Title: How and when does green transformational leadership affect environmental performance?

Authors: Mohammed A. Al-Hakimi; Mohammed A.K. Zaid; Mohammed Farooque Khan; Moad Hamod Saleh; Dhanraj Sharma; Ruchita Verma; Murad Baqis Hasan

Addresses: Marketing and Production Department, Thamar University, Dhamar, Yemen ' Business Administration Department, Taiz University, Taiz, Yemen; Department of Management Science, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India ' Department of Management Science, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India ' Marketing and Production Department, Thamar University, Dhamar, Yemen ' Financial Administration Department, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, India ' Financial Administration Department, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, India ' Financial Administration Department, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, India

Abstract: Conceptual and empirical advancement has failed to keep pace with the industry's increasing interest in green leadership and environmental performance (EP) in the context of manufacturing SMEs in least-developed countries. Therefore, this study investigates whether green human resources management (GHRM) mediates between green transformational leadership (GTL) and EP among manufacturing SMEs in Yemen, a least developed country. Furthermore, it evaluates the moderating effect of corporate environmental ethics (CEE) on that relationship. Through a survey questionnaire, data were collected from 262 Yemeni manufacturing SMEs and analysed through hierarchical regression analysis. The empirical results confirm that GTL has a positive, direct effect on EP and indirectly through GHRM. This study also confirms that GHRM is positively associated with EP which increases when firm employees have CEE. Finally, our study extends our knowledge of EP with respect to GTL and its underlying mechanism and conditional effect. It contributes to the green management literature and has managerial implications for firms to improve EP more effectively.

Keywords: green transformational leadership; GTL; corporate environmental ethics; CEE; green HRM; environmental performance; EP; SMEs; least developed countries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2024.137807

International Journal of Business Environment, 2024 Vol.15 No.2, pp.170 - 192

Received: 23 Sep 2022
Accepted: 26 Apr 2023
Published online: 05 Apr 2024 *

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