include HRM, Green HRM, OB, Leadership and Entrepreneurship. She had a publications in Multidisciplinary science journal form Malque Publications, International Journal of Human capital Urban Management (IJHCUM) from Tehran Publications and Inderscience publications indexed in scopus and Web of science (peer-reviewed journals).
Author’s contact detail: Address: VEMU Institute of Technology; phone number: +919494069691; Email: vanikanth.1419@gmail.com & Research20phd06800@gmail.com

Prabir chandra Padhy, Global Business School and Research Centre, Dr ,D.Y. Patil Vidayapeeth, Pune, Mumbai, 411033

Padhy, Prabir Chandra, received his PhD from the Department of Management, Gujarat Technological University. He had More than 50 publications in ABDC, Scopus, UGC Care. He is a successful researcher and academician with 16 years of successful experience in teaching, research, administration, training and consultancy. He got recognition consistently for performance excellence and contributions to success in academia and industry together. A certified SAP HCM Consultant Entrepreneurship & Business Life Coach. He had strength in teaching, research mentoring and consultancy. Having publications in ABDC and Scopus Q1.He is an Associate Professor at the Global Business School and Research Centre, Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, India. His current research interests are in the areas of IT services, green human resources management, HR analytics and entrepreneurship.

Author’s contact detail: Address: Global Business School and Research Centre. Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune. Survey No 87 / 1, 88 Banglore-Mumbai Express Way Bypass, Tathawade, Pune - 411033. Maharashtra, India; phone number: -; Email: prabir.padhy@dpu.edu.in

References

Ahmad, I., & Umrani, W. A. (2019). The impact of ethical leadership style on job satisfaction: Mediating role of perception of Green HRM and psychological safety. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 40(5), 534–547. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-12-2018-0461

Ahmad, S., & Ahmad, S. (2020). Abusive supervision and knowledge sharing : moderating roles of Islamic work ethic and learning goal orientation sharing. June. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-08-2019-1069

Ahmad, S., & Kaleem, A. (2021). Promoting green behavior through Leadership ethical leadership : a model of green human resource management and environmental knowledge. 42(4), 531–547. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-01-2020-0024

Alam, M. N., Nasional, U. T., Khastoori, S., Alias, R. B., & Nasional, U. T. (2021). Does Environment Management Practice Play a Mediating Role between Green Intellectual Capital and Green Human Resource Management ? 1–24.

Alarcón, D., Sánchez, J. A., & Olavide, U. P. De. (2015). Assessing convergent and discriminant validity in the ADHD-R IV rating scale : User-written commands for Average Variance Extracted ( AVE ), Composite Reliability ( CR ), and Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio of correlations ( HTMT ). 1–39.

Ali, G. (2018). Environmental CSR and pro-environmental behaviors to reduce environmental dilapidation The moderating role of empathy. October. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-12-2017-0408

Almutairi, Y. M. N. (2020). administrative sciences Leadership Self-E ffi cacy and Organizational Commitment of Faculty Members : Higher Education. Gonaim 2019.

Ansari, N. Y., Farrukh, M., & Raza, A. (2021). Green human resource management and employees pro-environmental behaviours: Examining the underlying mechanism. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28, 229–238. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2044

Aquino, K., & Reed, A. (2002). The Self-Importance of Moral Identity. 83(6), 1423–1440. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.83.6.1423

Arain, G. A., Sheikh, A., Hameed, I., & Asadullah, M. A. (2016). ce pt Ac us cr t. 8422(December). https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2016.1272457

Aris, A. Z., Ponrahono, Z., Ishak, M. Y., Zamaruddin, N. H., Noordin, N. K., Varatharajoo, R., & Ideris, A. (2018). Green@Universiti Putra Malaysia: Cultivating the green campus culture. E3S Web of Conferences, 48, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20184802004

Aselage, J., & Eisenberger, R. (2003). Perceived organizational support and psychological contracts: A theoretical integration. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(SPEC. ISS.), 491–509. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.211

Ashfaq, F., & Abid, G. (2021). Impact of Ethical Leadership on Employee Engagement : Role of Self-Efficacy and Organizational Commitment. 962–974.

Avey, J. B., Wernsing, T., & Palanski, M. (2012). Exploring the Process of Ethical Leadership : The Mediating Role of Employee Voice and Psychological Ownership Exploring the Process of Ethical Leadership : The Mediating Role of Employee Voice and Psychological Ownership. April. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1298-2

Ayu, I., Widani, P., Widyawati, S. R., Alexandra, C., Jesus, D., Ayu, I., Widani, P., Widyawati, S. R., Alexandra, C., Jesus, D., Ayu, I., Widani, P., Alexandra, C., & Jesus, D. (2019). The employee engagement and OCB as mediating on employee performance. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2018-0124

Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1). Prentice Hall: Englewood cliffs.

Bandura, A. (2020). Toward a psychology of human agency. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(3), 575-594.

Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership : A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. 97, 117–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002

Bukhari, S. A. A., Hashim, F., Amran, A. Bin, & Hyder, K. (2019). Green Banking and Islam: two sides of the same coin. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 11(4), 977–1000. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-09-2018-0154

Chaudhary, R. (2020). Green Human Resource Management and Employee Green Behavior: An Empirical Analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(2), 630–641. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1827.

Chen, Y., Liu, Y., & Li, X. (2025). Enhancing moral efficacy through environmental education: A systematic review. Journal of Environmental Education, 56(1), 1-15.

Chou, C. (2014). Hotels ’ environmental policies and employee personal environmental beliefs : Interactions and outcomes. 40, 436–438.

Chowdhury, S. H., Roy, S. K., Arafin, M., & Siddiquee, S. (2019). Green HR Practices and Its Impact on Employee Work Satisfaction-A Case Study on IBBL, Bangladesh. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, III(Iii), 129–138. www.rsisinternational.org

Demir. (2020). The Role of Self-Efficacy in Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, Motivation and Job Involvement*. 85, 205–224. https://doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2020.85.10

Dirks, K. T. (2002). Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Trust in Leadership : Meta-Analytic Findings and Implications for Research and Practice Trust in Leadership : Meta-Analytic Findings and Implications for Research and Practice. 611–628. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.87.4.611

Eisenbeiss, S. A. (2012). Re-thinking ethical leadership : An interdisciplinary integrative approach ☆. 23, 791–793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.03.001

Erkutlu, H., & Chafra, J. (2019). Leader ’ s integrity and interpersonal deviance. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-07-2018-0406

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312

Gilal, F. G., Ashraf, Z., Gilal, N. G., Gilal, R. G., & Channa, N. A. (2019). Promoting environmental performance through green human resource management practices in higher education institutions: A moderated mediation model. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(6), 1579–1590. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1835

Graves, L. M., Sarkis, J., & Zhu, Q. (2013). How transformational leadership and employee motivation combine to predict employee proenvironmental behaviors in China. Journal of environmental psychology, 35, 81-91.

Gold, A. H., Malhotra, A., & Segars, A. H. (2001). Knowledge management : An organizational capabilities perspective.

Hadi, S., Fitriana, H., Kirana, K. C., Subekti, N. B., & Ogwu, I. J. (2023). The Impact of Temporal and Transformational Leadership on Innovation Performance: A Mediation Analysis of Self-Efficacy. Journal of Leadership in Organizations, 5(2).

Hair, J. F., Matthews, L. M., Matthews, R. L., & Magdeburg, O. (2017). PLS-SEM or CB-SEM : updated guidelines on which method to use Marko Sarstedt. 1(2).

Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203

Hameed, Z., Khan, I. U., Islam, T., Sheikh, Z., & Naeem, R. M. (2020). Do green HRM practices influence employees’ environmental performance? International Journal of Manpower, 41(7), 1061–1079. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-08-2019-0407

Hannah, S. T., & Avolio, B. J. (2010). MORAL POTENCY : BUILDING THE CAPACITY FOR CHARACTER-BASED LEADERSHIP. 62(4), 291–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022283

Hannah, S. T., & May, D. R. (2011). MORAL MATURATION AND MORAL CONATION : A CAPACITY APPROACH TO EXPLAINING MORAL THOUGHT AND ACTION West Point – United States Military Academy. 36(4), 663–685.

Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015a). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8

Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015b). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8

Hobfoll, S. E. (2014). Conservation of Resources : A New Attempt at Conceptualizing Stress Conservation of Resources A New Attempt at Conceptualizing Stress. August. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513

Huang, L., & Paterson, T. A. (2017). Group Ethical Voice : Influence of Ethical Leadership and Impact on Ethical Performance. 43(4), 1157–1184. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314546195

Islam, 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. International Journal of Manpower, 42(6), 1102–1123. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-01-2020-0036

Jordan, J., Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Finkelstein, S. (2011). Someone to Look Up To : Executive – Follower Ethical Reasoning and Perceptions of Ethical Leadership. XX(X), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311398136

Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. (2001). Relationship of Core Self-Evaluations Traits — Self-Esteem , Generalized Self-Efficacy , Locus of Control , and Emotional Stability — With Job Satisfaction and Job Performance : A Meta-Analysis. 86(1), 80–92. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.86.1.80

Kalshoven, K., Hartog, D. N. Den, & Hoogh, A. H. B. De. (2011). Ethical leadership at work questionnaire ( ELW ): Development and validation of a multidimensional measure. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(1), 51–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.12.007

Katz, I. M., Rauvola, R. S., & Rudolph, C. W. (2022). Employee green behavior : A meta-analysis. February, 1146–1157. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2260

Khan, N., Ahmad, I., & Ilyas, M. (2018). Impact of Ethical Leadership on Organizational Safety Performance : The Mediating Role of Safety Culture and Safety Consciousness Impact of Ethical Leadership on Organizational Safety Performance : The Mediating Role of Safety Culture and Safety Conscious. Ethics & Behavior, 00(00), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2018.1427097

Kim, A., Kim, Y., Han, K., Jackson, S. E., & Ployhart, R. E. (2017). Multilevel Influences on Voluntary Workplace Green Behavior: Individual Differences, Leader Behavior, and Coworker Advocacy. Journal of Management, 43(5), 1335–1358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314547386

Kim, S., Kim, M., Han, H., & Holland, S. (2016). International Journal of Hospitality Management The determinants of hospitality employees ’ pro-environmental behaviors : The moderating role of generational differences. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 52, 56–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.09.013

Kim, Y. J., Kim, W. G., Choi, H. M., & Phetvaroon, K. (2019). The effect of green human resource management on hotel employees’ eco-friendly behavior and environmental performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76(March 2018), 83–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.04.007

Kim, J., Lee, S., & Kim, B. (2022). Moral efficacy and pro-environmental behavior: A systematic review. Sustainability, 14(11), 6319.

Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2010). Mind the Gap : Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior ? Mind the Gap : why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to. 4622. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620220145401

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2013). The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership : How Ordinary People Make Extraordinary Things Happen.

Kuenzi, M., Mayer, D. M., & Greenbaum, R. L. (2020). Creating an ethical organizational environment : The relationship between ethical leadership , ethical organizational climate , and unethical behavior. August 2019, 43–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12356

Lee, D., Choi, Y., Youn, S., & Uk, J. (2017). Ethical Leadership and Employee Moral Voice : The Mediating Role of Moral Efficacy and the Moderating Role of Leader – Follower Value Congruence. 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2689-y

Lee, S., & Kim, J. (2023). The role of moral efficacy in promoting pro-environmental behavior. Environmental Values, 32(2), 147-163.

Lemoine, G. J., Hartnell, C. A., Detert, J., Eggers, J. P., Gardner, B., Ghahremani, H., King, A., Lambert, L. S., Liden, B., Macfarlane, I., Michel, E., Sauley, K., Shalley, C., & Tesluk, P. (2019). TAKING STOCK OF MORAL APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP : AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF ETHICAL , AUTHENTIC , AND SERVANT LEADERSHIP. 13(1), 148–187.

Li, W., Bhutto, M. Y., & Waris, I. (2023). The Nexus between Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility , Green Intellectual Capital and Green Innovation towards Business Sustainability : An Empirical Analysis of Chinese Automobile Manufacturing Firms.

Marina, A., & Wahjono, S. I. (2017). Business ethics for business sustainability in muhammadiyah hospital: evidence from ponorogo, indonesia. Journal of Indonesian Economy & Business, 32(3).

May, D. R., Hodges, T. D., & Chan, A. Y. L. (2003). Developing the Moral Component of Authentic Leadership CO RE RE. xxx(xxx). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(03)00032-9

May, D. R., Luth, M. T., & Schwoerer, C. E. (2014). The Influence of Business Ethics Education on Moral Efficacy , Moral Meaningfulness , and Moral Courage : A Quasi-experimental Study. 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1860-6

Nawafleh, A. H. A. (2020). The Impact of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) Practices on the Competitive Advantage of the Jordanian Educational Institutions. Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), 9(4), 1479–1493. https://doi.org/10.25255/jss.2020.9.4.1479.1493

Nisar, Q. A., Sciences, M., Haider, S., Ali, F., Jamshed, S., Sciences, M., Ryu, K., Gill, S. S., & Tradewinds, B. B. (2021). Green Human Resource Management Practices and Environmental Performance in Malaysian Green Hotels: The role of Green Intellectual Capital and Pro-Environmental Behavior.

Norton, T.A.; Zacher, H.; Ashkanasy, N.M. On the Importance of Pro-Environmental Organizational Climate for Employee Green Behavior. Ind. Organ. Psychol. 2012, 5, 497.

Paillé, P., & Boiral, O. (2013). Pro-environmental behavior at work: Construct validity and determinants. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36(June), 118–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.07.014

Peng, D., Zhang, J., & Tian, Q. (2017). Ethical Leadership and Moral Efficacy : Ethical Climate as a Mediator. 86(Eame), 353–356.

Peterson, S. J. (2010). An investigation of the relationships among leader and follower psychological capital , service climate , and job performance. 937–963.

Rameshkumar, M. (2020). The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics Employee engagement as an antecedent of organizational commitment – A study on Indian seafaring officers. The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics, 36(3), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsl.2019.11.003

Ramus, C. A., & Killmer, A. B. C. (2007). Corporate greening Through Prosocial Extrarole Behaviours – A Conceptual Framework for Employee Motivation. 570(October 2005), 554–570.

Rantika, S. D., & Yustina, A. I. (2017). Effects of ethical leadership on employee well-being: the mediating role of psychological empowerment. Journal of Indonesian Economy and Business, 32(2), 121-137.

Robertson, J. L., & Barling, J. (2013). Greening organizations through leaders’ influence on employees’ pro-environmental behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(2), 176–194. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1820

Safari, A., Salehzadeh, R., Panahi, R., & Abolghasemian, S. (2018). Multiple pathways linking environmental knowledge and awareness to employees’ green behavior. Corporate Governance (Bingley), 18(1), 81–103. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-08-2016-0168

Saleem, M., Qadeer, F., Mahmood, F., & Ariza-montes, A. (2020). Ethical Leadership and Employee Green Behavior : A Multilevel Moderated Mediation Analysis.

Schaubroeck, J. M., & Hannah, S. T. (2012). Embedding ethical leadership within and across organization levels. 55(5), 1053–1078.

Scholz, U., Dona, B. G., Sud, S., & Schwarzer, R. (2002). Is General Self-Efficacy a Universal Construct ? [ 1 ].

Shen, J., Dumont, J., & Deng, X. (2018). Employees’ perceptions of green HRM and non-green employee work outcomes: The social identity and stakeholder perspectives. Group & Organization Management, 43(4), 594–622.

Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (1998). Social cognitive theory and self-efficacy : going beyond traditional motivational and behavioral approaches . Social cognitive theory and self-efficacy : going beyond traditional motivational and behavioral approaches .62(13), 1–10.

Su, X., Lin, W., Wu, J., Zheng, Q., Chen, X., & Jiang, X. (2021). Ethical Leadership and Knowledge Sharing : The Effects of Positive Reciprocity and Moral Efficacy. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211021823

Ullah, H. (2021). Nexus between IT capability and green intellectual capital on sustainable businesses : evidence from emerging economies.

Walumbwa, F. O. (2011). Linking ethical leadership to employee performance : The roles of leader – member exchange , self-efficacy , and organizational identification .

Wang, X., Zhang, Y., & Li, Z. (2024). Moral efficacy and sustainable transportation behavior: A study of Chinese commuters. Transportation Research Part D: Transportation and Environment, 104, 103342.

Wijayanto, B. R., & Kismono, G. (2004). The effect of job embeddedness on organizational citizenship behavior. Gadjah Mada International Journal of Business, 6(3), 335-354.

Zhang, Y., Wang, X., & Li, Z. (2022). Enhancing moral efficacy through environmental education: A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 79, 103223.

Zhou, L., Wang, M., & Chen, G. (2011). Supervisors ’ Upward Exchange Relationships and Subordinate Outcomes : Testing the Multilevel Mediation Role of Empowerment Supervisors ’ Upward Exchange Relationships and Subordinate Outcomes : Testing the Multilevel Mediation Role of Empowerment. November. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026305

Published
2025-05-02
How to Cite
K., V., & Padhy, P. chandra. (2025). An Ethical Leadership Style and Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Mediating Role of Moral Efficacy. Gadjah Mada International Journal of Business, 27(2), 199-219. https://doi.org/10.22146/gamaijb.v27i2.21211
Section
Articles