Enhancing Organizational Citizenship Behaviors for the Environment: Integrating Social Identity and Social Exchange Perspectives

Fei Liu,1,* Meng Qi2,* 1Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Meng Qi, College of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 15611503878, Email mengqiphd@163.com; mengqi@bjut.edu.cnPurpose: Based on social identity theory and social exchange theory, this study tests the influence of green organizational identity, exchange ideology and perceived organizational support toward the environment on organizational citizenship behaviors for the environment.Methods: This study conducted a three-wave survey. The data was collected from 526 employees (95% response rate) across three organizations. Structural equation modeling based on AMOS and hierarchical regression analysis based on Hayes’ PROCESS on SPSS were applied to test all hypotheses.Results: Perceived organizational support towards the environment had a positive influence on organizational citizenship behaviors for the environment, and green organizational identity played a partial mediating role in this relationship. In addition, exchange ideology moderated the relationship between perceived organizational support towards the environment and green organizational identity, and such that this relationship was strengthened as a result of a high level of exchange ideology.Contribution: Overall, these findings contribute to the understanding of the integration of social identity theory and social exchange theory and the ways in which both theories influence organizational citizenship behaviors for the environment.Keywords: green organizational identity, exchange ideology, perceived organizational support toward the environment, organizational citizenship behaviors for the environmen