Greening newcomers: how firm green practices and environmental leadership shape pro-environmental behaviors

1 Introduction

Ecological sustainability has become increasingly important as climate change, resource depletion, and environmental pollution continue to challenge economic development. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that global surface temperature during 2011–2020 was approximately 1.1°C higher than pre-industrial levels. Meanwhile, International Energy Agency data show that global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions remain persistently high. These greenhouse gas emissions are largely attributable to firm-led production and energy-use activities, especially in the energy and manufacturing industries (Bansal and Roth, 2000; Shahab et al., 2025; Walker et al., 2014). Thus, firms are not only important sources of environmental problems but also key agents in driving sustainable transformation (Costa and Opare, 2025; Gimenez and Sierra, 2013; Lannelongue et al., 2014; Lion et al., 2013). Prior research has shown that firms' proactive environmental behaviors can enhance overall environmental performance while helping cultivate a favorable social image and strengthen market competitiveness (Bikmetova and Pirinsky, 2026; Chen et al., 2015; Ioannou and Serafeim, 2015; Quan et al., 2023; Zhang and Gong, 2025). In light of this, many firms have begun to adopt and implement firm green environmental protection practices (Cheng, 2020; Jiang et al., 2026; Lannelongue et al., 2014). For instance, Microsoft has announced a carbon-negative commitment, aiming to become carbon negative by 2030 and to remove its historical emissions by 2050. It has also used large-scale carbon-removal purchases to support this commitment (Colwell and Joshi, 2013; Joppa et al., 2021). These actions illustrate how firms can move beyond symbolic environmental commitments by adopting concrete environmental initiatives. Collectively, these observations underscore the critical importance of adopting and implementing firm green environmental protection practices.

The effective implementation of firm green environmental protection practices depends heavily on leaders' active promotion. Environmental leadership captures how leaders translate organizational environmental commitments into employees' concrete actions through motivation, role modeling, and resource support (Fleck-Baustian et al., 2026; Raineri and Paillé, 2016; Robertson and Barling, 2013; Tian and Robertson, 2019). Drawing on social information processing theory (Salancik and Pfeffer, 1978), leaders constitute important sources of social information within organizations, and their behaviors are often interpreted by employees as concrete manifestations of organizational values and norms. Specifically, leaders enact organizational green policies and shape subordinates' pro-environmental behaviors through their daily decisions, guidance, and role modeling. Their behaviors have significant policy-transmission and role-modeling effects (Baydeniz et al., 2025; Boudrias et al., 2021; Chen and Chang, 2013; Kuenzi et al., 2020; Lu et al., 2025). Therefore, it is important to examine how firm green practices are internalized at the leader level and transformed into leaders' own environmental leadership behaviors. Meanwhile, existing research suggests that leaders' influence is context-dependent and becomes particularly salient when individual norms are still developing (Harris et al., 2014; Jiang et al., 2021; Nasr et al., 2019). In particular, during the early stage of employees' organizational socialization, leaders' verbal and behavioral cues are often regarded as concrete manifestations of organizational values and can exert a profound influence on employees' pro-environmental behavioral choices (Harris et al., 2014; Nasr et al., 2019; Zhao et al., 2021). Compared with experienced employees, newcomers are confronted with considerable uncertainty in the process of integrating into the organization (Harris et al., 2014; Jiang et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2022; Nasr et al., 2019; Zheng et al., 2021). Therefore, they tend to closely observe, interpret, and imitate leaders' behavioral signals and value orientations in order to seek role models, understand organizational norms, and reduce work insecurity (Jiang et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2022; Zheng et al., 2021). In this process, environmental leadership signals the organization's environmental commitments through observable behaviors, such as demonstrating environmental protection, communicating green goals, and recognizing employees' environmental efforts (Norton et al., 2014; Robertson and Barling, 2013). These cues help newcomers interpret and internalize the organization's green values, thereby transforming abstract organizational orientations into their own proactive environmental actions (Boiral, 2009; Lülfs and Hahn, 2013; Paillé et al., 2014). Building on this logic, we argue that leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation can shape newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors during organizational socialization by fostering leaders' environmental leadership (Paillé et al., 2014; Raineri and Paillé, 2016; Zhao et al., 2021). However, less is known about the mechanism through which firm green environmental practices are translated into newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors.

Given the cross-level nature of this process, this study focuses on leaders and newcomers as two central actors and examines the moderating roles of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions and newcomers' personal environmental beliefs. Leaders' green psychological climate perceptions reflect leaders' individual-level perceptions of top management's actual commitment to environmental protection, the extent of organizational support for environmental protection, and the climate that emphasizes green practices within their organization (Darvishmotevali and Altinay, 2022; Norton et al., 2014). Such strong perceptions may prompt leaders to internalize the organization's green intentions as part of their own responsibilities, thereby enabling them to display environmental leadership more proactively and consistently (Robertson and Barling, 2013). In addition, newcomers' personal environmental beliefs reflect the environmental values that individuals have long held outside the workplace, as well as their concern for environmental issues (Bissing-Olson et al., 2013; Lo et al., 2012). This internal value consistency enables newcomers to more sensitively capture and actively respond to the green signals and expectations conveyed by leaders' environmental leadership, thereby more effectively transforming external guidance into spontaneous pro-environmental behaviors (Lo et al., 2012; Tian and Robertson, 2019; Zhao et al., 2021). Therefore, we argue that leaders' green psychological climate perceptions and newcomers' personal environmental beliefs play critical moderating roles in the core transmission mechanism whereby leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation influences newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership.

This study makes three valuable theoretical contributions. First, we extend research on employees' pro-environmental behaviors from experienced employees to newcomers in the early stage of organizational socialization. It reveals how firm green environmental protection practices operate in the early stage of the formation of individual behaviors, thereby enriching research at the intersection of newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors and organizational socialization (Harris et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2022; Reissner et al., 2025). Thus, the novelty of this study lies in explaining how established forms of pro-environmental behaviors begin to develop during organizational entry, rather than merely examining such behaviors among general employees. Second, we clearly indicate that newcomers' behavioral adoption of firm green practices critically depends on the role of leaders' environmental leadership. Rather than treating environmental leadership only as a direct antecedent of employee outcomes, this study highlights its role in transmitting firm green practices to newcomers. This finding reveals a specific transmission path through which leaders' perceived firm green practices are translated into newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors through leaders' environmental leadership. It also explains how organizationally relevant green cues are interpreted by leaders and transformed into behavioral signals that guide newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors (Paillé et al., 2014; Raineri and Paillé, 2016; Robertson and Barling, 2013). Third, we enrich prior research by considering the boundary conditions of this transmission process from both the leader and newcomer sides. Rather than focusing on a single actor, we examine how leaders' green psychological climate perceptions and newcomers' personal environmental beliefs jointly shape the extent to which firm green environmental practices are translated into newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors. In doing so, this study highlights that the effectiveness of firm green practices depends not only on how leaders interpret and enact these practices, but also on how newcomers receive and respond to these environmental cues during organizational socialization (Darvishmotevali and Altinay, 2022; Norton et al., 2014; Zhao et al., 2021).

2 Theoretical background and hypotheses development

2.1 Leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and leaders' environmental leadership

The adoption and implementation of explicit firm green environmental practices provide a direct means of communicating environmental values and commitments to organizational members (Bansal and Roth, 2000; Lannelongue et al., 2014). Drawing from social information processing theory, these top-down firm practices constitute salient and credible social information cues in the organizational environment (Kuenzi et al., 2020; Norton et al., 2014). Such practices often entail substantial implementation costs and are difficult to imitate symbolically, which gives them strong diagnostic value and strengthens employees' perceptions of the firm's environmental commitment (Chen et al., 2015; Obeidat et al., 2020). As a result, these cues signal that the firm treats environmental management as a strategic priority and expects organizational members to align their behaviors accordingly (Ioannou and Serafeim, 2015; Yang et al., 2019).

In this process, organizational members develop understandings and judgments about organizational values and behavioral expectations based on these perceived signals (Lo et al., 2012). Compared with frontline employees, leaders have earlier access to firm-level strategic information and are responsible for translating such information into concrete managerial behaviors. Therefore, they pay greater attention to these signals and interpret them more deeply (Lu et al., 2025; Robertson and Barling, 2013). This information-processing process prompts leaders to reassess their role expectations and performance standards. They clearly perceive that the scope of their responsibilities has expanded from purely economic goals to include environmental responsibility (Chen and Chang, 2013; Shu et al., 2016). To align with the organization's strategic expectations and ensure their own managerial legitimacy, leaders have strong motivation to internalize these new role requirements (Gimenez and Sierra, 2013) and to actively develop and display corresponding environmental leadership (Tian and Robertson, 2019). In this study, leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation refers to leaders' perceptions of the extent to which their firm adopts and implements green environmental protection practices, rather than an objective firm-level construct. Accordingly, we predict that leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation constitutes a salient perceived organizational cue that systematically shapes and promotes leaders' environmental leadership. We propose the following hypothesis:

*Hypothesis 1*: Leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation is positively related to leaders' environmental leadership.

2.2 Mediating roles of leaders' environmental leadership

During the early stage of organizational socialization, leaders transmit the firm's green orientation and shape newcomers' identification with green organizational citizenship (Harris et al., 2014; Nasr et al., 2019). This sense of identity formed in the new environment can strongly motivate newcomers to actively internalize the organization's environmental goals as their personal pursuits (Zheng et al., 2021) and to engage in pro-environmental behaviors that are consistent with this identity (Boiral, 2009; Lülfs and Hahn, 2013). Prior research distinguishes pro-environmental behaviors based on whether they fall within employees' formal job responsibilities (Bissing-Olson et al., 2013; Lo et al., 2012). Specifically, task-related pro-environmental behaviors capture environmentally oriented actions that are formally required within employees' job roles, including compliance with eco-friendly operating procedures and efforts to reduce production waste (Kim et al., 2019). By contrast, proactive pro-environmental behaviors capture voluntary actions that extend beyond formal job requirements and contribute to the firm's environmental improvement, such as offering suggestions for environmental innovation or participating in environmental initiatives (Tian and Robertson, 2019).

Environmental leadership can promote both types of behavior through role modeling and resource support (Lamm et al., 2015; Robertson and Barling, 2013). During the early stage of organizational socialization, newcomers have yet to fully understand task norms and behavioral standards, and thus depend heavily on leaders' behavioral demonstration and guidance (Harris et al., 2014). Specifically, leaders' role modeling provides newcomers with concrete and imitable scripts for how to correctly perform task-related pro-environmental behaviors (Chen and Chang, 2013), thereby significantly reducing execution deviations. At the same time, the clear guidance and sufficient resource support provided by leaders enhance newcomers' ability and self-efficacy in fulfilling these in-role environmental responsibilities (Obeidat et al., 2020). Furthermore, when leaders display environmental enthusiasm and innovative spirit that go beyond basic requirements, such behaviors themselves constitute a strong appeal for newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors (Lu et al., 2025; Mo et al., 2025). Leaders' encouragement and empowerment of newcomers' voluntary environmental suggestions create a psychologically safe climate that encourages innovation and the assumption of extra environmental responsibilities (Zhao et al., 2021), thereby strongly promoting the emergence of proactive pro-environmental behaviors (Paillé et al., 2014). Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:

*Hypothesis 2*: Leaders' environmental leadership is positively related to newcomers' (a) task-related pro-environmental behaviors and (b) proactive pro-environmental behaviors.

Hypothesis 1 proposes that leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation is positively related to leaders' environmental leadership. Hypothesis 2 proposes that leaders' environmental leadership is positively related to newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Considering these propositions together, we expect that leaders' environmental leadership mediates the relationships between leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Thus, we propose the following hypothesis:

*Hypothesis 3*: Leaders' environmental leadership mediates the relationships between leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and newcomers' (a) task-related pro-environmental behaviors and (b) proactive pro-environmental behaviors.

2.3 Moderating roles of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions

Green psychological climate perceptions shape how individuals interpret organizational actions and, in turn, influence their subsequent attitudes and behaviors (Cárdenas et al., 2024; Hundschell et al., 2025; Kuenzi et al., 2020; Norton et al., 2014). For leaders, green psychological climate perceptions influence the extent to which they translate the firm's environmental strategy into concrete managerial behaviors. Prior research has generally found that when green psychological climate perceptions are high, individuals tend to believe that the organization's environmental initiatives are sincere, important, and worthy of full engagement. Such perceptions can greatly stimulate their personal pro-environmental motivation and behaviors (Darvishmotevali and Altinay, 2022; Zhao et al., 2021). Thus, we argue that leaders with strong green psychological climate perceptions are more likely to interpret firm green environmental practices as pro-environmental signals that convey the firm's core green values. These positive perceptions will make them more active in cultivating their own environmental leadership, so as to respond to and amplify the organization's green strategy through concrete actions (Lu et al., 2025; Robertson and Barling, 2013). In contrast, when green psychological climate perceptions are low, individuals may hold skeptical attitudes toward the organization's environmental practices, thereby suppressing their sense of involvement and initiative (Gamma et al., 2020; Shahab et al., 2025). Hence, we infer that a leader with a low level of green psychological climate perceptions may regard firm-level green directives as an additional administrative burden or as a public relations strategy lacking substantive content. Such perceptions may weaken leaders' motivation to enact environmental leadership, leading them to respond passively or remain largely disengaged. Taken together, leaders' green psychological climate perceptions determine how they perceive and internalize firm green environmental protection practices, which in turn affects whether and to what extent they are willing to display environmental leadership. Thus, we propose the following hypothesis:

*Hypothesis 4*: Leaders' green psychological climate perceptions moderate the positive relationship between leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and leaders' environmental leadership, such that the positive relationship is stronger for leaders with high green psychological climate perceptions.

Hypothesis 3 proposes that leaders' environmental leadership mediates the relationships between leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Hypothesis 4 further proposes that leaders' green psychological climate perceptions moderate the positive relationship between leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and leaders' environmental leadership. Prior research suggests that organizational sustainability policies and practices are more likely to shape pro-environmental responses when individuals perceive a supportive green climate and interpret environmental initiatives as meaningful organizational cues (Norton et al., 2014; Darvishmotevali and Altinay, 2022). In addition, socially responsible and environmentally oriented organizational practices can more effectively promote employees' pro-environmental responses when individuals recognize these practices as valued and supported by the organization (Zhao et al., 2021). Accordingly, leaders' green psychological climate perceptions may strengthen not only the direct effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on leaders' environmental leadership, but also its indirect effects on newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors through leaders' environmental leadership. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:

*Hypothesis 5*: Leaders' green psychological climate perceptions moderate the positive indirect effects of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' (a) task-related pro-environmental behaviors and (b) proactive pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership, such that these indirect effects are stronger for leaders with high green psychological climate perceptions as opposed to low green psychological climate perceptions.

2.4 Moderating roles of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs

Individuals' personal environmental beliefs reflect the relatively stable pro-environmental values, beliefs, and attitudes that individuals hold in their personal lives (Bissing-Olson et al., 2013; Lo et al., 2012). When individuals have a high level of personal environmental beliefs, they are likely to actively seek and respond to opportunities that allow them to express their personal environmental values (Chou, 2014; Zhao et al., 2021). We argue that newcomers with strong personal environmental beliefs are more likely to view leaders' environmental leadership as valuable guidance that aligns with their own values (Paillé et al., 2014; Tian and Robertson, 2019). This value congruence can strengthen newcomers' identification and intrinsic motivation, encouraging them to fulfill their in-role environmental responsibilities and engage in discretionary pro-environmental behaviors (Kim et al., 2019; Raineri and Paillé, 2016). In contrast, when individuals have a low level of personal environmental beliefs, they may lack the intrinsic motivation to take environmental action and may even regard environmental requirements as an additional work burden (Bissing-Olson et al., 2013; Gamma et al., 2020). By contrast, newcomers with weak personal environmental beliefs may respond to environmental leadership mainly through compliance. They may follow basic environmental requirements out of obedience (Zhao et al., 2021), but are less likely to internalize environmental goals or engage in broader pro-environmental actions voluntarily (Lo et al., 2012; Raineri and Paillé, 2016). Accordingly, newcomers' personal environmental beliefs determine whether and to what extent they are willing to internalize leaders' influence. Thus, we propose the following hypothesis:

*Hypothesis 6*: Newcomers' personal environmental beliefs moderate the positive relationships between leaders' environmental leadership and newcomers' (a) task-related pro-environmental behaviors and (b) proactive pro-environmental behaviors, such that these positive relationships are stronger for newcomers with high personal environmental beliefs.

Hypothesis 3 proposes that leaders' environmental leadership mediates the relationships between leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Hypothesis 6 further argues that newcomers' personal environmental beliefs moderate the positive relationships between leaders' environmental leadership and newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Prior research suggests that individuals with stronger personal environmental beliefs are more likely to recognize the importance of environmental issues and respond positively to workplace environmental cues (Bissing-Olson et al., 2013; Lo et al., 2012). In addition, employees' personal environmental beliefs can strengthen their internal motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviors when organizational or supervisory cues are consistent with their environmental values (Raineri and Paillé, 2016; Tian and Robertson, 2019; Zhao et al., 2021). Accordingly, newcomers' personal environmental beliefs may strengthen not only the direct effects of leaders' environmental leadership on newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors, but also the indirect effects of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors through leaders' environmental leadership. Taken together, we propose the following hypothesis:

*Hypothesis 7*: Newcomers' personal environmental beliefs moderate the positive indirect effects of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' (a) task-related pro-environmental behaviors and (b) proactive pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership, such that the indirect effects are stronger for newcomers with high personal environmental beliefs as opposed to low personal environmental beliefs.

Thus, this study proposes a moderated mediation model, as shown in Figure 1.

3 Methods

3.1 Sample and procedures

This study used time-lagged data collected from newcomers and their immediate supervisors in firms across different regions and industries in China. Because newcomer socialization largely unfolds during the first few months after organizational entry, the first 6 months are commonly viewed as a meaningful period for studying this process (Harris et al., 2014; Nasr et al., 2019). Thus, this study regarded employees with an organizational tenure of less than 6 months as newcomers (Jiang et al., 2021; Zheng et al., 2021). To reduce the potential influence of common method bias, this study adopted a time-lagged matched survey design and collected data on key variables from different sources.

Specifically, this study conducted two rounds of questionnaire surveys. At Time 1, immediate supervisors completed the measures of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and leaders' green psychological climate perceptions, and also provided their demographic information. Newcomers completed the measure of their immediate supervisors' environmental leadership and provided their own demographic information. Approximately 3 weeks later, the second round of questionnaires was distributed. The 3-week interval was considered appropriate for capturing newcomers' early behavioral responses to leadership-related environmental cues during organizational socialization (Tepper et al., 2009; Bono et al., 2013; Ellis et al., 2023). Newcomer socialization is a dynamic early adjustment process in which newcomers actively interpret organizational expectations, learn role requirements, and adjust their workplace behaviors. Because newcomers' understandings of organizational norms are still developing, they are likely to respond relatively quickly to salient supervisory cues. In this study, leaders' environmental leadership provides observable environmental signals, guidance, and behavioral expectations that can influence newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors over a relatively short period. Methodologically, this interval also provided temporal separation between the variables measured at Time 1 and the outcome variables measured at Time 2 while reducing the risk of excessive sample attrition or contamination from unrelated organizational changes. At Time 2, supervisors rated newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors and proactive pro-environmental behaviors, while newcomers completed the measure of their own personal environmental beliefs. To ensure the matching of data across different time points, each supervisor–newcomer dyad was assigned a unique identification code. Each supervisor was matched with only one newcomer, and no supervisor evaluated multiple newcomers in the final sample (Zhang et al., 2014; Nifadkar et al., 2019). A total of 336 questionnaires were distributed. Before data analysis, questionnaires were screened for validity. Responses were excluded if they had missing data on key study variables or a large number of unanswered items, could not be successfully matched because of missing, duplicate, or inconsistent identification codes, or showed obvious patterned answering, such as selecting the same response option for nearly all items, providing highly repetitive answers across different scales, or showing logically inconsistent responses. After applying these screening criteria, this study obtained 278 valid supervisor–newcomer matched samples, yielding an effective response rate of 82.7%.

As presented in Table A, the participating organizations covered a range of industry sectors, with relatively larger proportions from transportation, storage, and postal services (23.0%), manufacturing (19.4%), construction (19.1%), and accommodation and catering services (17.6%). Most organizations were small- and medium-sized, including those with fewer than 50 employees (33.5%), 200–499 employees (32.0%), and 50–199 employees (22.3%). In terms of organization type, the sample included private enterprises (33.1%), state-owned enterprises (28.1%), foreign-invested or joint-venture organizations (23.0%), and government agencies or public institutions (15.8%). In addition to these organizational characteristics, the demographic characteristics of supervisors and newcomers were as follows. In the supervisor sample, 54.3% were male. Supervisors aged 36–40 and 41 or above together accounted for 60.1%. 82.7% had a bachelor's degree or above, and 71.2% and 9.7% had worked in their company for 11–20 years and 21 years or more, respectively. In the newcomer sample, 48.6% were male. The average age was 22.53 years, 72.3% had a bachelor's degree or above, and the average organizational tenure was 3.69 months (SD = 1.524).

3.2 Measures

To ensure the equivalence of meaning, all English measurements were double-blind back-translated into Chinese. All scales used in this study were established scales. All the measurements in this study used a Likert response scale ranging from 1 = “strongly disagree” to 5 = “strongly agree.”

3.2.1 Leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation

Leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation was measured using an adapted five-item scale from Lee et al. (2018). This measure captures leaders' perceptions of the extent to which their firm adopts and implements green environmental protection practices, rather than objective firm-level indicators. A sample item is “Our company actively adopts various green environmental protection practices to improve overall environmental performance.” The Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.919.

3.2.2 Leaders' environmental leadership

Leaders' environmental leadership was measured using an adapted six-item scale from Chen and Chang (2013). A sample item is “My leader inspires us to make every effort to achieve the environmental plans set by the organization.” The Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.931.

3.2.3 Newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors

Newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors were measured using an adapted six-item scale from Bissing-Olson et al. (2013). Three items measured newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors. A sample item is “This employee completes assigned duties in environmentally-friendly ways.” The other three items measured newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors. A sample item is “This employee actively participates in environmental protection at work.” The Cronbach's α values for the two subscales were 0.883 and 0.866, respectively.

3.2.4 Leaders' green psychological climate perceptions

Leaders' green psychological climate perceptions were measured using an adapted four-item scale from Paillé et al. (2014). A sample item is “Preserving the environment is a central corporate value in our firm.” The Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.856.

3.2.5 Newcomers' personal environmental beliefs

Newcomers' personal environmental beliefs were measured using an adapted five-item scale from Raineri and Paillé (2016). A sample item is “The ecological crisis facing human beings is real and serious.” The Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.945.

3.2.6 Control variables

In addition, eight control variables were considered. According to previous studies (Boiral and Paillé, 2012; Guan et al., 2014, 2017; Jiang et al., 2023; Wei et al., 2025; Yin et al., 2025), individual demographic characteristics and organizational tenure may influence leaders' environmental leadership, newcomers' workplace adjustment, and newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Therefore, this study considered newcomers' gender, age, education level, and organizational tenure, as well as leaders' gender, age, education level, and organizational tenure as control variables.

4 Results

4.1 Confirmatory factor analyses

To examine the discriminant validity of the variables, this study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis of the six-factor model. As presented in Table 1, the six-factor model showed good fit statistics (χ²/df = 1.720, RMSEA = 0.051, SRMR = 0.057, CFI = 0.964, TLI = 0.959, and IFI = 0.964), all of which were better than the recommended cutoff values. The fit indices of the alternative models were substantially poorer than those of the six-factor model. These results indicate that the six core constructs in this study have good discriminant validity and are suitable for subsequent hypothesis testing.

Table 1. Comparison of measurement models for study variables.

Δχ² and Δdf were calculated by comparing each alternative model with the hypothesized six-factor model.

In addition, chi-square difference tests showed that all alternative models fit the data significantly worse than the hypothesized six-factor model. These results provide stronger evidence that the six core constructs are empirically distinct and support the discriminant validity of the measurement model.

As presented in Table B, the composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) values of all focal constructs exceeded the recommended thresholds, indicating satisfactory composite reliability and convergent validity. As presented in Table C, Harman's single-factor test showed that the first unrotated factor accounted for 37.628% of the total variance. This result provides preliminary evidence that a single common factor did not dominate the covariance structure. However, because some variables were rated by the same source, common-source bias cannot be fully ruled out.

4.2 Descriptive statistics

Table 2 presents the mean values, standard deviations, and correlations among the leader and newcomer demographic variables and major variables. As demonstrated in Table 2, leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation was positively associated with leaders' environmental leadership (r = 0.425, p < 0.01), newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors (r = 0.530, p < 0.01), and newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors (r = 0.460, p < 0.01). Further, leaders' environmental leadership was positively associated with newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors (r = 0.356, p < 0.01) and proactive pro-environmental behaviors (r = 0.429, p < 0.01). Thus, initial support for the mediating hypotheses was provided.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics and correlations of main variables.

^**p<0.01, and ^*p<0.05.

As presented in Table D, additional analyses were conducted to assess non-response bias. The results showed no significant differences between early and late respondents in key demographic characteristics or main study variables, suggesting that non-response bias was unlikely to be a serious concern.

4.3 Hypotheses testing

Before testing the hypotheses, multicollinearity was examined using variance inflation factors (VIFs). As presented in Table E, the VIF values ranged from 1.058 to 2.551, which were below the commonly recommended threshold, indicating that multicollinearity was not a serious concern.

Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the direct effects. As shown in Table 3, after controlling for relevant demographic variables, leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation was positively related to leaders' environmental leadership (β = 0.268, p < 0.001), thereby supporting Hypothesis 1. Leaders' environmental leadership was positively related to newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors (β = 0.393, p < 0.001) and newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors (β = 0.418, p < 0.001), thereby supporting Hypothesis 2.

Table 3. Results of main effects and mediation analyses.

^***p<0.001, ^**p<0.01, and ^*p<0.05.

The analysis showed that the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership was significantly positive (indirect effect = 0.056, 95% CI = [0.015, 0.119]). Similarly, the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership was also significantly positive (indirect effect = 0.076, 95% CI = [0.028, 0.152]). Thus, Hypothesis 3 was supported.

Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the moderating effects. As revealed in Table 4, the interaction term between leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and leaders' green psychological climate perceptions had a significantly positive effect on leaders' environmental leadership (β = 0.220, p < 0.001). To provide further evidence for the moderating role of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions, simple slope analyses were conducted and the interaction effect was plotted. As indicated in Figure 2, the effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on leaders' environmental leadership was non-significant for low levels of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions (β = −0.019, ns), and significantly positive for high levels of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions (β = 0.330, p < 0.001). These results indicate that the higher the level of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions, the stronger the positive effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on leaders' environmental leadership. Thus, Hypothesis 4 was supported.

Table 4. Results of moderation analyses.

^***p<0.001, ^**p<0.01, and ^*p<0.05.

The interaction term between leaders' environmental leadership and newcomers' personal environmental beliefs had significantly positive effects on newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors (β = 0.559, p < 0.001) and newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors (β = 0.440, p < 0.001). When leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation was further included in the outcome equations, the interaction effects remained significant for task-related pro-environmental behaviors (β = 0.483, p < 0.001) and proactive pro-environmental behaviors (β = 0.375, p < 0.001). To maintain consistency with the moderated mediation model, the simple slopes reported below were calculated based on these full outcome models. To provide further evidence for the moderating role of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs, simple slope analyses were conducted and the interaction effects were plotted. As indicated in Figures 3, 4, the effect of leaders' environmental leadership on newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors was non-significant for low levels of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs (β = −0.087, ns), and significantly positive for high levels of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs (β = 0.754, p < 0.001). The effect of leaders' environmental leadership on newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors was non-significant for low levels of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs (β = 0.088, ns), and significantly positive for high levels of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs (β = 0.740, p < 0.001). These results indicate that the higher the level of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs, the stronger the positive effects of leaders' environmental leadership on newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors and newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Thus, Hypotheses 6a and 6b were supported.

The moderated mediation effects were tested, and the results are shown in Table 5. For the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership, the results of the conditional indirect effects model revealed that the indirect relationship was non-significant for low levels of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions (indirect effect = −0.008, 95% CI = [−0.087, 0.069]), yet positive for high levels of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions (indirect effect = 0.145, 95% CI = [0.074, 0.237]). The difference in the indirect effects was significant (estimate =0.153, 95% CI = [0.063, 0.272]), indicating that the higher the level of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions, the stronger the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership. Thus, Hypothesis 5a was supported. For the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership, the results of the conditional indirect effects model revealed that the indirect relationship was non-significant for low levels of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions (indirect effect = −0.009, 95% CI = [−0.094, 0.080]), yet positive for high levels of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions (indirect effect = 0.163, 95% CI = [0.082, 0.276]). The difference in the indirect effects was significant (estimate = 0.173, 95% CI = [0.072, 0.300]), indicating that the higher the level of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions, the stronger the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership. Thus, Hypothesis 5b was supported.

Table 5. Results of moderated mediation analyses.

^**p<0.01, and ^*p<0.05.

For the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership, the results of the conditional indirect effects model revealed that the indirect relationship was non-significant for low levels of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs (indirect effect = −0.016, 95% CI = [−0.056, 0.003]), yet positive for high levels of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs (indirect effect = 0.135, 95% CI = [0.047, 0.243]). The difference in the indirect effects was significant (estimate = 0.150, 95% CI = [0.050, 0.272]), indicating that the higher the level of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs, the stronger the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' task-related pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership. Thus, Hypothesis 7a was supported. For the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership, the results of the conditional indirect effects model revealed that the indirect relationship was non-significant for low levels of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs (indirect effect = 0.016, 95% CI = [−0.006, 0.062]), yet positive for high levels of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs (indirect effect = 0.132, 95% CI = [0.044, 0.248]). The difference in the indirect effects was significant (estimate = 0.117, 95% CI = [0.041, 0.218]), indicating that the higher the level of newcomers' personal environmental beliefs, the stronger the indirect effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' proactive pro-environmental behaviors via leaders' environmental leadership. Thus, Hypothesis 7b was supported.

Additional robustness checks were conducted to examine the stability of the findings. As presented in Tables F1–F3, the results of models without control variables and alternative PROCESS macro analyses were substantively consistent with the main analyses, further supporting the robustness of the proposed mediation and moderated mediation effects.

5 Discussion

The findings provide overall support for the proposed moderated mediation model. Specifically, the results support the direct effects, mediating effects, moderating effects, and conditional indirect effects proposed in Hypotheses 1–7. Consistent with social information processing theory, these findings show that firm green environmental cues are interpreted by leaders and translated into leaders' environmental leadership, which then guides newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors during organizational socialization. This process is further conditioned by two actor-specific characteristics: leaders' green psychological climate perceptions strengthen the translation of firm green practices into leaders' environmental leadership, whereas newcomers' personal environmental beliefs strengthen the translation of leaders' environmental leadership into newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors.

The non-significant conditional effects under low levels of leaders' green psychological climate perceptions and newcomers' personal environmental beliefs further suggest that firm green practices and environmental leadership do not operate automatically. When leaders have low green psychological climate perceptions, they may be less likely to interpret firm green practices as sincere and strongly supported organizational expectations, thereby weakening the translation of firm green practices into environmental leadership. Similarly, when newcomers have weak personal environmental beliefs, leaders' environmental guidance may be less likely to be interpreted as personally meaningful or value-congruent, thereby constraining the translation of environmental leadership into task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. These findings indicate that the transmission of environmental cues depends on the psychological receptivity of both leaders and newcomers.

5.1 Theoretical implications

This study has three main theoretical implications. First, this study extends research on employees' pro-environmental behaviors from experienced employees to newcomers in the early stage of organizational socialization. By examining newcomers' behavioral responses to firm green environmental practices during early organizational socialization, this study extends research on pro-environmental behaviors to the newcomer context and offers a clearer understanding of how such behaviors begin to form (Harris et al., 2014; Nasr et al., 2019). Unlike experienced employees, newcomers are still developing stable patterns of organizational behaviors (Guan et al., 2014, 2017). Their environmental values and behavioral habits remain relatively malleable, making them more responsive to organizational contexts and leader behaviors (Harris et al., 2014; Jiang et al., 2021). By focusing on newcomers, this study highlights an important but underexamined stage in the development of employees' pro-environmental behaviors, showing that early organizational socialization is a formative period during which firms can shape employees' environmental orientations through green practices and leaders' behaviors. In addition, by verifying the positive effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors, this study incorporates a green dimension into organizational socialization theory and extends the explanatory boundary of this theory in the context of sustainable development (Lülfs and Hahn, 2013; Paillé et al., 2014).

Second, this study identifies a key transmission path through which firm green environmental protection practices are transformed from the organizational level to the level of employees' behaviors, and reveals the core mediating role of leaders' environmental leadership in this process (Robertson and Barling, 2013; Tian and Robertson, 2019). Rather than focusing only on direct relationships or psychological mediators, this study identifies leaders' environmental leadership as a key mediating mechanism and explains how firm green strategies are translated from organizational initiatives into employees' pro-environmental behaviors. Specifically, this study moves beyond the limitation of prior research that has mainly focused on employees' individual psychological variables as mediating mechanisms, and instead focuses on leaders' behaviors as more observable and more intervenable behavioral transmission paths. Drawing on social information processing theory, this study clarifies how leaders, as receivers and transmitters of organizational green information, transform macro-level organizational green strategies into concrete and perceptible behavioral signals (Chen and Chang, 2013; Norton et al., 2014). This finding reveals the dual role of leaders in the process of organizational greening. They are both implementers of organizational green policies and shapers of employees' green behaviors, thereby enriching our understanding of the mechanism through which leadership operates in green management contexts (Boiral, 2009; Lu et al., 2025).

Third, this study extends prior research by examining boundary conditions from a dual-subject perspective. By focusing on leaders and newcomers, this study jointly incorporates leaders' green psychological climate perceptions and newcomers' personal environmental beliefs into the mechanism through which leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation influences newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors. In doing so, this study constructs a dual moderation mechanism and systematically reveals the synergistic roles and differentiated effects of different subject characteristics in this process, thereby deepening our understanding of the boundary conditions of this influence mechanism (Norton et al., 2014; Zhao et al., 2021). Furthermore, this study integrates the organizational-level green context with employees' individual environmental values, thereby enriching the understanding of the interaction between contextual factors and individual differences in research on employees' pro-environmental behaviors (Bissing-Olson et al., 2013; Lo et al., 2012). In this sense, the study provides a multilevel theoretical perspective by linking firm-related green practices, leaders' environmental leadership, and newcomers' individual pro-environmental behaviors, while showing how leaders serve as a key transmission mechanism between firm green cues and newcomer behavioral responses.

5.2 Practical implications

This study also has three main practical implications. First, leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation plays a fundamental role in the formation of newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors (Bansal and Roth, 2000; Chen et al., 2015). Firms should integrate the concept of green development into organizational strategy and daily management, and convey clear and consistent green value signals to newcomers through continuous institutional arrangements and resource investment. In particular, during the early stage of employees' organizational socialization, a clear green orientation helps newcomers understand organizational norms more quickly, thereby promoting the early formation of their pro-environmental behaviors (Harris et al., 2014; Zheng et al., 2021). Firms should also distinguish between task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors when designing newcomer management practices. Task-related pro-environmental behaviors can be promoted by clarifying role-specific environmental responsibilities, operating procedures, training requirements, and performance standards, whereas proactive pro-environmental behaviors require participation opportunities, leader encouragement, and recognition for voluntary environmental initiatives.

Second, firms should attach importance to the key role of leaders' environmental leadership in the implementation of green practices (Robertson and Barling, 2013; Tian and Robertson, 2019). Leaders serve as an important bridge linking firms' green strategies and employees' pro-environmental behaviors. Therefore, in leader selection, training, and performance appraisal, firms should strengthen leaders' environmental value orientation and behavioral role modeling. At the same time, firms should enhance leaders' perceptions of the organization's green orientation by creating a consistent and clear green organizational climate, thereby strengthening their willingness and persistence in actively practicing environmental leadership behaviors (Darvishmotevali and Altinay, 2022; Norton et al., 2014). During newcomer onboarding, firms can assign supervisors as the key actors responsible for enacting environmental leadership. Practical tools such as green onboarding checklists and role-specific environmental guidelines can help supervisors translate broad environmental values into concrete job-related expectations. After formal orientation, environmental leadership should be reinforced through daily supervisor–newcomer interactions, including communicating green goals, demonstrating pro-environmental behaviors, providing timely feedback, recognizing newcomers' green efforts, and encouraging suggestions for environmental improvement.

Third, firms should pay attention to newcomers' individual differences and implement targeted guidance and management strategies. Newcomers' personal environmental beliefs influence the extent to which they respond to leaders' environmental leadership (Bissing-Olson et al., 2013; Zhao et al., 2021). For newcomers with relatively weak environmental awareness, firms can strengthen external guidance by enhancing leaders' role modeling, clarifying behavioral norms, and providing structured training, which may help them meet basic task-related environmental requirements. For newcomers with stronger environmental awareness, firms can provide more autonomy, voice opportunities, and participation channels, such as green suggestion systems or environmental improvement projects, to stimulate their initiative in participating in green practices, thereby improving overall management effectiveness (Lo et al., 2012). These targeted practices can help firms avoid treating all pro-environmental behaviors as the same type of employee response and design more effective onboarding and leadership practices for newcomers.

5.3 Limitations and future research

This study has some limitations that provide directions for future research. First, although this study used a two-wave time-lagged survey design and a supervisor–newcomer matched design, which reduced common method bias to some extent and enhanced the temporal separation among variables, the overall research design was still non-experimental. Thus, this study has certain limitations in making strict causal inferences. Reverse causality between leaders' environmental leadership and newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors also cannot be completely ruled out. Newcomers who already display stronger environmental actions may elicit more environmental guidance, support, or encouragement from their supervisors. Future research could use experimental methods, quasi-experimental designs, multi-wave longitudinal designs, or baseline controls for newcomers' prior pro-environmental behaviors to further enhance the causal explanatory power and internal validity of the findings.

Second, although this study collected data from different sources and at different time points, common-source bias cannot be completely ruled out because supervisors rated several variables. Therefore, some relationships involving supervisor-rated variables may still be influenced by supervisors' common evaluative tendencies. Future research could use additional data sources, such as objective indicators of firm green practices, archival environmental performance data, peer-rated or self-rated pro-environmental behaviors, or multi-wave longitudinal designs, to further reduce potential common-source bias.

Third, this study mainly focused on environmental leadership as the mediating path and did not systematically examine other potential mediating mechanisms. Future research could draw on different theoretical perspectives and introduce multiple mediators to more comprehensively reveal the internal mechanisms through which firm green environmental protection practices influence newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors (Lülfs and Hahn, 2013; Paillé et al., 2014).

Fourth, this study mainly examined the influence mechanism from the two individual levels of leaders and newcomers, and did not fully incorporate organizational-level contextual factors. Factors such as firms' green culture, organizational climate, and institutional support may all have important effects on the formation of newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors (Etse et al., 2022; Norton et al., 2014). Future research could further integrate organizational-level contextual variables and collect explicitly nested data with a sufficient number of organizations and multiple supervisor–newcomer dyads within each organization. Such a design would allow researchers to aggregate firm green practices at the organizational level and use multilevel methods to more directly examine the cross-level effects of firm green practices on newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors.

Fifth, because the data were collected only from China, the findings should be interpreted in light of the Chinese cultural and organizational context. Cultural values such as respect for authority, sensitivity to supervisory guidance, and emphasis on collective goals may strengthen the role of leaders in shaping newcomers' behavioral adjustment. Thus, the effects of firm green practices and leaders' environmental leadership may differ in cultural contexts where employees place greater emphasis on individual autonomy or where leader authority is less salient. Future research could examine the proposed model in different cultural and institutional contexts or use cross-cultural samples to test the generalizability of the findings. In addition, self-selection bias and social desirability bias cannot be completely ruled out. Organizations and participants willing to take part in a study on green practices and pro-environmental behaviors may be more environmentally engaged, and environmental protection is generally viewed as socially desirable. Future research could use more diverse sampling strategies, include organizations with different levels of environmental engagement, and combine survey data with objective indicators, archival records, or behavioral observations.

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Footnotes

Edited by: Mirko Duradoni, Unimercatorum University, Italy

Reviewed by: Athar Marwat, Iqra National University, Pakistan

Onur Oktaysoy, Kafkas University, Türkiye