Understanding employees' environmentally sustainable work behavior: the roles of self-transcendence values, innovative work attitudes and sustainable performance management

Abstract

Employees' environmentally sustainable work behavior is a critical enabler of organizational sustainable development. While prior research has primarily focused on either organizational motivators or individual attributes influencing sustainable work behavior, this study integrates these perspectives to provide a more nuanced and holistic understanding. Drawing on values–attitudes–behavior and situational strength theories, we examine how employees' personal values and attitudes interact with sustainable performance management to facilitate environmentally sustainable behavior at work. This study employed the data collection agency, Dynata, to source survey data from a sample of 374 employees in Aotearoa/New Zealand's private sector. We used partial least squares structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. The results indicate that the relationship between employees' self-transcendence values and environmentally sustainable work behavior is mediated by innovative work attitudes. Moreover, sustainable performance management significantly moderates the relationship between self-transcendence values and innovative work attitudes and the relationship between innovative work attitudes and environmentally sustainable work behavior, respectively. This study equips managers with actionable insights to balance the competing demands of a sustainability agenda and provides concrete guidance for organizational practice. It explains the hierarchical link between employees' values, attitudes and behaviors and demonstrates how managers can utilize performance management to strengthen these relationships in day-to-day operations. This study advances sustainability research by integrating organizational and personal determinants to support urgent climate-action through practical engagement pathways. We extend the value–attitude–behavior framework to the workplace, emphasizing its relevance to HRM. By identifying how innovative work attitudes mediate the relationship between self-transcendence values and environmentally sustainable work behavior, we reveal a clear pathway from values to sustainable behavior. This interactional view not only deepens our understanding of both HRM and work behavior, but by aligning sustainable HRM with pluralist ideals, HRM is framed as an enabler of positive attitudes and intrinsic motivation rather than their subjugator.