When and how is green agile leadership enacted toward pro-environmental behaviour? The role of environmental commitment,awareness and face consciousness

Abstract

This study examines how green agile leadership shapes employees’ pro-environmental behaviour, with a particular focus on the mediating roles of environmental commitment and environmental awareness, as well as the moderating influence of face consciousness. Drawing on data from 460 hospitality employees in China and analysed through SPSS and SmartPLS, the findings indicate that green agile leadership significantly enhances pro-environmental behaviour by fostering stronger environmental commitment and heightened environmental awareness among employees. In addition, face consciousness moderates these relationships, influencing the extent to which employees engage in sustainability and climate action initiatives. By introducing green agile leadership, a novel construct that integrates adaptability with a sustainability-oriented leadership approach into the pro-environmental behaviour domain, this study addresses a critical gap in the hospitality and sustainability literature. It further contributes by incorporating face consciousness, a culturally embedded social variable, to contextualize leadership effectiveness within collectivist cultural settings. The findings offer practical insights for hospitality managers seeking to embed sustainability and climate action into leadership strategies while accounting for cultural factors. This study enhances theoretical understanding of how leadership behaviours, individual commitment, and cultural norms interact to drive sustainability in the hospitality sector.